Freedom of Speech in schools is a controversial subject. Some believe that students and teachers should not be allowed to share their personal opinion, others believe that they should share it. Some don’t want to step on other people’s toes, so they don’t share how they feel about certain topics. However, some thrive off of sharing their stances and views even if it isn’t agreed by everyone.
A junior at CCHS, Grant Hertzing, was asked if he had ever felt like he couldn’t share his opinion based on his surroundings at school. He responded, “There are some things I might not say because it comes off as insensitive, and I feel like I should care to hurt them, but at the same time it’s what I believe is true.”
On a similar page, Michael Dollins, a science teacher at CCHS was asked the same question and replied, “Yes, because this school has a certain political bend, and I don’t follow the political bend around here; so, some people like to censor and stop what I have to say because I am not of a political leaning.” Although it is not the responsibility of teachers to share opinions, it’s still a general concern of the voices that go unspoken at our school.
For myself, I would say that I have held back on sharing my opinion. There are times when I have felt like I had a chance to say something without being interrupted or dismissed by my peers. However, I feel similar to Dollins in the political aspect. I lean differently than the majority of my generation, so when I am in certain situations, I don’t want to step on any toes and share how I truly feel.
When I was going through elementary school, my family always worried about my transition into high school. Even when I was younger, I always knew where I stood with certain beliefs. I was never afraid to share those; however, after transitioning into a new school, I quickly realized that sharing your opinion wasn’t always the easiest, safest option, so I learned to keep the majority of my opinions to myself.
Hertzing, Dollins, and myself all agreed that we didn’t feel we had true freedom of speech. This shows that both students and teachers have a similar view about this topic.
