For More First Amendment Study News - Go to www.jideas.org/news.php |
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| Visit this site for tips on how to teach the First Amendment in your classroom. http://www.teachfirstamendment.org/ |
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| ASNE - Scholastic journalism site for teen journalists, teachers, guidance counselors, and the editors of professional newspapers. Where to go to start a newspaper. www.highschooljournalism.org |
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| SPLC - Provides legal advice and information and low-cost educational materials for student journalists on various legal topics. www.splc.org |
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| RTNDF - The High School Electronic Journalism Project seeks to identify, inspire, train and challenge the next generation of diverse electronic journalists and First Amendment advocates. http://www.rtndf.org/ |
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| Channel One Network is the pre-eminent news and public affairs content provider to teens. Channel One's mission is to spark debate and discussion among teens, and also discussion between young people and their parents and educators, on the important issues affecting young people in America. http://www.channelone.com |
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| '07 survey shows Americans' views mixed on basic freedoms: nearly two-thirds say founders intended ‘Christian nation’; support rises for limits on campaign contributions. http://www.fac.org |
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| Home > Report 9-17-07 Celebrating successes in civics | |||||||||||||||
| Celebrating successes in civics | |||||||||||||||
By Diana Hadley One of the best parts of my job is to hear and celebrate success stories in high school journalism. Two recent successes relate to Constitution Day. The first was an e-mail from Lake Central (Ind.) High School that began, “You would be so proud…” The rest of the e-mail described the publications staffs’ plans to celebrate Constitution Day. The students designed shirts to support the First Amendment and sold them with the goal to donate $1 from each sale to the Student Press Law Center. They had already sold more than 150. |
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In addition, the Lake Central Scout newspaper staff plans to publish a two-page special edition about the First Amendment to be distributed on Constitution Day. I loved all of the ideas, but my favorite part of the e-mail was the conclusion: “We are so excited.” We should be excited about the opportunity to celebrate The First Amendment. We should be grateful that we have freedom of expression, and we should be willing to promote it to protect the core of democracy as the founders intended. While Anderson (Ind.) High School wasn’t specifically celebrating The First Amendment last week, they did celebrate their publications program with a rally to mark the school’s 100th edition of the yearbook. Red and green balloons hovered over the student body as the mayor and alumni including local athletic stars Carl Erskine and Johnny Wilson spoke. The governor and historical and journalism groups sent proclamations or plaques in honor of the milestone. The band played, students cheered, and a new headdress was presented to the mascot before an Indiana dance finale. Erskine, by the way, is the former star pitcher of the Brooklyn Dodgers from the 1950s. Anderson didn’t need to look for something to celebrate. The school has a history of successful students, music groups, and athletic teams. However, the rally reflected the IHSPA belief that schools that demonstrate a proud tradition often have strong student publications programs that report current issues and events in the student newspaper and record the school’s history in the yearbook. By celebrating the publications, they empower student voice and encourage participation in the school’s success. In the process their students learn to be positive forces in a democracy. (Diana Hadley is executive director of the Indiana High School Press Association and a former journalism teacher and student media adviser.) |
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