Literature Review
Education in a democratic society requires developing citizens who can adapt to changing times, decide important social issues, and effectively judge the performance of public officials. However, rapid social, political, and technological changes have escalated controversy over what and how schools should teach (Hull). Issues like sexuality and profanity have raised questions for generations of parents and educators, but they are even more complicated now, when most school communities are made up of individuals with differing cultural traditions, religions, and often languages. With students and parents bringing a range of expectations and needs to the classroom, educators frequently face a daunting task in balancing the educational needs of an entire student body while maintaining respect for others (Brown).
Due to these changes, high school newspapers have begun to face a price. Today topics such as teenage pregnancy, divorce, drugs, and many others are being censored by high schools due to their “disturbance.” Due to the ruling of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, administrators now have a great deal of leeway in determining what is and isn’t acceptable material in school-sponsored publications and events (First Amendment Center).
One disturbing aspect of censorship is its power to deny students in one class or an entire school system the right to read particular texts. Mike Rose argued that many schools, in spite of good intentions, actually deny students the opportunity to develop intellectually: "Our approaches to language and literacy as often as not keep us from deep understanding of differences and problems—and possibilities" (128). Even the threat of censorship works to exacerbate the fears of teachers and to undermine their attempts to introduce a broad range of texts that will help diverse groups of students enter a discourse that "defines them as members of an intellectual community" (Rose 192). While the attempt to keep children pure for as long as possible is admirable, it takes the form of leaving gaping holes in their education, if not academically, then about life. Censorship is not simply an attempt to control what is taught in our schools; it is also an infringement on the legal learning rights of students (Brown).
As Judy Blume, a world renowned children’s author, says, "In this age of censorship I mourn the loss of books that will never be written, I mourn the voices that will be silenced writers’ voices, teachers’ voices, students’ voices and all because of fear. How many have resorted to self-censorship? How many are saying to themselves, “Nope can’t write about that. Can’t teach that book. Can’t have that book in our collection. Can’t let my student write that editorial in the school paper.”
If we look at the Hazlwood case, "the principal objected to the two articles because pregnant students at the high school had been interviewd for a survey and the principal was afraid that their indentiies would be disclosed; the principal also felt that the references to sex and birth control were inappropriate for the younger students at the school" (Bittner, 113), yet this objection seems to be artificial to me.
While there has been plenty of research done on censorship in high schools, there has never really been any research done specific to the idea of censorship and teenage pregnancy. There seems to be a lack of research as to why teenage pregnancy is a “legitimate pedagogical concern,” as well as research done on what students think about this issue. People just seem to assume that the topic is too controversial, but don’t really seem to have any reason as to why this topic would cause a disturbance in a school setting. Therefore my research will focus on this problem. Is teenage pregnancy really too controversial of a topic to be addressed in high school newspapers? Do students, parents, and teachers agree with this?
Due to these changes, high school newspapers have begun to face a price. Today topics such as teenage pregnancy, divorce, drugs, and many others are being censored by high schools due to their “disturbance.” Due to the ruling of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, administrators now have a great deal of leeway in determining what is and isn’t acceptable material in school-sponsored publications and events (First Amendment Center).
One disturbing aspect of censorship is its power to deny students in one class or an entire school system the right to read particular texts. Mike Rose argued that many schools, in spite of good intentions, actually deny students the opportunity to develop intellectually: "Our approaches to language and literacy as often as not keep us from deep understanding of differences and problems—and possibilities" (128). Even the threat of censorship works to exacerbate the fears of teachers and to undermine their attempts to introduce a broad range of texts that will help diverse groups of students enter a discourse that "defines them as members of an intellectual community" (Rose 192). While the attempt to keep children pure for as long as possible is admirable, it takes the form of leaving gaping holes in their education, if not academically, then about life. Censorship is not simply an attempt to control what is taught in our schools; it is also an infringement on the legal learning rights of students (Brown).
As Judy Blume, a world renowned children’s author, says, "In this age of censorship I mourn the loss of books that will never be written, I mourn the voices that will be silenced writers’ voices, teachers’ voices, students’ voices and all because of fear. How many have resorted to self-censorship? How many are saying to themselves, “Nope can’t write about that. Can’t teach that book. Can’t have that book in our collection. Can’t let my student write that editorial in the school paper.”
If we look at the Hazlwood case, "the principal objected to the two articles because pregnant students at the high school had been interviewd for a survey and the principal was afraid that their indentiies would be disclosed; the principal also felt that the references to sex and birth control were inappropriate for the younger students at the school" (Bittner, 113), yet this objection seems to be artificial to me.
While there has been plenty of research done on censorship in high schools, there has never really been any research done specific to the idea of censorship and teenage pregnancy. There seems to be a lack of research as to why teenage pregnancy is a “legitimate pedagogical concern,” as well as research done on what students think about this issue. People just seem to assume that the topic is too controversial, but don’t really seem to have any reason as to why this topic would cause a disturbance in a school setting. Therefore my research will focus on this problem. Is teenage pregnancy really too controversial of a topic to be addressed in high school newspapers? Do students, parents, and teachers agree with this?