Question

HELP ME OUT NOW!

Do you think the school should be allowed to censor the material of a school play or school newspaper? Why or why not? Be sure to use what you know about the First Amendment to support your answer.

Answer 1

Yes a school should be allowed to censor a school play or newspaper. This is because many people may view things differently not everyone will agree on a point. Censorship demands require educators to balance First Amendment obligations and principles against other concerns – such as maintaining the integrity of the educational program, meeting state education requirements, respecting the judgments of professional staff, and addressing deeply held beliefs in students and members of the community. Challenging as these circumstances may be, educators are on the strongest ground if they are mindful of two fundamental principles derived from the Supreme Court’s First Amendment decisions: 1) educators enjoy wide latitude in exercising their professional judgment and fulfilling their educational mission if their decisions are based on sound educational and pedagogical principles and serve to enhance the ability of students to learn; and 2) the decisions that are most vulnerable to legal challenge are those that are motivated by hostility to an unpopular, controversial, or disfavored idea, or by the desire to conform to a particular ideological, political or religious viewpoint.

Answer 2

he school/school board should be allowed to censor any material that could be potentially harmful, or genuinely inappropriate. It is the school board/school’s decision on what or what is not genuinely inappropriate/potentially harmful. So many things could go wrong if some things were not censored. However, there should be a strict limit to things that are censored, censoring too much could make a student feel unsafe or unwelcome, causing them to potentially act out, or act on emotion. Using limited freedom of speech rights, students can write their news, or act their play.