Protecting the guardians

Who is protecting the guardians as they teach us the ways of free speech? We must protect free speech for all people and even those who are protecting us. However, we are not necessarily assigned a mentor to help guide us during our test-drive of expressing ourselves.

For some educators, this is a serious aspect of their role as a professional educator. They might be asking themselves, how do I protect those that I’m teaching, more importantly myself? If they aid the student publically, they are in some cases jeopardizing their position; their position as educator, theirs schools ability to maintain a polished image, their family’s reputation, etc…

So, professors and teachers find themselves in an odd situation while protecting their students during this mentoring process. However, now it certainly becomes a delicate exercise in protecting both.

While free speech is guaranteed by the constitution, it does note necessarily protect those who are doing the protecting. So, when educational professionals guide us through this process, who is protecting them?

In a recent article, “Calif. bill would protect student journalism teachers,” by The Associated Press, First Amendment Center Online staff, they discuss how teachers are getting some needed protection. They write, “Yee's bill would make it illegal to dismiss, transfer or discipline teachers who are trying to protect the free-speech rights of their students.”

I’m interested to see how many teachers will now openly protect their students in these situations. With the boom in Web social networks, more people are finding themselves in a journalist role, as they fine-tune their communication skills. The ability to understand how to protect ourselves from unwarranted attacks is almost a skill all by itself. So, perhaps this protection for professors and educators is long over due.