Casey Nguyen Computers, an Introduction Mrs.

Norris, Period 1

Yes for Limiting How free are students? Technology, such as cell phones, texting, email, and Facebook, has changed the way we communicate. People today tend to voice their thoughts, even if theyre cruel, claiming theyre protected by our First Amendment, free speech. But most people dont realize that there are limits to free speech and often abuse this right to bully others. The increased amount of technology has only made it easier to bully and bullying online is now called cyber bullying. This has become a problem for many schools and their students. Because of this, schools should limit students online speech. What students are saying online has become a widespread problem for students and teachers, disruptive to learning, and violates civil rights. Students online speech has become a widespread problem affecting both teachers and students. According to a graph presented by Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin from the Cyber bullying Research Center on February 2010, 25.1% of girls and 16.6% of boys have been cyber bullied at some point in their life. Its not only students getting cyber bullied, but teachers also. A survey of British school teachers from the Joint ATL and Teacher Support Network Press Release presented in London, UK on April 5, 2009 shows that 15.1% of the teachers surveyed have been a victim of cyber bullying in some way and has resulted with reduced confidence and self-esteem. Others might argue that these percentages are low and are not affecting high amounts of teachers and students, but it does show that cyber bulling is having an impact on schools. These negative effects may lead teachers to question their abilities as an educator and

Casey Nguyen Computers, an Introduction Mrs. Norris, Period 1

students to doubt and stop believing in themselves. This can cause a decrease in school performance because schools are not providing a proper learning environment. What students are putting on the internet is becoming disruptive inside classrooms. The K.K v. Berkeley County Schools from the United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit presented on July 27, 2011 stated that there is a limit to what students can say outside of the schoolhouse gate to protect the order, safety, and well-being of its students. This is because the things students are saying online do have an effect in the classroom. The J.S v. Blue Mountain School District presented in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on June 13, 2011 talks of a MySpace profile that was created by a student making fun of her principal. Two teachers informed the principal that students were discussing the profile in class, causing a disruption for other students and the learning environment. While some might say students online speech is not creating a disruption in class because teachers normally always have to tell their students to stop talking no matter what the topic, the J.S v. Blue Mountain School District case also mentions a math teacher who had to tell his students to stop talking about the MySpace profile three times, raising his voice on the third occasion. Bullying and what students say online should not interfere with or limit a students ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or opportunities offered by a school, said by Russlyn Ali from the U.S Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. On top of all that, the things students are saying online violate civil rights. A letter by Russlyn Ali, U.S Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on October 26, 2010 states that harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability violates the civil laws that the

Casey Nguyen Computers, an Introduction Mrs. Norris, Period 1

Office of Civil Rights enforces. The letter also says that a school is responsible for addressing harassment incidents about which it knows or reasonably should have known. Others might say limiting students online speech would be violating the First Amendment, free speech, but a video by PBS.org on Bad Behavior Online: Bullying, Trolling, and Free Speech on December 13, 2012 says free speech means something very different online than it does offline. Though free speech allows you to often voice your opinions, it does however, have limits on how you use it online when it comes to harassment and bullying. There may be other views on the topic of limiting students online speech such as being against it for reasons that include: it doesnt affect many people, what students put online does not disrupt classrooms, and limiting students online speech would go against our right of free speech in the Constitution. However, cyber bullying has had negative effects on teachers and students, it is disruptive to learning, and violates civil rights. Since the internet has provided such an easy and convenient way to anonymously harass others, taking no action to stop the bullying online will just continue to grow and fester. This is not a problem that will resolve on its own over time. A solution needs to be put into action to stop the cruelty of students online and the answer to our problem is allowing schools to limit students online speech.