Twenty-eight years ago three students in Des Moines, Iowa who wore black armbands to protest the war in Vietnam were suspended from school. When the 1969 landmark Supreme Court case of "Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District" brought public school pupils under the First Amendment umbrella, many educators began to "tinker," to become provocateurs who dart, jab, cajole, and coax young people to become involved in a vigorous student press. As a result, student journalism is far more sophisticated today than it was 25 years ago. One of the responsibilities of an educator is to plant and nourish the seeds of conscientious citizenship that will take root, grow and bear fruit decades after the students leave. Today, young people are bringing societal ills and social issues to school with them; the best educators can do is equip young people to deal with these matters. (NH)