Dominique Williams

July 14, 2019

FULL CASE CITATION: Tinker v. Des Moines School District 68 (1969)

DATES OF CASE:  November 12, 1968Decided: February 24, 1969

ISSUE: Students wore black armbands at school to protest against the Vietnam War, they were

suspended for possibly disrupting the learning environment.

SUPREME COURT HOLDINGS: The Supreme court held that students have to the right to

freedom of speech or expression in the school setting.

HOW DID THIS DECISION AFFECT PUBLIC EDUCATION:

This case has established student’s rights to speech and expression cannot be prohibited based on

suspicion only. Constitutional rights are not limited to adults only and educators must honor the

constitutional rights of the students. The case also established the Tinker Test, which serves as a

guide on whether or not the student’s speech or freedom should be suppressed.

MY PERSONAL REACTION:
I applaud the efforts of the students to express themselves in an organized manner. I do not

agree with the notion of punishment before asking questions to gain insight of the specific

situation. The administrators in the Tinker case, failed to discuss with the students to allow them

to express their reasons for protesting. The administrators should have turned this into a teaching

moment on how to express themselves peacefully and the concern of a possible disruption of the

learning environment.

DIALOGUE-PROMPTING QUESTION:
As educators, we must teach our students to become their own advocates to ensure that they

receive all of the constitutional rights. Our students have a voice and we must listen to them. As

educators, we must be cognitive of the laws so that we do not violate their rights but also so can

teach our students about rights.

Dominique Williams
July 14, 2019
 How can we teach our students to properly express themselves when they do not feel that

they are being treated fairly?