Freedom of Speech in Schools
Christina Ireland
September 29th, 2015

    Students’ first amendment rights, specifically the Freedom of Speech, are greatly challenged in schools, despite the necessity of kids’ understanding of their inalienable rights as Americans. As educators, teachers and school faculty alike set the foundation of America’s future through the children they teach. Neglecting to allow those children to exercise the freedoms given to them through their federal government therefore proves to be not only irresponsible, but wrong. Students are limited in what they say, wear, do, and even post online to preserve political correctness on-campus as well as outside school. Despite much deliberation, it cannot be denied that every United States resident deserves to have their Freedom of Speech.
    The first amendment states the following: “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.” The assurance of every American’s right to express themselves how they please, pending no threats or harm is brought to any other persons, property, or groups, should be common sense. When it comes to adolescents, however, our society tends to cradle them, scared of students, parents, or guardians’ reactions to somewhat sensitive subjects. Truthfully, by shielding children from such topics, American students are being swindled out of information they should not only be able to have a stand on, but also speak out about. An online article expresses: “Children who are censored grow up to become adults who censor or who tolerate censorship.” In other words, schools are teaching children to grow up to be cookie-cutter, robotic, simple-minded people who not only lack the skills to, but will not retaliate against ideas and information being withheld from them. Students are also being taught that it matters whether someone has negative opinions toward something to a point where action needs to be taken, which is not at all true. This says that everything that is said has bearing on you, your future, or your ideas, when you should be taught to be strong enough to let them pass by. America is so concerned with offending others and political correctness; it is sickening to watch the breeding of robotic, soft citizens just waiting to be manipulated. The first amendment was meant to preserve independence and free thought, to see as many points of view as possible and give the people the strength of intelligent, individual ideas. 
    The issue with freedom of speech is teaching kids what is going too far. We often treat words as if they are weapons, when in reality, they should be considered precursory ideas. We’ve all heard the words, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” meaning that other people’s opinions being voiced shouldn’t have an effect on one person’s ideas and actions, which is something we neglect to teach our youth. Antibullying campaigns are the main culprits of this idea, as they disregard the fact that bullying is directed toward one person, is hateful, and/or threatening. Bullying does not mean you are personally offended, it means the other person has directly made you feel unsafe. If a child were to make a statement such as, “I hate Republicans,” it is their right to make that statement as well as feel that way. On the other hand, if they were to say, “I hate Jimmy because he is a Republican,” that is directed towards one human being and could be considered a threat. Our society has decided that, rather than attempting to teach children the difference between free speech and going too far, AKA bullying, it is easier to censor them.
    Schools don’t only censor students in school, but also outside of school- specifically online. One student in Kansas was suspended for a Twitter post with negative ideas about the school’s football team. In Oregon, 20 students were suspended for implying a female teacher flirted with her students in tweets they posted. Despite the fact that students reflect on the quality of a school, the truth is a school has no right to withhold students’ rights. If a school neglects to teach kids how to articulately express themselves with an appropriate level of maturity, that is the school’s fault. The students’ words reflect on the school, therefore the school is completely responsible for cultivating children who are noteworthy and can express themselves appropriately. Scholastic institutions are lazy in America, however, and choose to oppress students, convincing them that what they think doesn’t matter and they should keep quiet. In my opinion, this is taken one step too far on social media, however. After school hours, off school property, the school has no right to interfere with a situation. If a child is bullied at the community park, off school property, after school hours, a school will tell them, “This is a matter to take to your parents, we have no jurisdiction over it.” The same idea should stand for cyberbullying. If someone feels threatened by someone else’s specific target of them online, that is a matter for the parents or police to be involved in, not the school. A student should be entitled to their opinion and unafraid to express it, online and unplugged.
We see this in effect in North Korea today. Not only does the government of North Korea stifle those who speak their opinions, but they also stifle the flow of information given to their people. No outside media is allowed inside the North Korean borders, therefore cutting off its citizens to the rest of the world. Kim Jong Un, their leader, is literally succeeding at creating a mindless, puppet-like society to manipulate and extort. America is doing the same thing… more subtly. School dress codes and student censorship achieve this goal by shielding children from the harsh realities of life and teaching them they have no need for that information, much like the media cutoff in North Korea. Without teaching our children the idea that information is valuable and should be cared for while simultaneously being sought after, our youth will never learn to covet the ideas of others, or even form their own opinions. When the first amendment of our United States constitution cannot so much as be maintained, how are We The People supposed to believe the following twenty-seven, as well as our youth, can be protected? 

 

Works Cited
"The Bill of Rights: A Transcription." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
West, Sonja. "When You Censor Student Speech, You’re Teaching Kids to Accept Censorship." N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
Wheeler, David R. "Do Students Still Have Free Speech in School?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 07 Apr. 2014. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.
"World Report 2015: North Korea." Human Rights Watch. N.p., 09 Jan. 2015. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.