Questions for thought #5 of a series
Here’s another Question for Thought in our series :
• A new administrator joins your school and demands prior review. What will your (students’) responses be? What points can the students raise to stop her from enforcing this new standard?
Read MoreQuestions for thought #4 of a series
Here’s another question in our series. Appropriate for Constitution Day?
• What if any issues or topics should be “untouchable” by student journalists? Why?
Is it the topic or the process that might lead to censorship problems?
Read MoreQuestions for thought #3 continuing a series
Here’s a question in our series raising a variety of Questions for Thought. Hopefully, as you consider answers, you and your students will address some important principles of scholastic journalism. Our Constitution Day lessons can now be accessed from the menu bar above, titled Constitution Day 2011.
#3: What would happen if press freedoms would be restrained just once? Take one incident and extend the repercussions into the future. For example, what would happen if the school board refused just once to allow reporting of a controversial issue?
Read MoreConstitution Day lesson plans, resources for 2011
Constitution Day Lesson Plans for Sept. 16, 2011
Our Constitution Day lesson plans provided here are designed to help students celebrate the Constitution and Bill of Rights, as mandated by Congress. Legislation requires schools to offer lessons on the Constitution and how it affects all Americans. Our lesson plans emphasize the First Amendment and particularly the freedoms of speech and the press.
The first unit has two parts. The first is intended as an overview of the First Amendment while the second applies Freedom of Speech as addressed in a Philadelphia Inquirer article by Michael Smerconish. A PDF accompanies this article (or you can download it as a PowerPoint) and there is an extensive list of additional resources.
The second unit includes a quick discussion of interpreting the Constitution and then explores off campus speech using real and hypothetical scenarios. Possible solutions for the scenarios will be available early this week.
The third unit examines a 2011 Washington court case that established schools are not liable for what student newspapers publish as long as the content is not reviewed by school administrators prior to publication. We will have more on this court decision in the coming months.
Lori Keekley
for JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission and the Constitution Day Committee
Constitution Day Committee:
Megan Fromm, Ph.D.
Lori Keekley, teacher, St. Louis Park High School (MN)
Jeff Kocur, teacher, Hopkins High School (MN)
Chris Waugaman, teacher, Prince George High School (VA)
John Bowen and Mark Goodman, Kent State University (OH) contributed resources
Questions for thought: a series of exercises on freedom of expression
Our second Question for Thought involves a common argument for censorship: Damaging the public’s image of the school or its programs.
• Explore instances where scholastic media excess damaged public trust, a belief in the First Amendment and/or a school system. What led to the excess? How best could it have been prevented? What actions, including censorship, would have prevented it? Would we be better off limiting our freedoms to avoid the excesses? Why or why not? Using a a process determined by the instructor, sketch out an approach that could have prevented the excess.
Read MoreQuestions for thought 1
As the new year starts, we face many issues. Some arise daily. Others reside in the background until events force them on us. These broad philosophical issues often are questions we need to answer before they become crucial.
Over the next several posts we will raise a variety of Questions for Thought. Hopefully, as you consider answers, you and your students will address some important principles of scholastic journalism.
We hope these questions might prove to be worthy assignments and that you might share some of your activities through the comments section here.
Question #1:
School officials argue prior review is important because school media represent the image of the school to the community. Analyze this argument and make two sets of recommendations: one supporting prior review, the other arguing against it. Develop criteria and arguments for each position. Find a neutral audience or class and arrange a debate to generate discussion and – hopefully – an action plan on the subject.
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