Student Protests Of Teacher Layoffs And Limited Rights Yield Harsh Punishments

I have to say, I've never understood the mindset that students are somehow lesser human beings and, upon entering a school, become devoid of all civil rights. Yes, there needs to be a pecking order, and no, students shouldn't have the run of the school. But I can't count the times politicals on both sides of the aisle have trounced upon freedom of speech in schools, as if the First Amendment is somehow defunct when in the presence of state employees. (How does that logic follow? Not sure I understand.)

And I do believe that the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances is, in fact, protected under the First Amendment. (The Amendment most commonly ignored, I think.)

Yet, when students protest harsh cuts to the schools they attend?

More protests against school budget cuts and limitations on teachers' rights are taking place across the country -- except at these rallies, attendants have backpacks and braces.High school students nationwide are standing up for their teachers by protesting or walking out of class. And some schools are threatening hardcore punishments.

From a brief article at the Huffington Post. The article continues:

And it's not just happening in Texas. In Aurora, Colo., 100 students staged a walkout earlier this month to protest layoffs.One mother who supports her daughter walking out of class told the Denver Channel that a school clerk said to her:"Ma'am, your daughter loses her civil liberties when (she) walks into Hinkley High School."

Not that I'm trying to pretend the Huffington Post gives the Bill of Rights much regard. They pick and choose which amendments suit their political needs, just like most politicians.

But that said, when did the assumption enter into the education system that students are completely devoid of Civil Rights? That is the state stripping students of their rights as guaranteed by their own Constitution's Bill of Rights. It's absurd. One can maintain an orderly and mature campus without oppressing the students. But I think, perhaps, that oppression is easier for most administrators, and the preferred method of maintaining order.

And then are we surprised when the students fall in line like sheep and are incapable of critical thought, when any original thoughts and aspirations are stomped out like disease? Cut out like a cancer? Perhaps our inability to make our schools an emulation of true society is one of their greatest weaknesses and flaws today. I wouldn't be prepared for the real world either if I lived in a fairy land of a nanny state that held my hand for eighteen years.

No, I think the problem isn't the concept of public education itself, but the way those in power tend to twist it. And by extension, the lack of effort on anyone's part to correct this flawed paradigm.