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
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=4&u=/ap/20050131/ap_o
n_re_us/students_first_amendment
I'm not quite sure how to read this AP article, which just popped up on Yahoo! with the headline "U.S. Students Say Press Freedoms Go Too Far".
Can't you just hear the wingers out there going "all right! c'mon youth vote!"
But the article doesn't really say that at all, unless given a very narrow, sensationalistic read.
After all, while 3/4 of students take the First Amendment for granted and are somewhat ignorant about what it actually protects, according to the survey, 83% still support the freedom to express unpopular views.
It seems like the actual title should be "Students woefully uneducated in civics", "NCLB approach to public education ignores fundamental civics training", or something.
It's still disturbing that students aren't getting trained as citizens, and that has to be fixed, but it seems like the main problem, as always, is insufficient support for civics learning through extracurricular activities. I argued my way through high school on the debate team, and worked on the school newspaper, but kids under the new NCLB regime aren't getting such opportunities.
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.
Students who take part in school media activities, such as a student newspapers or TV production, are much more likely to support expression of unpopular views, for example.
About nine in 10 principals said it is important for all students to learn some journalism skills, but most administrators say a lack of money limits their media offerings.
More than one in five schools offer no student media opportunities; of the high schools that do not offer student newspapers, 40 percent have eliminated them in the last five years.
"The last 15 years have not been a golden era for student media," said Warren Watson, director of the J-Ideas project at Ball State University in Indiana. "Programs are under siege or dying from neglect. Many students do not get the opportunity to practice our basic freedoms."
So what have we learned from this article? Not "students say press freedoms go too far", but "the way to make good citizens would be to put resources into training them".
Is it just me, or do the headline writers need some civics education themselves?