Are kids confused when they are taught the constitution in school now days?

Question

I would think most kids would be confused. I am confused. I remember what I was taught in school, very pationately by teachers who meant every word. They told me I had certain constitiutional rights as did every other American. If these kids are still being taught what I was, there must be a lot of questions. It seems we no long regard the constitution in the same way.

Do any of your kids ask about this?

Answer 1

It might be because the parents have never read the document. Less than one in five adults in the country have read it. Sure, there are some teachers who are manifestly incapable of teaching anything about the document or its contents. I recall one tenured university professor of governmental studies who insisted that the phrase "all men are created equal" is in the Constitution.

One only has to remember the Presidential election of 2000 when media types and the general public were aghast to find out the Electoral College was not just the one with no marching band or athletic teams.  

Answer 2

Honestly, we hardly studied the constitution in my school.

Answer 3

As a portion of a class I teach on government I teach about the Constitution, so I can tell you there are about 75 kids each year that have a real good understanding of the document. During this part of the class we have some wonderful and interesting discussions.

Answer 4

Boy, you really have to wonder.  Like you, I was taught about the Constitution, and especially the Bill of Rights, in great detail.  I was taught great respect for the rights we enjoy as Americans, and the reason each of these rule was put in place.

When I was in college (during the Vietnam War) I took part in an experiment where we walked around the campus, and also downtown, and did a survey, asking people if Americans should have freedom of speech, etc., if cops should need a warrant before doing a search, and 'probable cause', if people should be protected from having to testify against themselves, etc.etc.  It was just appalling how many people thought these ideas were communist, how few people really understood that these rights are the whole basis of our liberties and freedoms in the US.

Starting with the War on Drugs and ending up with the PATRIOT Act and the War on Terror, Americans have been convinced that we have to give up our liberties to save them!  It's really sad.  And yes, under the circumstances I wonder just what kids are taught about the Constitution today.