Today, September 17th, is the two hundred and twenty first anniversary of the original signing of the Constitution. I wonder if it was even mentioned at your child's school. It is becoming increasingly apparent that many Americans don't know enough about their own country to pass the test that immigrants must take in order to become citizens. While folks are quick to quote their first ammendment right, few know any of the other nine that make up the Bill of Rights.
Are you banking on the fact that your local school will teach your child about their nation's history? You might want to take a look at the statistics that came out of a recent survey of Oklahoma's high school seniors. (This is not a slam on Oklahoma. I suspect most states' seniors would score in the same range. I'm guessing Jay Leno must not have a hard time finding folks for his Jay-walking segment.)
Survey questions and statistics courtesy of 620WTMJ.comQuestion followed by the % of StudentsWho Answered
Correctly:
What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution? 26 (74%
did not know)
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress? 27 (73% did not know)
How many justices are there on the Supreme Court? 10 (90% did not know)
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? 14 (86% did not know)
What ocean is on the east coast of the United States? 61 (39% did not know)
What are the two major political parities in the United States? 43 (57% did not know)
Who was the first President of the United States? 23 (77% DID NOT
KNOW!!)
Who is in charge of the executive branch? 29 (71% did not know)
If you are looking for a way to commemorate Constitution Day (and suplement your child's education) take a few minutes and read the Constitution with your child. Talk about what it means and why 39 men sat down on this date and took great pride in putting their names on it. Talk about what it means to today's society and how it is/isn't being upheld in the decisions being made in Washington every day.
.
We need to take responsibility for educating tomorrow's voters, because our schools are not.
Good idea! My son is a history buff. He'll be into it, especially since it's the Constitution's birthday. And he'll get to jot that down on his reading list -- which will make ME look good. Wow, your son is reading the Constitution at bedtime? Not No, David?
ReplyDelete(p.s. I love the No, David books, just so you know.)