To the editor:

To the teachers and parents of Barrington, Americans have always been proud about free speech. With the tumult of recent years, vocal citizens have turned that chaos into positive change. In the past month, a new generation of free-speakers has made their voices heard. The strength of student leaders nationwide has kept the tragedy at Parkland in the national spotlight, event a month later.

This perseverance must start somewhere. Teachers and parents should not only allow, but encourage their students to exercise their freedom of speech. It is a right students hold, and is extremely beneficial to them and to society as a whole.

On March 14, students across the country held walkouts in order to protest gun violence in America. I was one of about 200 students who walked out of BHS, and while our administration did not punish students for the walkout, many schools across the country threatened protesters with unfair, lengthy suspensions.

In 1969, students in a public school in Des Moines, Iowa, were threatened with suspension after wearing black armbands, silently protesting the Vietnam War. In their case, Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court ruled that students and teachers do not shed their constitutional rights when they enter school. 

The ability to speak your mind is one of the most empowering things a teacher can provide. As an opinionated student myself, I have found that my best work occurs when I can choose what I write about, or argue something that I care about. Having your voice heard increases self-confidence and self-worth.

Kids just want to be valued. Our opinions should be valued.

Help us ask questions about the world. Encourage us to have strong beliefs. Introducing the idea of self-expression early on will increase our future involvement in democracy and improve our world as a whole.

Of course, there is a fear of anarchy when freedom is proposed. If students speak their mind, what will keep them from being completely disrespectful? Or revolting against authority and bringing all of this crumbling to the ground?

There is a difference between speaking your mind and disrespecting authority, and a properly educated student should understand how to speak up respectfully. It is the responsibility of teachers and parents to create an environment which inspires this. At a time when everyone wants to fit in, it's hard to comfortably express your opinion without fear of opposition — from other students, parents and teachers. Students covet the approval of their teachers. If a teacher disagrees with what you believe, you'll go out of your way to keep those beliefs private. Why should we have to hide what we think and feel? Schools should be a safe environment, where we can express our opinions without being attacked — whatever ideology we hold.

The kids of today are the creators of tomorrow. Don't shut us down just because you can.

Sincerely, 

Cecily Rea

Barrington