1940 Statement Of Principles On Academic Freedom

In the well-known case of of Tinker Verses Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Supreme Court remarked, “it can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” While shedding your thoughts and freedom of speech or expression at “the schoolhouse gate” can be difficult, the district did have the right to not renew the teacher’s contract. I think that it is important to keep my mind what the judge stated in the facts above, “teachers … do not have a right under the First Amendment to express their opinions with their students during the instructional period.” The teacher gave her opinion and an idea of her political view by stating

Lately in the United States, there is tension. Citizens do or say things that others prefer not to see or hear. But, when it comes to professionals, such as professors at universities, making these offensive statements it is a whole different circumstance. Some professors are offered a contract in which they are allowed to do and say whatever they please, but others are not. Even though the amount of tenure contracts offered are decreasing, Jeanne Zaino, the author of “Offensive Speech and the Contingency Clause: Adjuncts who are outspoken are losing their jobs,” published on the website Inside Higher Ed., believes professors and their jobs should still be protected under the First Amendment. Zaino references back to the story of two professors who publicly stated very unpopular opinion. They ended up fired due to their public statements. According to Zaino, these two should have not been fired. On the other hand, the professors should have known better because they represent a university. These professors knew what the consequences would be after making their statements. Besides the fact that I disagree with Jeanne Zaino, the essay is fairly written. It is not perfect due to its poor assumptions of what the reader must already know and believe. Although, these are key components, the author did a good job by explaining what was currently happening and showed a decent amount of research to back up their credibility. Zaino did a decent job writing her persuasive piece.

In order to better interpret this scenario, we first need to look another case that resembles this scenario. The case related to this scenario, Pickering v. Board of Education (1983) upheld that teachers’ speech, just like that of any other citizen, is protected when the interest of the speech does not cause harm or create false statements. Overall, the

It can be concluded Teachers are held to a higher standard then non-educational occupations, as “The Supreme Court has acknowledged that a “teacher serves as a role model for…students exerting a subtle but important influence over their perceptions and values” (Cambron-McCabe, McCathy & Eckes, 2014, p. 251). Teachers must be conscious to the ideology their actions, words, and mannerism can directly influence their student audience. The 1st amendment freedom of expression offers protection to teachers as it applies to the following clause, “Public employees’ comments on matters of public concern are protected expression if they are made as a citizen and not pursuant to official job duties” (Cambron-McCabe, McCathy & Eckes, 2014, p. 233).

In late 1787, our founding fathers of the United States developed a new democratic government system that balanced power between the government and its people. In addition, they wrote the Bill of Rights to give the general public a voice; ensuring “freedom of speech”. Today, however, freedom of speech has taken an unexpected turn in education by creating a professor watchlist on the web. Truthfully, the Professors Watchlist denies the right of a teacher to express his/her opinions in the comfort of their own classrooms, and as a result, may not feel at ease with their teaching tactics.

On this day, we have been overcome by our grievances against all those who have claimed superiority over us. For years, the youth of this country have been dominated by others feeding their ideas of work and desires onto those who they perceive as below them. It is unfair that we, as a human race, must obtain these unwanted obligations. We should be using the time we have to enjoy our life, rather than being weighed down by work and misery, cast onto us by our fellow human beings. On this day, we are declaring our independence from the modern education system, in favor of a reform.For these obligations are taking away the precious time that we could be spending with those we love, doing what we love. These tasks

In his book, Unlearning Liberty (2014) Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) asserts that violations of free speech— whether by students, faculty, or administration—will have devastating effects in greater society. Lukianoff supports his assertion by describing cases he has seen throughout his career at FIRE. From administration punishing students to professors getting fired for clearly protected speech. Lukianoff’s purpose is to point out the misguided lessons about freedom that are being taught on campus and to encourage his audience to stand up for freedom on campus. Lukianoff writes in an earnest tone to an audience who recognizes the importance of freedom in America society.

Although the First Amendment is not that vague, schools have struggled to define what its limits are for the past 40 years. One may argue that a student’s Freedom of Speech should not be limited because of our First Amendment rights, the fact that so many schools struggle to define their limits and that they all have different limits, also, limiting a student’s Freedom of Speech brings totalitarianism to schools.

Students everywhere should not be restricted from learning because of the connotation of a subject or teaching device. Students should be able to rightfully learn and be taught what has occurred in our history. This being said, there are concerns for teachers if they start to share their belief and support a controversial subject, or if they are hanging

In the pursuit of education, students strive to learn and develop their understanding of the world that surrounds them. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of the school administration to provide the means to that end. Yet, there is a polarized divide among schools and their interpretation of freedom of speech. This occurrence is experienced primarily at the university level but can be seen at all levels of education. At the epicenter of this dispute is the notion of censorship, specifically whether or not it is feasible to restrict what can and cannot be said by faculty and students alike. Advocates of freedom of speech assert that censorship violates our First Amendment right, a liberty that is inalienable. Proponents also argue that

There are a lot of controversial topics that professors have to talk about to their students. Due to this law, professors are being discouraged from talking about controversial topics in the classroom. Putting limitations on what professors can and cannot talk about can jeopardize the essence of education. With all the things going on in the world today, it is important that controversial topics are brought to attention no matter how uncomfortable the subject matter may be. Professors should not have to feel uncomfortable for their life solely because they brought up something controversial in

Giving students freedom in their academic lives encouraged students to form their own opinions. Teachers had biased feelings towards those who denied students the right to the whole truth because of specific religions, because it raises an uneducated generation. Fundamentalists needed to realize that as times changed9 modernization of education is necessary, regardless of religious beliefs so students receive the full truth and become liberated people. If students are restricted from certain topics and are only taught one view on a few subjects then there will be no new or different ways of thinking, rendering education pointless. “Without freedom in the intellectual life, and without the inspiration of uncensored discovery and discussion, there could ultimately be no scholarship, no schools at all and no education.” The American Federation of Teachers expressed their fear for the future of education and how it would be constrained due to traditionalism, in contradiction of Sparks and other creationists.

Censorship cases often bring about debates over students’ first amendment rights. Students’ first amendment rights are important to preserve so that students can not be excluded from meaningful works or literature. It is understandable for the government to design educational plans as a way to get its voice into classrooms, but “the truth-promoting function of the First Amendment provides no reason, however, to question the right of students to explore a variety of ideas and perspectives, and to form and express ideas of their own” (Brown, 1994, p. 30). Schools already place a restriction on religious material or material addressing current political controversy (Brown, 1994).

Many ideas are important within the American culture, but to the American sense of patriotism, freedom is most fundamental. The idea of freedom is central to the American politics – which is at times referred to as liberty. Since the birth of the nation, freedom has been the vocabulary of the American language and its importance cannot be underestimated. The Declaration of Independence, for instance, ranks liberty as an inalienable right. On the other hand, the Constitution reckons that it purposes to protect civilians’ liberty. The importance of freedom has even stretched further than the political arena and has prompted the birth of civil rights movements and other activist protests. The Cold War and the Civil War were all for the cause of freedom. The importance that Americans attach to freedom can also be demonstrated from the erection of statues, banishment of slavery, use of liberty poles and a right to vote for adults. For many years, women and the African Americans have for a long time fought against denial and infringement of their freedom . However, given the importance that Americans affiliate to freedom in the conceptualization of their country, it has been the subject of modifications over the course of years especially before the Revolutionary War.

In Teachers in the Law, chapter twelve elaborates on schools’ limitation freedom of expression. Policies are set into place to prevent controversial groups in the educational setting. In addition, educators’ freedom of expression is very limited. Although, there are guidelines are established students and teachers feel that restrictions upon organizational activities are violated and numerous of individuals are only guilty by association. Students organizations, political and social affiliations, and oath of loyalty are imperative topics discuss when school can limit freedom of association.