Shut Up and Study

Here's what we've learned from some of the decisions handed down by the Supreme Court so far:

• The new conservative majority needs to look at the calendar sometimes. Is this 2007 or 1957?
• The justices seem to think we need to hear more political ads from special-interest groups telling us who to vote for.
• Freedom of speech applies only to adults.

Let's talk about the last one for a minute. The Court ruled 5-4 (going strictly down ideological lines) in favor of the high school principal in Juneau, Alaska for tearing down a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner during a rally, and suspending the student who said he meant it as a joke.

While we'd be the last folks to endorse drug use, that doesn't mean students (or anyone else)have to swallow the company line on the "war on drugs". It has been a complete bust, if you'll pardon the expression, with the flow of drugs flowing freely despite the government's best efforts. And more lives are being destroyed because of it.

Oh, and there might be a problem with that Jesus reference. Something about keeping religion out of the schools might have escaped the justices' notice.

For those of us who haven't set foot in a high school lately (whether or not you have children), things aren't what they used to be. Thanks to the shootings at Columbine and Virginia Tech, your local school now resembles a minimum-security prison, with kids going through metal detectors for weapons and lockers being searched for drugs.

When students aren't being treated like prisoners, they're being tested more and learning less. The ill-conceived "No Child Left Behind" act put schools across the country behind the eight-ball when it comes to graduation rates, resulting in more emphasis on "teaching to the test" and less on students actually getting something out of a subject. Meanwhile, the arts and gym classes are sacrificed at the altar of NCLB.

What do the students think? Well, since the school newspaper is censored and the Supreme Court says they can't protest any more, we don't really know.

But the message to students is loud and clear: Shut up, study hard and don't do drugs.