Editorial: Consitutional Rock
Published: September 17, 2009
Hey, kids — what are the names of the judges on American Idol? The author of the Twilight series? Harry Potter’s nemesis?
How about the three branches of government?
Questions like these nettle Alan Grayson, who represents central Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives. Today’s youth know more about popular culture than the documents that founded our nation, and that’s something Grayson wants to rectify.
Today is Constitution Day, making timely this week’s passage of Grayson’s “Teach the Constitution” House resolution, suggesting that high school seniors should be instructed on the U.S. constitution for at least one week in September and, upon reaching voting age, “demonstrate their understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship by petitioning the government on an issue of importance to them.”
Although we’re not sure today’s youth are as familiar with the Three Stooges as previous generations have been, we cannot argue with Grayson’s premise. We cringe to consider how pervasive ignorance of the content of the U.S. Constitution is among our nation’s adult population, let alone our youth.
Many middle-aged adults might admit that everything they know about the basics of the creation of law, they learned from a cartoon scroll on Schoolhouse Rock.
We urge Grayson and more than 200 of his congressional colleagues who co-sponsored his well-intended but ineffective resolution to put their influence where their mouths are and pursue the establishment of a strong curriculum in government at a grade level far earlier than grade 12.
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Reader Reactions
*putting on tin foil hat*
I really think it is like a Dan Brown novel what’s going on. I have for the past 11 years been reading the textbooks my nieces use in class and lemme tell you, it’s all fluff. Nothing but pictures and text that is more akin to sound bytes than discussion or exposition.
with these kinds of textbooks and the No Child Left Behind Act (or, No Teaching, Just Tests) Children these days are not required to use their minds.
They cannot think in abstract terms, they lack critical thinking skills, and the impact of American History and the most important documents since the Magna Carta are minimized.
It just seems so bad that I feel like this is an extremely long term plan by an Illuminati type organization.
(I don’t buy into that, am merely stating it has all the elements of a poorly written conspiracy novel.)
It kills me to know my nieces, and one day, my own children will not be able to tell me what a book or article is about.
What is Moby Dick about?
I dunno. A fishing trip, long time ago?
if they cannot handle a book, how can they read, comprehend and react to the work their elected bodies perform.
I want to quote Lex Luthor from Superman: The Movie (1978):
“Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it’s a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.“
I want my nieces, my children, YOUR children to have the ability to do just that- analyze something and take something from it. Too bad our government isn’t able to provide that.
No, I have more faith in our elected local and state school boards so they should. At this time I believe the Democrat controlled State Legislature would have difficulty since they can’t balance a budget either.
Like the Alabama Legislature could handle that?
Comments Continued,
let our state set the goals for our children to learn and not the Federal Department of Education bolstered by the Congress and the NEA. We are very capable of teaching what our children need without the involvement of the Federal Government in Washington D.C.
We shouldn’t need a resolution, bill or new law to know what to teach our children. Local communities did just fine until Uncle Sam got involved with big money and big requirements.
Why doesn’t the Eagle talk about our state school boards needing to do that?
Why do they always have to have the heavy handed Federal Government mandate it?
Decentralize power from Washington for a change let we the people make the decisions at the state and our local levels! Start there first Eagle editors.
Maybe the editors at the Eagle should read the Tenth Amendment and rethink their call to have the Federal Government be involved in our State’s Educational system. They haven’t helped the states yet other than require unfunded mandates that cripple our State Education Budgets.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
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