CFAR Middle School Page

Materials from the 2003 Middle School Day

Michigan High School Student Barred from Wearing Anti-War T-shirt

This February, Dearborn Heights High School junior, Bretton Barber wore a t-shirt to school voicing his dissent of the current war in Iraq. The t-shirt had a picture of President Bush with the caption, "International Terrorist." The principal ordered him to either go home or turn the t-shirt inside out. He said that the shirt was disruptive to the learning environment and was concerned that it could increase political tensions despite the fact that Barber wore the t-shirt for the first three hours of school without incident. Barber decided to go home that day, where he researched the Supreme Court case from 1969, Tinker v. Des Moines, that supported students' freedom of expression. Although the case answers the legal question of students' right of expression, schools are quick to act when students voice controversial opinions. Barber feels strongly about his right to express his anti-war sentiment and plans to fight the school district on the issue. The ACLU has decided to take up his case and filed a lawsuit against the school system in federal court in March. There could be arguments made for the right of free speech; the right of a student to express his anti-war views. Those are strong rights. On the other side, the t-shirt could be disruptive of the educational environment in a number of ways; it could antagonize the sizable minority of Arab-Americans at the school; Americans might find it offensive to have their President called a terrorist; it could cause arguments in school between students. There are other arguments on all sides of the issue. What are your thoughts? Discuss your ideas at the Middle School First Amendment Day.

ACLU's article on Bretton Barber's Case - including complaint filed and briefs:

http://www.aclu.org/StudentsRights/StudentsRights.cfm?ID=12209&c=159

Detroit News.com's article on Bretton Barber's Case:

http://www.detnews.com/2003/schools/0302/19/e01-89021.htm

Book Banning

Once again, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series topped the American Library Association's list of most challenged books for 2001-2002 school year. In addition, perennial student favorites like Judy Blume and Katherine Patterson's The Great Gilly Hopkins also appear. What's an educated student to do? While books are often challenged for language or mature content, there has been increased concern about magic and witchcraft in books. Many parents and interest groups don't see these books as "fantasy," but as an all too real depiction of evil. Most of the complaints come from fundamentalist and conservative Christians who claim that the books promote witchcraft and the occult. School librarians and teachers see it differently. They say the books portray the age-old theme of good versus evil in an entertaining way that gets even the most reluctant readers interested in books. There are arguments both for censoring the types of book available for children and for allowing individual parents and children to decide for themselves. It could be argued that parents should be able to control what is available for their children. On the other hand, it could be argued that small number of concerned parents should not to able to decide what the whole school can read. Come hear about how these issues might effect your own school library and what you can do about it.

American Library Association's Guide to First Amendment Rights for Young People http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Our_Association/Offices/Intellectual_Freedom3/For_Young_People/For_Young_People.htm

ALA's List of Most Frequently Challenged Books http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Our_Association/Offices/Intellectual_Freedom3/Banned_Books_Week/Related_Links7/top100.pdf