Censoring Our Students

"Students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gates."

--Justice William Brennan

For many years it has been debated whether students have the same amendment rights as any other person in the world. Many would say that they do not. They would say that by taking away those state given rights they are protecting the students from being exposed to negative things. Unfortunately the only thing that is being accomplished by this overprotection is the lack of understanding of the world they will soon be facing. "Why not stand firm as a public institution that expresses and explores the complex range of human experiences? Why be diplomatic and apologetic about the fact that we do not shy away from difficult, challenging, and complex topics? (Durbin)"

There isn't a more appropriate statement. Why not stand firm? Prepare students for the real world. Teach them how to survive. By censoring out issues or only allowing limited discussions of high profile topics, students are not being exposed to life skills that are crucial to the real world. Therefore setting them up for failure.

The American public schools, for many years, have been faced with the problem of censorship. Many such problems have been fostered by groups who question the use of instructional materials that do not meet their moral, religious, political, cultural, or ethic values (Sherrow 38). By censoring topics such as homosexuality, religion, sex, racial issues, and other taboo topics it is not allowing the growth and expansion of

student's minds. It creates a world for students where everything is ok and if it isn't then there is a way to fix it. When in all reality there isn't always going to be ok and not everything can be fixed. Parents are so concerned with protecting their students from the world that when they get to the world they will not know what to do.