First Amendment In High School Research Paper

The case was heard by the Supreme Court on November 12th, 1968 to a packed court house. The main constitutional question at hand was if a prohibition against the wearing of armbands in public school, as a form of symbolic protest, violates the First Amendment's freedom of speech and expression. Attorney Dan L. Johnson argued on the Tinker’s behalf, proclaiming that the students had the constitutional right, as per the 1st amendment freedom of speech and expression, to wear the black armbands as a form of symbolic speech. On the other hand, attorney Allan A. Herrick defended the school board’s actions, inciting that the prohibition of armbands was necessary to prevent and stifle any violence or disorder. The topic of discussion during the oral arguments centered largely upon whether Tinker’s protest was disruptive to the class environment. Johnson argued that the anti-Vietnam protest, although sparking some talk, was undisruptive to school, citing that there was no evidence of disruption in any of the classes. Herrick, conversely, argued that the Vietnam War was an inflammatory issue, and that armbands invoked violence, especially since a

"Accordingly, this case does not concern speech or action that intrudes upon the work of the schools or the rights of other students."

Why do these authors say restrictions on students’ speech rights are a “step in the wrong direction”?

The First Amendment is designed to protect all citizens by giving them the right to express themselves in different ways. In doing so, we still have to be careful on how we do it. Students have the right to express themselves as long as it does not cause any disruption. In my school district, we abides by the First Amendment by not forbidding all mention of religion in the school system (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015). The only part that is prohibited is the advancement or inhibition of religion (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015). My school district feels that there’s nothing unconstitutional about using religious subjects or materials as long as it is in compliance to the neutrality of the education program (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015).

“In December, 1969, a group of students in Des Moines held a meeting in the home of Christopher Eckhardt to plan a public showing of their support for a truce in the Vietnam War.”1 These students decided to wear black armbands to show their support. These students included: John F. Tinker, Hope Tinker, Mary Beth Tinker, Paul Tinker, and Christopher Eckhardt. Whenever the Principal found out about their plan, he stated that any student found wearing these black armbands would be suspended.2 Despite the Principal’s warning, the students still wore the black armbands.3

School boards often do not adequately justify their reasons for denying High School Students their first amendment rights. Usually, the

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).

Citizens in America are born with a various amount of rights. One of these rights include the freedom of speech and expression. However, school administrators have the ability to restrict a student’s expression. The Supreme Court Cases ‘Bethel School District v. Fraser’ and ‘Frederick V. Morse’ gave schools the right for the administrators to discipline children when they see fit. Students should be able to express themselves in any way without fearing that their school administrators will discipline

In December of 1965, a group of Des Moines students held a meeting at 16-year-old Christopher Eckhardt’s house to plan a public showing of their support for a truce in the Vietnam war. They came to the decision that they would wear black armbands during the holiday season and fast on December 16 as well as New Year’s Eve. When the principals of the Des Moines school learned about the plan, they met on December 14 to create a policy stating that any student wearing an armband would be asked to remove it, and would be suspended if they refused to do so. On December 16, Mary Beth Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt wore their armbands to school and were consequently sent home. The next day, John Tinker did the same thing, and was also suspended. The students did not come back to school until after New Year’s Day, the planned end of the protest.

The Tinker vs. Des Moines case helped determined and interpret legal rights of young citizens for the first time. A group of students made a decision to wear black armbands to school to support a peace establishing agreement during the Vietnam War. As a result, the participating students; Mary Beth Tinker, Christopher Eckhardt, and John Tinker got suspended for their actions (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District).The school outlawed and attempted to penalize petitioners for a “silent, passive expression of opinion”, that didn’t cause any commotion (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist). The parents decided to sue the school for disrespecting the student’s constitutional rights of expression.

In the first amendment, it is stated that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the exercise thereof.”. From this, it made clear that the founding fathers’ original intent was for the Government to take a neutral position with respect to religion; the Government was not to favor any one religion over another. “Almighty God we acknowledge our independence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parent, our teachers and our Country. Amen.” In 1951, that prayer was conducted in class every morning in all New York public schools as ordered by New York State Board of Regents; it was called a “nondenominational prayer”. The short prayer was created with the intent of developing students’ moral

The First Amendment gives the citizens of the United States their most important rights: the right to freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, and the freedom of assembly. Over time these rights have worked themselves into the everyday lives of United States citizens. However, there are still places where our First Amendment rights may be compromised. In the school system, finding a balance of respect and freedom of speech and press is as difficult as learning out to tightrope walk. One wrong step and you could be compromising the learning environment of the entire student body.

There are numerous news television and sites which display stories of people demanding, fighting, or proclaiming their rights. Yet, the question of what it means come into play and whether these people are understanding the First Amendment. Knowing the difference between civil liberties and civil rights contributes to the knowledge of power and seeking what is entitled to a person. This interconnects with the idea of being knowledgeable about the Ten Amendments to the Constitution, referred to as the Bill of Rights (We the People). It is of great importance to know the five aspects of the First Amendment because one can better understand what has been lawfully entitled them and what limits and affect their rights.

The first amendment of the United States Bill of right states, “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.” This amendment essentially guarantees that all citizens in the United States the right to express their views without punishment from the federal government. It also prevents the federal government from restricting what citizens communicate between each other, including through the internet. Even if the federal government disapproves of what is shared on the internet, it is unable to regulate what is viewed by its citizens because of the first amendment. In the United States and many other countries, we

The First Amendment contains a list of fundamental freedoms: of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition calls on the Government. Because these rights and freedoms are regarded as natural, ie not require legal amendment consolidating in shape is a ban on the adoption by the US Congress any law limiting these rights and freedoms. Political rights and freedoms shall not be considered as absolute, abuse and misuse entail criminal prosecution. That is, freedom of religion means that you can you believe in anyone. For example, if you believe in the unicorn is not someone you can not stop