Constitution Day Fundamental Laws Of Our Republic

Constitution Day Fundamental Laws Of Our Republic
Every year on Constitution Day, celebrating the students and teachers of the most fundamental laws of our republic. This year they celebrate Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and all other children of social media in the digital age.

Why? As we have seen, social media are good for the Constitution.

More specifically, social media is good for the first amendment, the leading element in the Bill of Rights, engraved in our national history in 1791:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or to restrict free speech or the press or the right of the people peacefully to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances. "

Future of the First Amendment, a new study, published today by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, concludes that today's social media fads are good at this law of 220 years.

As a researcher Ken Dautrich explains, "'clear, positive relationship between students' use of social media for news and information, and to increase support for the rights of free expression."

Professor, University of Connecticut has four major national surveys of high school students on issues of First Amendment and co-wrote The Future of the First Amendment: Digital media, citizenship and the rights of expression in the Nations' schools. This spring, he surveyed 12,090 students and 900 secondary school teachers in the last survey.

The results are exciting.

Fully 91 percent of students who use social networks for news and information on a daily basis think people should be allowed to express unpopular views. But only 77 percent of those who did not use social networks for news agree that unpopular views should be allowed.

These studies are good to make the connection, but not so good at explaining what causes what. Social media is you make a lover of the First Amendment? Or does the First Amendment buddies just use social media for? I think it's both.

Students who use cell phones to text, tweet, blog and Google to learn more about the world - like Arab spring of this year - and the correlation between social media and freedom.

The survey this year, the First Amendment also shows students the use of digital media for news and information is increasing. Since 2006 it has doubled, with three quarters of the students for the new era of social media several times a week.

Appreciation of freedom has been enhanced with her right. Students said that the First Amendment "goes too far" declined from 45 percent in 2006 to just 24 percent this year.

But one might ask: if the courts decide what the First Amendment means, why it is important to the opinion?

As the researchers say, that the Supreme Court decisions reflect long-term changes in public attitudes - and applies to both First Amendment doctrine, because in other parts of the Constitution.

As Judge Learned Hand said in 1944: "I often wonder if we do not rest our hopes too much when the constitutional laws, laws and courts These are false hopes ... Liberty lies in the hearts and minds of men and women , when it dies there, no .. the Constitution, no law, no court can not be saved. "

Since young people represent the future of American public opinion, are the real future of the overseers of the First Amendment.

Therefore, the questionnaire on their attitudes.

This year, not all news is good. While most students now understand that the government can not censor the media in this country, nearly 40 percent of them still do not understand it. Although most students say that the First Amendment, most of them still do not.

And there is still much to learn about how the responsibility is with all of these rights.

But when the numbers begin to move in the right direction, there is reason to celebrate.

We must thank the teachers of the recent improvements in the first increase in attitudes?

Not really. The number of students saying that they will receive instruction in school that the First Amendment in our last survey. And only 30 percent of teachers say they teach, although 86 percent admit that it is "very important" in schools to teach. This is also bad. Our studies show that if you teach high school students of the First Amendment, they will learn.

I fear that many teachers are actually a hindrance to learning of the First Amendment.

The study says that most teachers do not support freedom of speech rights in schools. I do not think the school newspaper should print controversial articles. They do not think students should be post-school things on their Facebook pages. And they think for the most of social media, will hurt education.

They learn so much about freedom through text messages than they are through education? Maybe. To their credit, teachers say they think should be a lot more education of digital media education in schools. I agree.

The dawn of a new era of digital communications has changed radically in the way we consume news and information. Students are adjusting to these new tools faster than adults, they are used in networking, and news, and now better appreciate the freedom.

Perhaps we can learn something from them.
Constitution Day Fundamental Laws Of Our Republic