Freedom of Speech for Children

Basically, my aim today is to tell you about my feelings on freedom of speech between adults and kids. It’s about having authority but knowing when to let your guard down and listen.

Before I begin, I want to mention that this speech contains terms and expressions that may be considered as ‘harsh’ or ‘childish’ by adults, because the whole concept of this speech can be uncomfortable for some, but hey, that’s exactly what I’m standing up here for, therefore it would be best if you just learn to live with it so that this can be an informative speech for you, and an enjoyable one for me. Also, for the sake of saving time, I have made my opinions very general, and I am not really aiming these comments at every adult in the world. There are a lot of good people/teachers/adults out there, you know who you are!

There are so many situations when a teacher will say something incorrect and are unable to handle students correcting them. There are some adults that treat us like regular people and allow us to have an opinion, even if it is a little controversial.

When a teacher, as it would be explained in the staff room, 'lowers down' to a student level in the classroom, it releases the tensions that can build up between authority-stricken teachers and students looking for equality. A lot of positive things can come from ‘lowering down’. The fact that a calm tone of voice is less nerve-wracking than the harsh authority-fuelled tone of the older generation. Less nerves, less chance of saying the wrong thing, or saying the right thing, but not with enough confidence. It’s really appreciated when adults allow us to just be ourselves and talk as the children of today do, even if it is different to the children of the last few generations. THIS IS HOW WE SPEAK TO EACH OTHER; WE DON’T JUST SAVE IT FOR ADULTS!

Now I understand that teachers have to deal with students that abuse the freedom of speech theory every day, and I don’t represent those people in any way. I’m here speaking for the kids that just want to be able to say something without having to worry about whether the ‘authority generation’ will like it or not, and if he/she doesn’t, what will happen? Nobody wants to feel like an entire generation is watching what they say because of one person that takes their supposed power to the extreme. It’s not so much the fact that they have the influence to do something if you voice an opinion that is not in harmony with theirs; it’s the fact that they WILL use their influence to try and do something if you voice an opinion they don’t agree with. Stop scaring us into a mute world; we can’t be force-fed subtitles that you want us to say, making every day of our life an act. Don’t make us hide ourselves and become a standard formality of society. ‘The Killers’ said it best in their song ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ with the phrase ‘I got soul, but I’m not a soldier’. Which placed into this context refers to the point that we all have something inside that makes us different, and a society of individuals