censorship

Scott Watson
Mrs. Koch
English Honors 2
March 18, 2012
Title
Long ago when the United States was first starting out, it was unique as a country because of the fact that our government gave its citizens exclusive rights towards freedom of speech. At the beginning and for quite a while, the freedom of speech was unchallenged and rarely questioned. It was accepted that when someone said something, it was their right to do so. But as time went on, new forms of communication and ways to express your opinions were made. With the creation for the internet, the United States entered completely new territory. Originally the internet was very small, but now its single handily one of the most important pieces of technology ever created. With the introduction of video hosting websites and social networking, people are literally a post way from each other. Along with these conviences, the internet is also a powerful tool within America’s classrooms. However, many schools block student’s access to vital information, citing that many websites that student’s read as interruptions to the classroom. By doing so, many schools violate what our forefathers set out to do so long ago. Instead of giving students the information they often need, they often censor websites indiscriminately, often ignoring the actual content on the websites. Because of this,, instead of protecting students from disruptful websites, more often than not, the consequences usually cause more harm then not censoring the websites in the first place.
Schools often censor websites because they contain information on one or more subjects that the school deems harmful to students. The information could be about drugs, guns, or anything illegal or unimportant to learning. However, schools usually neglect to examine the websites thoroughly. For example, some schools block Wikipedia’s article on Tobacco. Students who are trying to learn about Tobacco’s long history are unable to do so. If the school moderators had given a quick look through of the article, they would’ve seen that there was very little if any information that students could use for unlawful means. Another example of this would be Youtube. Many schools block all means that its school members could access Youtube, even if teachers are trying to show their students an educational video. Youtube is one of the largest video hosting websites; on it is an unbelievably huge amount of educational videos. While there are just as many, if not more videos that could be considered harmful to the learning atmosphere, teachers themselves should have the option to choose for themselves what is and what isn’t an interruption to their classroom.
Another form of censorship that schools enforce is that students are not allowed to wear certain types of clothing to school. Some examples of clothing that schools don’t allow include clothes have chains on them, clothes with provocative holes in them, clothes with patches, pajama pants, shirts advertising alcohol or tobacco, among others. Many students could be considered opinionated and exercise their first amendment by wearing their own shirts. Many consider wear a shirt advertising Bud Light the same as wearing a Cardinals shirt. However, schools consider these kinds of shirts detrimental to learning and don’t allow them. A popular trend is having holes on your pants. The holes are often made in the jeans where the quads are and on the knees, and sometimes on the butt or crotch of the pants. While there is a common agreement that provocative clothing disrupts the classroom, most schools have zero tolerance policy towards holes and don’t allow them anywhere. These forms of censorship go against student’s rights. If a student wants to wear their own clothing, they should be allowed to do so. In the beginning, the first amendment was used mostly for vocal speech, however that doesn’t exclude wearing clothing that voices your opinion. Whether you like the Blues over the Blackhawks, or New Port over Marlboro, that’s your own opinion. No one should censor that.
While many schools began their censorship policies with good intentions, in the end they only cause more grief and annoyances then what they would’ve gone through without the censorship at all. Students go without the information they need because of neglectful moderation, and otherss are stopped from voicing their own opinions. Individual students who show themselves to be repeat offenders when it comes to misusing the internet or wearing disruptful clothing should be taken care of individually, instead of forcing other, more responsible students to pay for others’ actions. Censorship, no matter how small, has no place in a country founded on the lack of it. If the forefathers had not seen a problem with censorship, they wouldn’t have made an American’s FIRST right the freedom of speech. If the government isn’t allowed to challenge an person’s freedom of speech, no school should be allowed too.