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Rights and Responsibilities of Students (The)

Lesson 1:

From Unit Creating Student-Generated Classroom Rules

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

9th-12th Grade

Subjects:

Library / Technology, Philanthropy and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

PHIL:	Common Good
SOC:	Bethal v Fraser; Tinker v DesMoines; Analyze/Interpret; Bill of Rights; Cause/Effect; Civic Responsibility/Virtue; Compare/Contrast; Constitution of the United States; Core Democratic Values; Decision Making Model; Federal Courts; Freedom; Justice; LEAGUE Optional Lesson: King Day; Public Policy; Reflection; Rights/Responsibilities; Rule of Law; State Courts; Supreme Court

Purpose:

Students will apply the concept of jurisdiction to classroom rules, identify court-recognized student rights and create a list of behaviors in a classroom that might violate student rights.

Duration:

One to Two Forty-Five Minute Class Periods

Objectives:

The learner will:

give at least one example of a rule, and the jurisdiction with the authority to make or change the rule.
identify the single most basic student right that has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court.
create a list of the three to five most important student rights in a classroom.
identify and list specific student behaviors that interfere with student rights.

Service Experience:

Although this lesson contains a service project example, decisions about service plans and implementation should be made by students, as age appropriate.

The final creation of a list of rules that will govern the students' own behavior within the classroom community.

Materials:

Sample Classroom Rules as example (see Attachment One)
Summary of Tinker v DesMoines and Bethal v Fraser Supreme Court Decisions (see Attachment Two)
Newsprint
Markers

Instructional Procedure(s):

Introduce the lesson with the first two segments of the video American Promise (about five minutes) to illustrate the conflict between groups concerning what constitutes a "fair" rule. If American Promise is not available, begin lesson by generating a discussion on a particular school rule that has been controversial. Ask some of the following questions:
Why was the rule created?
Who created it?
What gave them the authority to create it?
Why do some people believe it is unfair?
Why does the administration think it is necessary?
Distribute Classroom Rules (see Attachment One) after it has been adapted to reflect your classroom's appropriate teacher and school rules).
Discuss the different levels of jurisdiction that affect rules in a school:
National (Congress and the Courts): no student can be discriminated against
State (State Legislature and State Courts): all students must take government
Local (city or township): no speeding in front of the school
Local (school board): no hats in school
Teacher: everyone in seat when the bell rings
Call on individual students to give additional examples of rules and identify which level of government has jurisdiction.
Explain that as the teacher, you have chosen to share your rule-making jurisdiction with the students. However, before creating rules they will need to look at what the Supreme Court has said about the rights and responsibilities of students.
Distribute Attachment One which summarizes two of the major Supreme Court decisions dealing with the rights of students: Tinker v Des Moines and Bethal v Fraser.
Lead a brief class discussion to make sure students understand the cases and answer questions about the meaning of "conducive to learning." Call on individual students and ask them to explain:
(1) why they think the Court has ruled that the right to learn is the most basic right, and,
(2) if they agree with the Court's decision.
Set up groups of six to seven students. Since you are likely to create the rules very early in the semester, a brief "get acquainted exercise" will help the group to know each other and facilitate better group work. For example, give each group three minutes to allow each person to introduce him/herself and tell the group his/her favorite movie.
Distribute markers and newsprint and give students three to five minutes to make a list of student rights. Use just the top half of the paper. Have each group put newsprint on the board. Each student in the group should be able to defend the inclusion of each right on the list. Instructional Procedure(s) [Continued]:
Using the lists, lead the class in a discussion to combine the lists into the three to five rights the class feels are the most important. Write those on the board.
Back in groups, students should be given five to ten minutes to make a list of student behaviors that interfere with learning and/or infringe on other rights identified by the students. Each student in the group should be able to explain why the group included it on the list.
Post new lists on the board and again lead a discussion that allows the class to choose the three to five behaviors that are the biggest problems in a classroom.
Note: Keep all the groups' lists from each class. Post all the lists around the room the next day so the students are aware of all the rights and behaviors that have been discussed across all class periods.
Have students bring in copies of class rules from other classes for the next day.

Assessment:

To assess understanding of the concept of jurisdiction, call on individual students to give examples of rules and to identify the level of government that had the jurisdiction to create that rule. A random system (such as index cards with student names) should be used so that all students are accountable for knowing the information.. During group discussion, one student in each group will be required to give an oral explanation to the class concerning the group's reasoning in selecting behaviors that interfere with student rights. If the student is unable to give a clear explanation, he/she will need to confer with the group (briefly) and then give the explanation.
Student understanding could also be assessed with a written test or matching exercise. List the class-identified rules on the board or on a sheet of paper as a student handout.. Students would then write on their paper the level of government that had the jurisdiction to create the rule. Individually, each student should select one behavior that interferes with learning and/or infringes on other rights identified by the students, and write an explanation as to why the group included it on the list.

Bibliographical References:

"Bethel v Fraser" and "Tinker v DesMoines," Selected Historic Decisions of the Supreme Court. Cornell Law Website: http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/name.htm
Video: The American Promise. Farmers Insurance Group. (Available from Keeping the American Promise, P.O. Box 514989, Los Angeles, CA 90051-4989. e-mail: info@americanpromise.com
American Civil Liberties Union Freedom Network. "Student Rights" http://www.aclu.org/StudentsRights/StudentsRightsMain.cfm

Lesson Developed and Piloted by:

Kathleen Ling
Mt. Pleasant Public Schools
Mt. Pleasant High School
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858

Handouts:

Classroom Rules

Important Note: This attachment is a sample. Use it as an example to create a similar document specifically adapted to the school and the individual teacher.

School rules that apply to this classroom:

1. Come to class on time
2. Don't skip class
3. Don't bring weapons or engage in violent behavior
4. Don't use obscenities or harass others

Rules needed for benefit of the teacher:

1. Keep your area clean and in good repair
2. Stay in the room until the bell rings

Rules needed for the benefit of all students:
(What has the U.S. Supreme Court said is the number one right of all students?)

1.
2.
3.
4.

Students should fill out sheet within a few days.

Summaries of the Facts and Decisions in Two Key U.S. Supreme Court Cases Involving the Rights of Students

Brief Summary of Facts of Tinker v DesMoines: (1969)
Three public school pupils in Des Moines, Iowa, were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to protest the Government's policy in Vietnam. They sued the school district arguing that their first amendment right to freedom of speech had been violated. The District Court dismissed the complaint on the ground that the regulation was within the School Board's power, despite the absence of any finding of substantial interference with the conduct of school activities. The Court of Appeals upheld the District Court's decision.

Summary of Supreme Court Decision (from majority opinion written by Justice Fortas):

1. In wearing armbands, the petitioners were quiet and passive. They were not disruptive, and did not impinge upon the rights of others. In these circumstances, their conduct was within the protection of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth.
2. First Amendment rights are available to teachers and students, subject to application in light of the special characteristics of the school environment.
3. A prohibition against expression of opinion, without any evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others, is not permissible under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Brief Summary of Facts in Bethel v Fraser (1986)
A public high school student delivered a speech nominating a fellow student for a student elective office at a voluntary assembly that was held during school hours as part of a school-sponsored educational program in self-government, and that was attended by approximately 600 students, many of whom were 14-year-olds. During the entire speech, respondent referred to his candidate in terms of an elaborate, graphic, and explicit sexual metaphor. Some of the students at the assembly hooted and yelled during the speech, some mimicked the sexual activities alluded to in the speech, and others appeared to be bewildered and embarrassed. Prior to delivering the speech, the student discussed it with several teachers, two of whom advised him that it was inappropriate and should not be given. The morning after the assembly, the Assistant Principal called the student into her office and notified him that the school considered his speech to have been a violation of the school's "disruptive conduct rule," which prohibited conduct that substantially interfered with the educational process, including the use of obscene, profane language or gestures...

Summary of Decision (taken from majority opinion written by Chief Justice Burger):
"It is a highly appropriate function of public school education to prohibit the use of vulgar and offensive terms in public discourse. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits the states from insisting that certain modes of expression are inappropriate and subject to sanctions. The inculcation of these values is truly the work of the school and the determination of what manner of speech is inappropriate properly rests with the school board...Petitioner School District acted entirely within its permissible authority in imposing sanctions upon respondent in response to his offensively lewd and indecent speech, which had no claim to First Amendment protection.

….public education must prepare pupils for citizenship in the Republic… It must inculcate the habits and manners of civility as values in themselves conducive to happiness and as indispensable to the practice of self-government in the community and the nation. These fundamental values of 'habits and manners of civility' essential to a democratic society must, of course, include tolerance of divergent political and religious views, even when the views expressed may be unpopular. But these 'fundamental values' must also take into account consideration of the sensibilities of others, and, in the case of a school, the sensibilities of fellow students. The undoubted freedom to advocate unpopular and controversial views in schools and classrooms must be balanced against the society's countervailing interest in teaching students the boundaries of socially appropriate behavior. Even the most heated political discourse in a democratic society requires consideration for the personal sensibilities of the other participants and audiences..." Based on these and other cases involving rights of students in a school environment, the following statement summarizes the most basic right of students:

Teachers and administrators have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for the students that is conducive to learning. In other words, the number one right of all students is the right to an environment in which they can learn.

Academic Standards:

State:

Philanthropy Framework:

Unit Contents:

Overview:Creating Student-Generated Classroom Rules Summary

Lessons:

1.: Rights and Responsibilities of Students (The)
2.: Creating Proposed Classroom Rules
3.: Voting on the Classroom Rules
4.: Monitoring the Classroom Rules

URL: http://www.learningtogive.org/lessons/unit18/lesson1.html