First Amendment: What do I know?

In my head, I thought I knew enough about the First Amendment. As it turns out, I don't know much. In fact, after Ken Paulson's discussion regarding this most awesome part of the Constitituon, I am even more convinced that I need to make sure my future students know about it and the power it holds. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and petition allows Americans the right to do so much more than we know. And in a high school setting, those rights are even more magnified, because our students have so many more resources in hand, so many more opportunities with which to explore the magnitude of those rights. If we as teachers and advisers are to use this power in the right fashion, we need to make sure we are familiar with the tools that the First Amendment provides, so that we can use them correctly. (On a side note, it was great to learn through the Jeopardy! method, because it allowed for discussion and explanation, but it also revealed the areas in which I lack genuine knowledge.) In presenting this material to my students I think I need to firsts become better versed in my understanding of what the First Amendment allows my students to do freely. Additionally, I think I need to find additonal resources for the instruction itself, perhaps inviting a social studies teacher into the class for the historical background. There are so many ways to transmit this knowledge, but I would be remiss as a journalist and an educator if I left these discourses out of my classes. It's imperative that I teach this information and remind them of their rights as often as necessary. 

Laura M. Medina

Montini Catholic High School

Lombard, Ill.

Ken Paulson discusses the First Amendment at the Reyolds Institute.