The Latest – Page 88

Just this once

In the 1970s, the American Library Association released a film for use in schools called The Speaker. The film dealt with multi-level decision making concerning free speech. One line sticks in my mind: Just this once. As in “what’s wrong if just this once we stop someone from speaking.” Over the years, this translated into…

Growing from SJ Week

Here’s hoping your Scholastic Journalism Week has been a good one. Aiming at providing more support for scholastic media, the Scholastic Press Rights Commission started some good things for this week that will continue throughout the year: • Our Student Partners program, 45words, is accessible through the menu bar above. With this program we hope…

Know who you’re gonna call…

Need legal help or just simple advice? The Scholastic Press Rights Commission’s “panic button,” an interactive map of JEA officials and those willing to answer questions is now available for your use. You can access the map by clicking on the link in the menu bar above or through the link earlier in this paragraph….

My first SJW has been amazing!

I’m ashamed to admit this is the first Scholastic Journalism Week I’ve ever participated in during my five years of teaching, but what an experience it has been so far … and one I will be repeating annually until I retire. I don’t say that because I’ve had some sort of life-altering experience or even…

We want you to celebrate a few good forums

Since it’s Scholastic Journalism Week, let’s do some celebrating. In the past, we have sought student media which are not forums for student expression. Let’s try a positive statement: We want recognize student media that are forums for student expression, either by policy or practice. Forums for student expression are thus defined: • Forums by…

How important is public forum status?

Because it is Scholastic Journalism Week, I wanted to share a question raised at a conference sponsored by the McCormick Foundation and the Illinois Press Association earlier this month. The question: Should the groups involved endorse public forum status as a prerequisite for any kind of protocol process that might be established or should any…

Daddy, why is the computer taking my picture?

Orwellian. Administrators at Lower Merion School District have activated Webcams installed on school-owned laptops, in effect spying on students, although they say their efforts only attempted to find lost and missing computers. Spying is what a class-action lawsuit filed filed against the school alleges. The suit states this not only occurred, but in at least…

Join a team that opposes censorship

Looking for something constructive to do that concerns education, scholastic journalism and maybe even the future of democracy? Join a team that opposes censorship. Team McCandless. Students and parents who want to stop censorship of student media started team McCandless because adviser Cathy McCandless has said she will not advise student media next year given…

Despite prior review approval, paper is confiscated anyway

Censorship unleased its tentacles into northern Indiana recently, when assistant principals confiscated issues already reviewed and approved by the principal. The article, an opinion piece about the resignation of the head football coach, wished “only the best for the coach” but also said the change was needed. The local paper reported the assistant superintendent as…

Asking the right questions

The list of double-meaning words and “phrases to avoid” in student publications is growing by the minute. No doubt these additions and casual definitions shared come from advisers hoping to inform and protect. Nobody wants to see an adviser pulled in by the principal, harassed with parent phone calls or accused of being anything less…

Censorship stories: Student newspaper-administrator quarrels ultimately end in student resignation

By Jimmy Hibsch, Rolling Meadows High School For the past year the Stevenson High School Statesman staff has not only been reporting the news, but it has also been making it. Last January, when former Features Editor Eunice Ro published an article about “hooking up,” administrators responded with harsh criticism. The article discussed the demise…

175 years later, still lessons to learn

I love that my mom and dad still send me actual clippings from our local newspapers when they think something will appeal to me. I also love that Mom, at age 76, has now made the leap to digital media and sends me links as well. The link she sent me Thursday from The Columbia…