The Education Wonks
I agree with the First Amendment point you make, but can't students be kicked off of teams or be punished in other ways for things they say or do outside of school? If a coach or administrator hears a student saying inappropriate things at the mall or down town, they can be removed from competition.
Is this really any different?
It seems to me it would be one thing if the kids are being suspended, but that isn't what was mentioned here. And the ACLU attorney is clearly wrong about the rules stopping at the classroom. The rules don't entirely go out the door when the kids do. It's not like anything goes on the walks, at the sporting events, etc, and I think kids have a misunderstanding about what it means to be on one of these teams.
Given the fact that many students sign codes of conduct as a part of extracurricular activities, schools might e legal (but not maral) authority to punish internet behavior.
We've dealt with smoking policies and presence at parties with drugs and alcohol are used even though they are not "school activities" when kids are athletes. Is this really that different?
We are all responsible for what we do and say. Teachers are responsible for their behavior outside of the schoolhouse--there is a long tradition of that. Why shouldn't students be?
After all, as some educators (a.k.a. blog evangelists) are advocating that students learn to interact in the real world--using adult virtual spaces like MySpace and Xanga--isn't this the only way that they will learn?
This is about owning the consequences of your actions. Free speech has consequences, whether that's being arrested, beat in the head or shot with a rubber bullet. Encourage them to break the rules, but also to consider the consequences...to themselves, to their parents, and to others.
This is part of a long-running debate now about blogs in and out of schools. What would this situation look like if it had happened in school, using the district's bandwidth and computers?
Thanks,
Miguel Guhlin
http://www.mguhlin.net/blog
People do need to be responsible for their actions and words, but once they are outside the school grounds, and on their own home computers, it's their words, and they are free to say them (as long as it is not libel or inciting riots kind of speech). We may not like it, but that is part of the what the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech involves. Now, the kids are usually minors. It does not mean they have less protections under the Constitution, but it likely means parents should be doing a little more parenting and less expecting society to do it for them. What seems to be happening is kids posting stuff from the comfort of their own homes. Last I looked, the school's authority does not go that far. Kids should learn and be taught how to be responsible and careful online, but it does not mean the schools should become censors of activity outside their grounds.
FYI: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org) recently put out an F.A.Q. about student bloggers that is right on topic. I think it would be beneficial for the bloggers as well as those either in favor or against the issue to take a look at it.
We had a student expelled from our school for something she put on her Xanga site. She listed some rather violent things she wanted to do to a teacher she didn't like.
Was the school's action correct in this case? I mean, removing her from class would still allow her to intimidate the teacher by her mere presence.
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