Informing Americans of their Constitutional rights is apparently verboten nowadays. On the heels of news that the IRS targeted groups attempting to educate Americans about the Constitution, a high school teacher in Illinois is facing disciplinary action due to informing students of their rights under the Fifth Amendment.
An Illinois Social Studies teacher faces disciplinary action for reminding his students of their Fifth Amendment rights when filling out a school survey on behavior, according to the Daily Herald.John Dryden was collecting the surveys before class when he noticed the students' names were printed on them. He looked to see what was being asked and noticed questions about alcohol and drug use.
Dryden told his students that they had a Constitutional right to not incriminate themselves by answering questions on the survey.
And because of this, the school board is considering disciplinary action against Mr. Dryden. Luckily, a small group of concerned citizens - including students - is standing up for the actions of the high school teacher and encouraging parents to do so as well.
In the current climate, where the federal government has been claiming unprecedented authority in gathering information on its citizens - particularly on journalists - it's important that people know their rights when some authoritative organization is asking for personal information they're not entitled to.
