Have you ever wondered what life at school would be like without “freedom?” In my opinion I think it would be horrid. Think about it. If we had no freedom we wouldn’t be able to do the things we love most, or choose what friends we hang out with. The freedoms we have now we all take for granted. For example, do you even know what your freedoms are? If you don’t, then you ought to hear me out so you know in the future what they mean. First of all there are two very specific freedoms that all students and teachers should know and understand. These two freedoms are the very basis for our society. 1)FREEDOM OF SPEECH Freedom of speech is one of the most important freedoms we have because if we didn’t have this one we wouldn’t be able to speak our minds through speeches in public. This freedom allows us to speak in more ways than one. It allows us to express ourselves through reading, writing, and speaking. Although freedom of speech has its greatness in many ways, it also has a downfall, in which it is abused. For example: Media today can twist this freedom to invade your privacy, which is not a good thing if you’re Arnold Shwartzenegger getting out of the shower, and someone takes a picture of you naked and prints it in the local paper. But most of the time this sinerio doesn’t occur because they’ve come up with laws like the “Privacy Act,” and so on so this sort of mayhem doesn’t happen, but even though laws are made people still break them. 2)FREEDOM OF RELIGION This freedom goes along with freedom of speech yet stands alone in its own category. There are many ways to look at this freedom. It has as many goods as it does bads. You just have to learn how to apply it to you. First I’ll list the goods. The gains of this freedom allo...
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...ligious-free zones, or require that all religious expression to be left behind at the schools' house door. “Religious freedom is perhaps the most precious of all American liberties--called by many our First freedom.” (clinton 20-22) “The Constitution protects expression by students of their religious beliefs through reports, homework, and art work.” (Stern 6-8) If you really think about it, we really have it easy, because all we actually do is take them for granted until someone tries to either take them away or abuses them, then we get mad about it. A long time ago teachers and students were limited by a strict theme of rules and guidelines, but today we have a new challenge. One to carry on generation after generation. Our freedom to speak out against wrong doing and our freedom to live a normal happy life. In my opinion “If you don’t have freedom what do you have.”
Tyranny riddles many forms of government, such as oligarchy, absolute monarchy, dictatorship, autocracy, and totalitarianism. In May of 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia gathered to create a stronger central government -- while avoiding the tyranny that so many other forms of government had allowed for. James Madison, of one those very same delegates, defined tyranny as “The accumulation of all powers...in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many...” in Federalist Paper #47. The key to the protection against tyranny in the American Constitution was the way in which power was divided. The Constitution guarded against tyranny by making provisions for federalism, the separation of powers, checks and balances of power, and fairly equal congressional power.
Censorship in schools can protect children and eliminate problems, but it can also cause many other problems. For one thing, it sometimes violates the First Amendment. The First Amendment states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (Taylor 15). These rights are guaranteed to all American citizens, and that includes schoolchildren as well. According to the Constitution, the government cannot take away these basic rights. Public schools are government funded, so they must be sure not to infringe on student’s rights or there could be a lawsuit on their hands. In addition to legal consequences, school is about learning and ...
Separation of church and state is an issue in the forefront of people’s minds as some fight for their religious freedoms while others fight for their right to not be subjected to the religious beliefs of anybody else. Because public schools are government agencies they must operate under the same guidelines as any other government entity when it comes to religious expression and support, meaning they cannot endorse any specific religion nor can they encourage or require any religious practice. This issue becomes complicated when students exercise their right to free speech by expressing their religious beliefs in a school setting. An examination of First Amendment legal issues that arise when a student submits an essay and drawing of a religious
The Amendment I of the Bill of Rights is often called “the freedom of speech.” It provides a multitude of freedoms: of religion, of speech, of the press, to peacefully assemble, to petition the government. Religious freedom is vitally important to this day because it eliminates the problem of religious conflicts. Historically, many people died for their beliefs because their government only allowed and permitted one religion. T...
No Prayer in Public Schools Chapter three of Civil Liberties: Opposing Viewpoints inspired me to research today’s issues of school prayer. To understand how we got to where we are today, I first delved into our country's history of court cases pertaining to rulings on prayer in schools. Lastly, to update my audience on how our lives are being affected today, I directed my efforts toward finding current situations. By analyzing these situations, I gained knowledge for a better understanding of why society needs to be aware of these controversies. I don’t think there should be any form of organized prayer in today’s public schools.
Education Week talks about the freedom and practice of religion stated in the United States Constitution and how the government has altered that in their article, “Religion in Schools”. They touch base on how “under God” was taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance and elaborate how students can participate in religious clubs outside of school because of the placement of the federal Equal Access Act of 1984.
What is freedom of religion? Today people speak freely about their own views over specific topics regarding what they believe and what they think is the truth. Along with everything in life, there are limits and laws that the government of the United States have established. Freedom of religion originated is taught in schools that the Pilgrims traveled to America because they were trying to find freedom, unlike in England where they were not allowed to live out their own beliefs. The Puritans came to America shortly after as well as many others have done and continue to do from all over the globe. However, colonies were being established before they started ...
Freedom in the United States Essay submitted by Unknown No other democratic society in the world permits personal freedoms to the degree of the United States of America. Within the last sixty years, American courts, especially the Supreme Court, have developed a set of legal doctrines that thoroughly protect all forms of the freedom of expression. When it comes to evaluating the degree to which we take advantage of the opportunity to express our opinions, some members of society may be guilty of violating the bounds of the First Amendment by publicly offending others through obscenity or racism. Americans have developed a distinct disposition toward the freedom of expression throughout history. The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect for the freedom of religion.
On the other hand, students have the right to speak out for what they believe in without having any interference; they have the right to voice their opinion. This protection is all due to the first amendment protection. The first amendment protects the students and also the teachers’ freedom of speech, that includes during and out of school. With the protection of the first amendment no person is able to violate your right to freedom of speech. Any pers...
In the United States, free speech is protected by the First Amendment in which it states, “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion … or abridging the freedom of speech.” Now, nearly 250 years into the future, the exact thing that the Founding Fathers were afraid of is starting to happen. Today, our freedom of speech is being threatened through different forces, such as the tyranny of the majority, the protection of the minority, and the stability of the society. Now, colleges and universities in the United States today are also trying to institute a code upon its students that would bar them from exercising their right to speak freely in the name of protecting minorities from getting bullied. This brings us into
Freedom is having the right to own, act, think, and speak without any restrictions from the outside. Ever since the New World was discovered, people have been fighting for their independence till this day. People of other colors and race have been forced to do labor without their consent. Today, those same people have been blamed or accused of crimes that were not committed by them despite of being free. Freedom has different meanings and those meanings change overtime; however sometimes the significance of freedom does not change.
Until the early 1960s, religion was accepted in most public school systems across our nation. One of the main purposes for school in early America was for religious purposes (Prothero). Benjamin Franklin stated, "It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand." Thomas Jefferson stated, "The question isn't what religion is true. The question is what religious traditions do we need to know something about in order to be an effective citizen." Something that can be beneficial to our nation should not be taken away. Even though religion offends some people, it should be allowed in public schools because of its influence on America and western civilizations, and its ability to help form closer relationships.
Warnick, B. R. (2012). Student rights to religious expression and the special characteristics of schools. Educational Theory, 62(1), 59-74. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5446.2011.00435.x
As a conclusion freedom of speech, free education, and freedom of religion are three of the greatest things that we Americans have. Those are just a few of the great rights that we have in America. There are many many more, but those are just a few that are important to me. Some of them more important to me than others. Those are also reasons why I am blessed to be an American, and to have so much freedom. That freedom did not come easy it was fought for by our heroes the veterans, and we can never take our freedom for
Freedom – it is one of the most essential, ever-present, and controversial themes in both literature, and throughout the world. Every day we exercise our freedoms without giving a thought as to how lucky we are to have the freedoms that we do. So what is freedom really? Equality, rights, democracy . . . these are all ideas that come to mind. But what are the essential principles of true freedom? True freedom is constituted by safety, the ability to freely express oneself, and the right to live without oppression from government.