Discipline in the Public Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Discipline in the Public Schools - Essay Example Tinker vs Des Moines Independent School District (1969): It was in 1965 when John tinker his sister Mary Tinker and a friend Chris Eckhardt wore black armbands on their sleeve in protest of the Vietnam War. The school faculty told them to remove those armbands, but they refused. As a consequence, John, Mary Tinker and Chris Eckhardt were suspended. (TINKER vs DES MOINES DISTRICT SCHOOL) The Tinker family protested and the sued the school district saying that they had violated the students right of Freedom of speech (Jacobs). The case was tried at Supreme Court, and the Tinker family won the case. The Supreme Court gave the ruling that the school official do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate" (TINKER vs DES MOINES DISTRICT SCHOOL). However, the court further added that the right of freedom of choice must be maintained within the limits. It should not in any way disturb class activity or invade rights of others. The impact of this case had been huge for the next years and many times the Tinker reference was used in courts. One such instance was when Mathew Fraser of Bethel High School was suspended by the school for giving a speech containing sexual innuendos. The court, however, favored the school and the suspension was upheld a speech containing sexual innuendos. The court remarked that it was fair of the school to suspend the student for using vulgar language within school boundaries. (Jacobs) The Tinker case edges on the boundary of what is right and what is not. It depends on the situation and the way people use their rights given to them by the constitution. The Tinker family wore black armbands in dispute of the war against Vietnam, but it was not invasion of school guidelines that are handed to students. War is means of destruction, no matter for whatever reasons it is fought. It takes lives of innocent people. It has been seen today that even football players wear black armbands to condemn racism. In 2002, people went out on the streets to condemn attacks on Afghanistan, but it was only a movement in which people took part (Pinto). Nothing violent took place. Same was the case with Tinker family they just wore armbands in protest of the war and possibly to side more students with them and show the State that the youth is not supporting the cause. It was not any act of violence. There was huge unrest among the American public in response to the Vietnam War, in genera l. (Hodbod'ova'). So, the Tinker family stood right in the case. If the case was tried in 2012, the decision would have stayed the same. In the twenty first century, people have much more freedom of choice and speech. We have seen many times people coming out on the street and not supporting the cause, such as the War against Terror in Afghanistan (Pinto). Goss vs Lopez: Administrators of Colombus, Ohio, Public School System-CPSS, appealed against the ruling of three-judge federal court that was in favor of high school temporarily suspended students of CPSS, on the grounds that Fourteen Amendment was violated for a chance of hearing was not afforded to them. The ruling directed that reference to suspensions to be removed from the record of the students. (GOSS ET AL. v. LOPEZ ET AL.) The judgment had evoked Section 3313.66 of Ohio State (that provides free education to children of 5-21) which states that the Principal of a public school can, either suspend a pupil for up to 10 days o r expel him/her. In case of