Social Studies Extended Response 1

There were three students suspended from school for wearing arm bands to protest the Vietnam War. Also, the court found that school officials acted unconstitutionally in suppressing the students’ freedom speech rights. School officials may limit student conduct which “materially disrupts or involves disorder in the classroom.” This case did not allow them to express their freedom of speech.

            I personally feel that the three students should not have gotten suspended for wearing arm bands to protest the Vietnam War. Wearing their arm bands didn’t cause any problems at school, nor was it violent in any way. In addition, the first amendment states that the people have a right to peaceably to assemble. For example, the arm bands were a symbol of their opinions, getting the attention of their peers, and protesting for the war. This should not be seen as an issue because they were showing their opinion silently.

The Right Thing to do

My name is Sheketa and I attend school at 10 S. Kedzie. I am going to school to get my GED diploma. I live across the street from my school. I have two teachers there. One of my teachers, who teaches math, is named Mr. Nathan. My other teacher’s name is Ms. Rachael; she’s my reading teacher. I have great classmates. One of my classmate’s name is Mr. Grandberry. Mr. Grandberry and I had a little altercation while answering a question Ms. Rachael had asked the classroom. He lives here in Chicago and is a great student. Things kind of got off on the wrong foot with us that day.

                Ms. Rachael decided to ask us questions about the book, The Kite Runner, we were reading in class. I was anxious to answer before she could call on someone else. I wanted to be the first to answer the question, so I yelled out the answer to the question. She replied and said, “no I want Mr. Grandberry to give me the answer”. I got mad and got out my chair and walked out of the classroom while mumbling mean words.

                When I left out the classroom, I went to sit in the office. I needed to go calm down from how angry I was. Ms. Rachael came in 5 minutes later and sat next to me. She asked me if I wanted to talk about what had happened. I replied, “no, not really.” Then she said, “Maybe you need some time to yourself to be alone”; I agreed. When she walked out to go back to the classroom, I realized deep down I really did want to talk. I had seen that she had cared. After I had a talk with Ms. Gwen (the lady in the office who always sat at the front desk) I felt a little better. I had learned that it’s always good to talk to someone about a situation that is bothering you. It helps you feel better. So, the next day, I came to school feeling much better. I couldn’t wait to see my teacher to apologize to her for how I reacted. When I saw Ms. Rachael, I apologized to her in front of the whole class. She said thank you Sheketa that was nice. Also, later that afternoon, my classmate Mr. Grandberry apologized to me. He said “he apologizes if he made me angry and that he wasn’t trying to make me feel bad”. I told him “thank you Grandberry, it’s ok.”

The most important lesson that I have learned that could help someone else is to always talk about your problems. This would help others if they are in a situation like this, if they are having problems with someone and need to talk about what happened. This was an important lesson that I have learned that can really help someone else.