What is freedom of speech? To me freedom of speech means when you have the right to say what you feel without crossing boundaries. By “crossing boundaries” I mean that you do not offend people, or violate their rights. Freedom of speech is included in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”   What does freedom  mean to me? Well, in this case, freedom means expressing yourself with no restraints. People can’t stop you from doing something. But the question is, how MUCH freedom of speech do you have when it comes to something educational (school, blogging)? In my opinion, the limits of your freedom of speech can change, depending on the situation. We currently are learning about the Constitution in US History. There was a worksheet “Tinker vs. Des Moines School District”. We had to read this worksheet and decide in who’s favor we would be in if we were the judge. Tinker and his friends wore armbands to school because they wanted everyone to know their opinion about a war. Although they were not disruptive, they were told to remove the armbands, and if they didn’t, they would be suspended from school. In this case, I think that the students should have had the rights to freedom of speech. They just wanted people to know their opinions by representing it with an armband. If they WERE disruptive to other students, then I think that limits to their freedom of speech would have been different. It all depends on the situation. Sometimes, people don’t know the limit to their freedom of speech. Other times, people have their own opinions on the limits. To me, you cross your boundaries when you start offending people; insulting them, their culture, or their religion. You can always give your opinion, but it greatly depends on the way you say it. You can say an idea/opinion in many different ways. Even though it is the same thing, some people might not feel it is appropriate when you say it one way. But other times you say it completely differently (still about same idea/opinion), therefore people will not think it’s inappropriate. Online, when you are blogging, you should not use any inappropriate language. If that is the way you express how you feel, then I say it should be said in a different way, or you block out the word. (ex. ****) This way, you will not get in trouble for having inappropriate things on your blog. Also, another reason you would be in trouble is if you are saying things you are not supposed to be saying. Even though it is a joke, some people might not see it that way. “It’s better safe than sorry”. This phrase is a very true one and it works every time :) .