Freedom of press? Kids have answers

LAYTON — The kids had no idea they were going to have the tables turned on them.

I was invited to Adams Elementary School this past Friday to talk to the student body about freedom of speech and freedom of the press as part of the school's patriotism assembly.

Instead, I asked them to tell me about freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

What exactly did the framers of the Constitution have in mind when they started off the Bill of Rights with "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble ...?"

Also known as the First Amendment.

"What does that mean?" I asked them. "What does freedom of speech and freedom of the press mean to you?"

The kids warmed quickly to the task. Hands shot up like I'd asked for volunteers to go to Disneyland. Everyone wanted to talk. Everyone had an answer.

And everyone had basically the same answer.

"It means that you like can say and write what you want," said Jackson, a fifth-grader.

"It means that you can say what you want where you want," said Brianne, another fifth-grader.

"It means you can talk whenever and wherever you like," said Austin, a sixth-grader.

"It means safety and liberty," said Caleb, a first-grader.

That was the theme, and they stuck with it. Madison, a kindergartner, third-grader Ashley, fourth-graders Andrew, Zach and Sarah, fifth-grader Amanda and sixth-grader Zach were others who echoed the same sentiment.

Their collective message came through loud and clear: Freedom of speech and of the press is not a complicated concept.

It is what it is.

Mary, a fourth-grader, did add a slight expansion. "It means that if you spell a word wrong you can just erase it and start over," she said.

And fifth-grader Destiny reflected recent Utah history when she said, "It means you can say about the president whether you like him or not."

Among my favorites was Ryan, a kindergartner, who enthusiastically raised his hand to be called on and then, when Mr. Bramhall delivered the microphone, he decided to exercise his right to NOT speak and declined comment.

Our future president?