M4 Discussion Forum Posting: Rights and Freedoms

This module provided a practical investigation into the rights and freedoms that students and educators have in and outside of educational contexts. Not everything can be freely expressed, even though educators and students have rights to freedoms of thought, belief and opinion. The main concern is that if the expression will have a harmful effect on the school environment, such constitutional rights may be restricted for educators and students alike (Cooper, 2008, p. 76).

Educators thus need to consider ways to foster student understanding on the ethical and legal implications of personal conduct in and outside of educational contexts. When students do not realize that the rights and freedoms they have also apply to people other than themselves, sometimes this misunderstanding may lead to violation of other people’s rights and freedoms which might result in, for example, cyberbullying and even suicide in some extreme cases.

Reference

Cooper, M. A. (2008). Bong hits 4 Jesus… in Canada? Educational Law Journal, 18(1), 57-77.