You Be The Judge
Test your knowledge of the Five Freedoms and see how you match up to the courts...and fellow citizens.
Teacher Speech in Public Schools
During a class discussion of an article about peace marches in protest of U.S. military involvement in Iraq, Deborah Mayer, a probationary teacher at Clear Creek Elementary School in Bloomington, Indiana, voiced the opinion that peace was preferable to war and said she personally supported the peace marchers. When parents complained, the school’s principal told all teachers to refrain from taking sides in political controversies in class. When the school district later failed to renew her contract, Ms. Mayer sued, alleging that the decision was based on her political expression and violated her First Amendment right to free speech.
May school officials prohibit teachers from expressing their personal opinions in class?
Vote Now!
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Vote AA. NOAt the heart of any culture of learning is the basic principle of academic freedom. To micromanage what and how teachers engage students in their coursework is not just a violation of the First Amendment; it’s bad policy.
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Vote BB. YESAs public employees, public school teachers do not enjoy the same free-expression rights while they are fulfilling their official duties as educators.
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Vote CC. NOThe First Amendment exists to protect each individual’s right to say whatever he or she wants to say. The courts have a responsibility to intervene any time that basic right is violated in the name of power or authority.
Icon of Freedom
Jep Peckler is the principal of Toyon Middle School in Fresno, California. A member of the inaugural class of Five Freedoms Leadership Fellows, Peckler
is "a strong believer in the candid
sharing of information with school governance teams-- from school
boards to site councils to advisory groups to student councils--in
order for these citizens to have meaningful roles in shaping policies
and making decisions that effect their lives and their communities."
