In the course of discovery, the School Board members who voted to remove the books acknowledged that they had not read many of the books and that they removed them because they exposed students to the "religion of witchcraft." The ultimate questions: Do students have a right to read? Does book censorship violate the First Amendment and at the expense of who? As the final verdict on April 22, 2003, the Supreme Court ordered the return of the books back to library shelves. Background Information The Court cited the Tinker case and ruled that there was no evidence that reasonably showed substantial disruption or material interference with school activities if students were allowed unfettered access to the books.
Prayer in the Public School System PHI 200 Instructor: March 21, 2011 The question of whether prayer should be allowed in the Public School System is a question that has been debated for many decades. The debate started in 1962 and runs still today. In this debate some have said that if all religions cannot be represented then none should be represented. Prayer in public schools became an issue in 1960: When Madalyn Murray O'Hair sued the Baltimore MD school system on behalf of her son William J Murray, because he was being forced to pray in school. Ultimately, her actions and the actions of the American Atheist Organization resulted in the Supreme Court ruling of 1962.
Student1: Public schools may not sponsor, supervise, conduct, or encourage any Student to lead, conduct or recite bible readings, religious Invocations or other religious ceremonies in any school activity. Student2: A student's parent whose name was Jaffree sued alleging that this law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it forced students to pray and basically exposed them to religious indoctrination Student1: Jaffree decided to file this suit after his three children reported that their teachers had led prayers in school. Student2: Jaffree claimed that the 1981 and 1982 Alabama statutes on prayer in public schools violated the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Student1: According to the Court, this was a clear violation of the 1st Amendment's establishment clause Student2: The majority of people believed that the law is in violation of the First Amendment and must be overturned. Teacher: Who was Wallace? Student1: Wallace was the governor of Alabama at that time Student2: As the case was going on, Jaffree's children were excluded and ridiculed by classmates because of their father's opposition to school prayer.
In 1965 John Tinker made the decision that he and others from his school would wear black armbands to their school in Des Moines, Iowa in protest of the ongoing Vietnam war. The armbands, which were plain besides a white peace symbol, were meant to signify the teenagers support of the Christmas truce called for by Robert F Kennedy as well as the end of the United States involvement in the Vietnam war. The reason of the students opposition was the high amount of United States soldiers that were killed and wounded in a war that many deemed unnecessary. Principals at the Des Moines schools came together to make the decision that any students that refused to remove the armbands in school would be suspended, so when Tinker was forced to leave school because he would not remove the armband many said this was a violation of his first and fourteenth amendment rights. Reasons given to these suspensions was that the school system did not allow for students to wear armbands in school.
I’ve been violating the dress code for two years, wearing shirts that only cover my torso, without even knowing it. How silly of me! I should have realized our public schools run by the United States government that believes in Separation of Church and State would want us to wear burkas to school. What about that rule stating no head coverings are permitted in school excluding religious reasons? A burka would cover my head and I’m not Muslim.
If they let that happen to Meredith, we don't need an American flag (Street, 2013).” It was against the law in New York to desecrate or speak against the flag; he was arrested, charged, and convicted. He lost all his state appeals and was finally heard by the Supreme Court on October 21, 1968. The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision overturned the conviction under the grounds that it was
Facts: Mr. and Mrs. Edward Schempp, Unitarian in religion, brought a complaint against the Abington School District in Pennsylvania because their children were required to listen to ten Bible verses read each morning, followed by a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. Teachers were required to participate in the exercise under threat of losing their jobs, while students were required to stand at attention for the reading. No comments were made following the verses. The Schempps held that the Pennsylvania law was unconstitutional, as they believed the statute violated the 1st Amendment Establishment clause stating, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled just one year earlier in Engel v. Vitale (1962), that even non-sectarian generic prayers were unlawful and in violation of the Establishment Cause of the 1st Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the Schempp case combined with the Murray v. Curlett case together as a once and for all means of settling the issue of Bible reading and prayer in public schools.
Hypatia was a pagan herself, but taught both Christian and non-Christian students. The pagans and Christians were battling over who had more power, and in March of 415 AD, it was the Christians who had the most power. These two groups were trying to drive each other out of Alexandria. During this time period, many pagans converted over to Christianity because they feared for their lives. Hypatia refused to convert.
US Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, 60-231, retrieved on December 10, 2013 from www.census.gov. Malcolm Gladwell. (2006). “Troublemakers,” New Yorker, Vol. 81, No.
The Schools are destroying Freedom of Speech According to the article written by John W. Whitehead, “The Schools are Destroying Freedom of Speech,” John W. Whitehead stated that teachers are hindering students from learning or being allowed to exercise their constitutional rights. Schools don’t have the right or authority to hinder students from not offend or cause harm to others. There were two occasions documented and went as far as to the Supreme Court, how teachers and administrations pulled the plug on several valedictorian students during graduations; while sharing a censored speech on their religion and their feelings, (John W. Whitehead, 2009). On occasions, teachers and administrators reviewed and had students to take out what they thought would affect the audience or what was against certain regulations of the school. However, the students felt the need to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings in the way they felt.