The Children Are Our Future…
Freedom of what?
Amendment no big deal, students say
The way many high school students see it, government censorship of newspapers may not be a bad thing, and flag burning is hardly protected free speech.Man, I hope this is a poorly done, horribly biased article. Study was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation which “is dedicated to furthering their ideals of service to community, to the highest standards of journalistic excellence and to the defense of a free press”. So they definately have a stake not only in the results of this survey but its impact.It turns out the First Amendment is a second-rate issue to many of those nearing their own adult independence, according to a study of high school attitudes released Monday.
The original amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of the way of life in the United States, promising citizens the freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly.
Yet, when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three high school students said it goes “too far” in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories.
…
When asked whether people should be allowed to express unpopular views, 97 percent of teachers and 99 percent of school principals said yes. Only 83 percent of students did.
The results reflected indifference, with almost three in four students saying they took the First Amendment for granted or didn’t know how they felt about it. It was also clear that many students do not understand what is protected by the bedrock of the Bill of Rights.
Three in four students said flag burning is illegal. It’s not. About half the students said the government can restrict any indecent material on the Internet. It can’t.
Not only that, but I get the feeling that the article was just written from the press release given this paragraph:
The study suggests that students embrace First Amendment freedoms if they are taught about them and given a chance to practice them, but schools don’t make the matter a priority.The wording here just hits me weird. It just doesn’t sound like what you’d find in an impartial article.
I say all this knowing that kids today (and yesterday) really know next to squat about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights or just basic American or World History which is something that really needs to be corrected.
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