Experts Available To Discuss Survey Showing First Amendment Not a Priority for High School Students.

TOPIC: A survey conducted by the University of Connecticut, shows nearly three in four high school students say they are indifferent toward the First Amendment, according to an article by The Associated Press. Many of the 100,000 high school students surveyed believe flag burning is not protected free speech and that newspapers should not be allowed to publish information without government consent. Experts believe that students who do not participate in school media activities may lack a real understanding of what the First Amendment means. More than one in five of the schools surveyed did not offer student media opportunities, such as TV production or a school newspaper.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Having taught thousands of students and trained hundreds of teachers in hundreds of schools, Steve Peha is well-qualified to provide insightful commentary and thoughtful opinions on the state of education in America, including teacher quality and retention, best-practice instruction, testing and No Child Left Behind. His combination of in-school work with teachers and kids, a real-world orientation from his years as an entrepreneur, and in-depth investigation of education issues and current research enable him to offer an informed and unique perspective on what we're doing right -- and wrong -- in education in America. Peha says, "when I teach the First Amendment, I find that students who think it goes too far have no idea where it goes at all; they're just aping the ascendant neo-conservative ethos of our time. Students who take the First Amendment for granted don't realize how much of it is denied them by a fear-inspired school culture that increasingly restricts what they read, write, and say. Students who don't know how they feel about the First Amendment have never been invited to think about how 45 words from the past can shape so much of the present. Because of the way we teach history -- by rote, relying on poorly written textbooks eviscerated by special interests -- it is unlikely that even our brightest students would come to understand our constitution. Until we learn to value meaningful mastery over mindless memorization, our schools will continue to be embarrassing reminders that we lack the collective courage to study our history in a way that honors our most cherished values."

Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr., professor of the department of teaching and learning, University of Miami, completed a master's degree in History at Washington University in 1974 and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Institute of Education in the Philosophy and History of Education in 1976. He has taught social studies at the secondary level and has NCATE lifetime certification. While in graduate school, although focusing primarily on historical and philosophical training, he received extensive background in ethnography and field-based research, as well as archival preservation and exhibit work. Throughout his work, his primary focus has been on education as a social and cultural phenomenon. A particularly important concern of his has been the role of the teacher in American society.

Professor Thom Storey, of Belmont University, Department of Journalism, has 19 years' experience teaching at the university level and 15 years in various positions at daily and weekly newspapers, including associate editor, court reporter, travel editor and features deputy managing editor. He has earned two fellowships to study ethics and First Amendment legal issues at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. He is now in his sixth year as an executive board member of the Nashville Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was named Journalism Educator of the Year in 1993 by the Southeast Journalism Conference and is a past president of the organization.

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