Principals’ dialogue enhances First Amendment understanding

By Randy Swikle



We were north of the Mile High City near the Rocky 
Mountains. The principals were voluntarily descending—not from the 
tall peaks but from their position abutting the summit of school 
hierarchy.

When they reached level ground, we could see each other 
more clearly. And clear sight leads to insight.



That’s why three of us from J-Ideas met with 
administrators and teachers gathered at Front Range Community College 
in Westminster, Colo. We were linked with others at community college 
sites across Colorado via video conferencing. We wanted 
principals and teachers to meet eye to eye to determine if they 
better could see eye to eye on First Amendment issues in schools.



The principal’s pedestal serves a purpose, elevating the 
administrator to where he/she can have a panoramic perspective of the 
school machine. Oversight is an essential function of the principal’s 
job.



But when it comes to fixing things, the rigid hierarchic 
pyramid is archaic -- long ago superseded by a horizontal strategy of 
management that intrinsically motivates as it inspires and 
accommodates good citizenship and positive change.



In an educational setting, the principal leaves his/her 
office and joins a student team on their turf. The student newspaper 
adviser, parents and other stakeholders participate in supporting the 
team effort. The principal becomes a problem-solving citizen more 
than an autocratic decision-maker, and in doing so he/she models 
democratic principles rather than hierarchic clout.



Too often principals focus on their autocratic power and 
students on their autonomist rights. In the confrontational mix, the 
school mission can be a casualty to the shortsighted, self-serving 
interests of each side. A team approach on level ground helps bring 
potential disputants to common ground, and then the school mission 
prevails.



In Colorado, the J-Ideas experiment was successful. 
Dialogue enlightened participants about First Amendment scholastic 
law and the important balance of rights, responsibilities and 
respect. The integration of law and ethics became a more important 
issue than “principal’s censorship v. student rights.”

When clout 
properly yields to rational action, that’s when the school mission is 
best served.



At eye level, we began to see eye to eye.



 


(Randy Swikle is a J-Ideas adjunct and writes and speaks frequently on behalf of the organization. He is a retired journalism adviser from Johnsburg, Ill., and former Dow Jones Newspaper Fund journalism teacher of the year.)