Goal for the day: For students to decide when it's okay to limit free speech?
The first half of the day was spent working on maps of the causes of our big issues. Our maps reached various states of completion but everyone now has broken down their problems into different pieces. This is a bit of an exercise in abstract thinking but will prove useful as each group begins discussing what to do about these problems. By the end of the week, these maps will be refined and informative for each group. Each group gave a summary of their map, and it became clear how all of the maps are connected.
The second half of class was spent completing the When Does Free Speech Go Too Far? handout. The First Amendment freedoms are not the only rights in our Constitution. They must be balanced against other needs and values within our society. Sometimes society needs to limit free speech. Where do we draw the line? This is the purpose of the handout. Students confronted scenarios related to the limits of free speech: defamation, obscenity, symbolic speech, offensive and hateful speech, and "true threats." We didn't finish this handout and will continue with this line of inquiry tomorrow.
Assignment for Thursday, September 25th
None
The first half of the day was spent working on maps of the causes of our big issues. Our maps reached various states of completion but everyone now has broken down their problems into different pieces. This is a bit of an exercise in abstract thinking but will prove useful as each group begins discussing what to do about these problems. By the end of the week, these maps will be refined and informative for each group. Each group gave a summary of their map, and it became clear how all of the maps are connected.
The second half of class was spent completing the When Does Free Speech Go Too Far? handout. The First Amendment freedoms are not the only rights in our Constitution. They must be balanced against other needs and values within our society. Sometimes society needs to limit free speech. Where do we draw the line? This is the purpose of the handout. Students confronted scenarios related to the limits of free speech: defamation, obscenity, symbolic speech, offensive and hateful speech, and "true threats." We didn't finish this handout and will continue with this line of inquiry tomorrow.
Assignment for Thursday, September 25th
None