How Far is Too Far?


The freedom of speech seems like a basic human right. Though, some areas of the world have took this right away from their people. Here in Canada, it is obvious we fully approve of the freedom of speech by this being one of our greatest qualities, and one many are attracted to. It is hard to think that even the most accepting country has it’s limits. There are many cases where students and even teachers have been punished for what they have said. In many of these cases, there are just unpopular opinions, not even presented in a hurtful manner. As a student and citizen of Canada, I do believe all should have the freedom to speak, even if that is on a controversial topic.
In the case of Alex Stone and Brendan Jones, both were students who were punished for their chosen assignment topics. These assignments were open to any topic and so students were lead to believe they could write about anything. Alex Stone chose to write about himself murdering his neighbor’s pet dinosaur with a gun and Brendan Jones wrote a short story about a student killing his teacher. As Alex’s mother explains, "I mean first of all, we don't have dinosaurs anymore. Second of all, he's not even old enough to buy a gun." These stories have both fake and real elements, and nevertheless have a purpose. Brendan adds “there is nothing gory in it and the characters are fictitious”. Both their stories are obviously fake (eg. the dinosaurs and a underage child buying a gun) but it does show that the students feel violence is the answer from what they have been shown in the real world. Instead of censoring them for their observations, teachers could have at least shown students how to properly address the issue in writing. The students need to know this in order to prepare them for life outside the restrictiveness of school. Students could apply such strategies to more serious topics such as politics and world issues.
Mary Beth Tinker was the first student to really question student’s freedom of speech. She choice to write opposing the Vietnam war despite the obvious controversy. The teachers and students reacted alarmed by this, and it even led them to take this to the higher courts. In the end, Mary influenced a new era of free speech among students by 7-2 ruling. This is greatly important and relevant to today. Take Calif for example; she wrote about the Sandy Hook shooting in a form of a poem. Teachers read the poem with only the serious incident in mind, not the purpose of the poem. “The meaning of the poem is just talking about society and how I understand why things like that incident happened. So it’s not like I’m agreeing with it.” Calif explains her intent of the poem. Teachers refused to see the real meaning behind her poem, and thus denied her of her opinion. Mary fought to give students rights to convey their opinions no matter if they are popular or not.
In all cases, student’s academics aren’t being considered. The topic seems to be more important than the underlying purpose of the written text. Brendan Jones, for example, may not be able to enter university for chemistry, just because of one assignment. The punishment will be on his student record and determine if a school will accept or decline him . With teachers taking all that time just to punish students, they are not teaching the students how to properly address serious issues. Later in their life, students will be too sensitive and not know how to handle their own problems. All topics chosen by students are in unpopular opinions and with hidden meaning.

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