Freedom of the Press

​Freedom of the Press

​Paragraph 1

The First Amendment​ of the U.S. Constitution gives newspapers, magazines, and other publications the right to print whatever they see fit, without interference from the government. The framer's of the Constitution felt that a free press is vital to a democratic society.

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Open Ended

What is paragraph 1 mostly about?

​Paragraph 2

Unfortunately, this important idea does not matter when schools are involved. Unbelievably, just because citizens are young and attend public school, they are not granted the First Amendment right to express themselves freely in school newspapers.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Poll

Do you think that it is fair that student newspapers are not granted the right to express themselves according to the First Amendment?

• yes

• no

• i don't know

​Paragraph 3

The difference is technical but the threat to our values is real. The First Amendment prevents the government from censoring the press. However, private publishers can censor whatever they want. Since schools and school districts pay the student newspaper's publication costs, they ar eprivate publishers. This means that they can edit information as they see fit. They can even refuse to publish some articles.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Open Ended

What is censoring? Give an example of something being censored that is not in the text.

​Paragraph 4

This is a terrible lesson for budding journalists, some of whom have challenged the restrictions. One case even made it to the Supreme Court, in Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​Paragraph 5

Here are the facts. In 1983, students at Hazelwood High, a public high school near St. Louis, Missouri, saw two pages missing from their school newspaper, The Spectrum.​ They found out that the principal, Robert Reynolds, had removed two of the articles after finding them unfit for publication. One article, about teen pregnancy, contained interviews with pregnant students whose names were changed; the other dealt with divorce.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​Paragraph 6

Principal Reynolds said the pregnancy article was not appropriate for a high school audience. He was also concerned that the girls' identities would have been revealed eventually in such a small school. His problem with the divorce article was that it was not " fair and balanced." He felt it criticized parents without providing their side of the story.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Open Ended

Summarize paragraph 4-6.

​Paragraph 7

Some students were outraged and sued the school. They argued that the issue was not the content of the articles, but whether or not the school had the right to suppress them.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Open Ended

What is the definition of the word suppress? Give an example.

​Paragraph 8

In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled 5-3 in favor of the school. The ruling said that while students "do not shed their first amendment​ rights at the schoolhouse gate," no school should tolerate activities "inconsistent with its basic educational mission." In other words, when student expression is school- sponsored, it can be censored- as long as those doing the censoring have valied educational reasons.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

​Paragraph 8 continued

The law now varies from state to state. States that disagree with parts of the ruling have their own laws that govern students' freedom of expression.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Open Ended

Paragraph 8 is mostly about...

​Paragraph 9

We are now left with this basic unfairness: In my view, it is not right that adults enjoy greater freedom of speech in their newspapers than students do at school. Censorship of any kind weakens American values. Rather than suppress the expression of ideas that may be troubling to some, students should be given the opportunities to learn about civil discourse, dialogue, and debate. This will make them better citizens and our entire democracy stronger.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Open Ended

Summarize papragraph 9 in one sentence.

​Paragraph 10

The framers of the Constitution believed that if governments could censor opinions they did not like, the public would be less educated. Given that schools are places of education, it seems counterproductive to limit students' free speech. The more opinions students are exposed to , the bette equipped they will be to handle issues they will face later in life.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Open Ended

Give a summary of the entire article using SWBST.

(Someone, Wanted, But, So, Then)

Open Ended

What is one question that you still have about the article?

Open Ended

How do people determine what matters to them and make their own choices in life? Consider your response by completing this statement:

Some things people should bear in mind when making important decisions are...