Bill of Rights Day Broadcast

For answers to the submitted questions during the I-Cast, click here.


December 15, 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.
Teachers, please download the John Doe v. Pulaski County Special School District case also (PDF - 31 pages).

Music, Freedom and the Bill of Rights

On Bill of Rights Day, December 15, The Missouri Bar will be providing a FREE interactive Internet program that will make a direct connection between your students, their music and the First Amendment right to free speech.

Although most high school students may not realize how important the Bill of Rights is to their life, they have no trouble seeing how important music is to them. Students who are into hip-hop or rap music will be surprised to hear what Potzee, a rap recording artist from St. Louis, has to say about the Bill of Rights. Potzee will be part of a panel that includes his lawyer, Barbara Graham-Alexander, Douglas Abrams (a Constitutional law expert) and Missouri Bar President-Elect Charlie Harris, Jr.

Students who don’t care about rap music or who don’t like it will also engage with this program – as the panelists answer questions about ways to limit exposure to ideas we don’t like to hear, while preserving the speaker’s (or musician’s) freedom of speech. We’ll also see some brief clips of country, folk, and rock and roll groups who are living proof of the importance of the Bill of Rights.

Topics that will be addressed include: the difference between government limits on free speech and the limits schools, parents and private companies can impose; unpopular political or social ideas; as well as violence and negative portrayal of young people in music videos. Please note, this program will at no time have any inappropriate language or images. This program is not a celebration of rock and roll culture, but it will give students a better understanding of the clash between ideas and values that is always present in a democratic society. The focus of this program will be on law and the Bill of Rights.

Students are invited to join the discussion by asking questions via email during the broadcast. The panelists will respond to their questions. Additional learning resources will be provided to teachers who sign up for the program – ideas for preparing for the program and follow-up lesson ideas.

This Internet broadcast will be carried live over the Missouri School Boards Association’s Internet-based TV network, ESGN.TV. The only equipment that schools will need to access the program is a fast Internet connection. For class or assembly viewing you will also need a sound system and a means of projecting the program onto a screen for class or assembly viewing.

Registration for this FREE program will close by December 8. Teachers or administrators can register by filling out a brief form at http://www.mobar.org/Forms/billofrights.htm. After you are registered, we will provide additional details on how to receive the broadcast and will forward the supporting learning activities.