School Policies Desire Safety At The Expense of Freedom

December 29, 2004

In a post-9/11 world, school policies desire safety too often at the expense of freedom.

From disappearing First Amendment curricula and “abstinence only” education to the non-academic presence of religion, the ACLU of Wisconsin is concerned with the present and future of student rights in Wisconsin’s public schools.

“There is a climate of fear in our society today that impedes the ability of teachers to provide their students with information and empower them to achieve progress”, says Nichole Yunk, director of Youth Affairs for the ACLU of Wisconsin, “empowerment ought to be a goal of education.”

Yunk points to policies and laws like the “USA PATRIOT Act” and “No Child Left Behind” that have been met with a wave of criticism from educators in rural, urban and suburban districts in Wisconsin. She notes that common frustrations include the pressure of standardized testing and the time it takes from other educational resources, military recruitment in schools and restrictions on teacher and student expression when it differs from the views of the administration or community at large.

Yunk and Patricia L. Briones, program associate with the YCLC, will discuss this threat to free expression in public schools at the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies (WCSS) Annual Conference in March of 2005.

In May 2005, Yunk and Briones will focus on youth activism in a post-9/11 world at the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries Annual Conference. By increasing awareness, responsibility and ultimately action, participants in the YCLC’s programs and services have made a tremendous impact in their schools and communities over the past five years.

“Social justice and civic engagement can be central themes in our schools; the ACLU finds constructive avenues to work with both students and administrators to achieve this”, adds Briones.