Interversity Quotes"I think it's time to ask the Standardistos: Where's the test for compassion? For honesty? For curiosity? For moral commitment? Until they can answer, let's tell them to shut up." —Susan Ohanian (One Size Fits Few: The Folly of Educational Standards) Interversity ProjectsEchoes of Orwell:The purpose of this webforum is to promote a lively discussion among students and faculty alike about George Orwell's 1984 and the parallels or echoes found in today's society. |
[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index] Re: newspapers on school grounds
My understanding of this comes from many years of dealing with federal labor law to guarantee workers' rights. The rule of thumb about workplaces and the press has always been "in non-working areas during non-working times" This means that it is protected activity to distribute leaflets, newspapers, etc and to talk to the press in a breakroom (or other non-working area) while one is on a break, or before or after working hours. Any school employee should be able to exercise this right. There might be a loophole for the employer (eg, the principal) if it can be proven that the presence of the press is a disruption of the operation of the business. But how would a reporter, even with a loud, flashy film crew, interfere with the education of children if the activity were confined to the teachers' lounge, or some other non-work area? Such a blanket restriction sounds like a First Amendment violation as well as a worker's rights issue. This would be a case where you WANT to be interviewed (workers' rights) and the reporter WANTS to interview you (freedom of press). Some cautions: the classroom may be considered a "work area" even when students are not present, and even when the teacher is not on paid time (before 8:00, after 3:00), I don't know. Teacher prep time is "working time." EVERY visitor must get permission from the principal to enter the campus...it would be a policy of blanket refusal that would be a violation of the teacher's rights; but you can't just have someone sneak on campus. In these cases, it would have to be fought out first to establish your rights. I don';t know if there are other parts of the law that give special exclusionary rights to schools to permanently bar the press. Doesn't sound democratic to me. Sorry to play "jailhouse lawyer," but these rights were won for all workers in the US by many years of union organizing and struggles, and we shouldn't abandon them. As a dues-paying member, you should demand that your teachers' union reps set the principal straight about your (and others') rights. Pete Farruggio At 06:11 AM 9/8/01, you wrote: meet her off school grounds and then set it up with the kids and their -------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.
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