Social Justice, Recognition Theory, and the First Amendment
Introduction
In public schools, religion is a concept that has been debated for a long time. According to the US Constitution’s First Amendment, people have a right, duty, or obligation to express themselves the best way they deem fit. Therefore, free expression is part of the constitution, and people must enjoy this right. Thus, students who attend public schools must also enjoy such rights. The student submitting an essay regarding Jesus expressed his free will as enshrined in the constitution. Such a student committed no offense as he had a right to do so. Although there are standard practices of displaying student work in the classroom, the learners have the right to tolerance and respect because it is provided for in the Constitution’s First Amendment.
Any Legal Issues Regarding the Grading of the Student’s Essay
The student who submitted an essay regarding Jesus committed no offense as part of the constitution. Therefore, the student committed no mistake by highlighting the relevance of Jesus in contemporary society and by also demonstrating such significance through pictorial representation (Lakier, 2020). Thus, the student did not violate any law as he expressed his free will based on the provisions of the First Amendment of the Constitution. In this case, the student was incorporating his religious beliefs into the class assignment provided by the teacher (Pomeranz et al., 2019). School administrators and teachers must always remain neutral and allow their learners to enjoy their religious expression out of tolerance and respect. In this case, they should also grade the assignments of such learners according without any form of bias (White, 2019). No negative legal issues had to face the student as he had a right to express his free will based on the constitution’s provisions in the First Amendment. Even if there are any legal issues, they support the student as a citizen who has a right to express himself (Demaske, 2019). Freedom of expression is enshrined in the constitution, and everyone has a right to his religious beliefs.
How the First Amendment Applies to this Situation
The First Amendment applies in this situation as it is a clause in the US constitution that protects people against being accused of expressing their free will and being affiliated with religious thoughts. In this case, the US Constitution’s First Amendment protects an individual’s right to express themselves freely (Pomeranz et al., 2019). Therefore, the students who attend public schools are also protected by the clause in the constitution. Therefore, the student who decided to write his essay regarding Jesus did not violate any law as he was incorporating his own religious beliefs in the assignment given by his instructor. According to the First Amendment, no one should have the power to prohibit free exercise and prevent another person from enjoying the freedom of expression, speech, free will, and religion (Lakier, 2020). People have a right to assemble peacefully and express what they think in their minds. The student expressed his love for Jesus, which is allowed by the constitution, and that is why he demonstrated such an attitude through writings and drawings (Blocher, 2019). Such as student committed no offense because the constitution protects him through the First Amendment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, public schools form part of the society where issues of religion are very controversial and have been debated extensively. Although issues of religion are sensitive and very controversial, the student who wrote and drew the image of Jesus committed no offense as the constitution protects him through the First Amendment. According to the US Constitution’s First Amendment, people have a right to assemble, religion, free will, and expression. Therefore, the student did not commit any mistake as he expressed his religious beliefs and free will.
References
Blocher, J. (2019). Free speech and justified true belief. SSRN Electronic Journal. Web.
Demaske, C. (2019). Social Justice, recognition theory and the First Amendment: A new approach to hate speech restriction. Communication Law and Policy, 24(3), 347–401. Web.
Lakier, G. (2020). The non-first amendment law of freedom of speech. SSRN Electronic Journal. Web.
Pomeranz, J. L., Wilde, P., Mozaffarian, D., & Micha, R. (2019). Mandating front-of-package food labels in the U.S. – what are the First Amendment obstacles? Food Policy, 86, 101722. Web.
White, G. E. (2019). Falsity and the First Amendment. SSRN. Web.