Presents an activity which uses hypothetical situations to explore the proper boundaries of freedom of expression and the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in interpreting its limits. Appropriate for grades 4-12, the lesson includes such topics as the "clear and present danger" clause, student expression, obscenity, and defamation. (GEA)

Reviews the record of the 98th Congress (1983-1984) relating to freedom of information concerns by focusing on legislation proposed during its two sessions. Indicates that, although some significant exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act were considered, generally the proposed legislation supported openness and availability of information.…

Discusses recent Supreme Court decisions involving student newspapers and freedom of speech, and offers some precautions against possible court litigation and ways to preserve student rights. (SRT)

Maintains that recent statements from United States Department of Education officials are in direct opposition to National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) curriculum guidelines. Provides examples from seven high school textbooks to demonstrate accurate treatment of totalitarian regimes and urges social studies educators to oppose official…

Based on Maynard Dixon's oil painting, "Free Speech," this lesson attempts to expand high school students' understanding of art as a social commentary and the use of works of art to convey ideas and ideals. (JDH)

Summarizes the topics covered in the resolutions passed by the House of Delegates including academic freedom, racial and ethnic content of instructional materials, research in social studies, early childhood/elementary social studies, instruction regarding religious freedom, apartheid, and astronaut Christa McAuliffe. (JDH)

Reviews recent court decision in which a principal censored articles from student newspaper because of possible invasion of privacy concerns. The lower courts held in favor of school, but the higher court (Eighth Circuit) reversed lower court's decision. School executives must chart narrow course between student lawsuit under First Amendment or…

Australian higher education has experienced considerable controversy over issues of academic freedom in its history, but the equilibrium reached in the 1960s and 1970s is now threatened by a trend toward private ownership and participation in institutional matters and the threat to institutional and faculty autonomy that accompanies it. (MSE)

Discusses problems that mass media, particularly television, pose for humanities teachers. Considers how television affects viewers, urges teachers to help students guard against manipulation by the media, acknowledges the educational potential of television, and points to the dangers to thought and informed decision making presented by…

Paul Carrington's thesis that nihilist professors of critical legal studies must leave the law school, and its implications for academic freedom and the law school's responsibility to its students, are examined. (MSE)

A Twentieth Century Fund task force indicates that industry funding of academic research is not harmful to academic values if guidelines are followed. Some of the recommendations made by the task force are listed. One recommendation is that title to patents resulting from joint projects should be held by the university. (JN)

Higher education institutions are criticized for rewarding faculty and developing organizational processes by criteria unrelated to developing a real university based on values of freedom and responsibility. A model for a creative university based on those values is presented and contrasted with educational bureaucracies. (MSE)

Examines the history of the Denson "Tribune," a newspaper published at the Jerome Relocation Center in Arkansas, and the role of its editor, Paul Yokota. (FL)

Reviews Justice Brennan's rationale for imposing restraints on obscenity, the evolution of the "Roth" test to distinguish obscenity from protected speech, and his move away from the test. (FL)

Activities dealing with First Amendment issues involve secondary students in exploring freedom of the press and speech in general and as they apply in the schools and in developing a personal position regarding the appropriate balance between the public's right to know and the need for national security. (RM)