By Mary Bisciaio
Truth is not opinion, because truth must be substantiated with facts, and it is a lie to claim otherwise.
Most of us remember taking a required class in US government in high school. It may have been called civics, but it was exclusively a senior class for older, more mature students of seventeen or eighteen years who stood on the threshold of their future. After graduation, they would be workers, parents, and most importantly, voters. The class was a basic, thorough overview of the workings of our government, the checks and balances on the branches of government, the qualifications and responsibilities of the men and women who were elected to the government, and the history behind the document central to our government. The Constitution, the supreme law of the land, has endured more than two hundred years and has miraculously guided this nation through world wars, economic depressions, social unrest, and growth and expansion.
A few years ago politicians decided to include questions on the government on standardized tests in as early as the tenth grade. Even younger in some progressive states like California. Horrified school districts adjusted. Students couldn’t be expected to pass a section of the test, ten to twenty questions, without the benefit of having been taught the material. Those questions could well be the difference between a failing school and a passing grade. World History shifted to another year to make room for the government class which I still think was a mistake on the part of the politicians, but once again no one asked a teacher.
Trapped in this situation, we tried to determine what our students needed to know. Remember this is civic education, not to pass a test, but to understand the responsibilities and rights of people in the United States. We wanted our students to participate in their government as thoughtful, intelligent, and decisive individuals.
To my way of thinking the heart of the class was the Constitution. It breaks my heart to listen to people deliberately misread, misquote, and completely abuse this document for political gain. To continually presume to have some kind of clairvoyant understanding into the minds and hearts of our founding fathers is ridiculous. Yes, in the Federalists papers, eighty-five in all, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton wrote essays to encourage the ratification of the Constitution and are an excellent resource for some of their thinking, but most of the rhetoric is not based on fact or any intensive reading. Very few of the experts even mention this body of work, and yet they declare with uncontrolled ardor the truth of their opinions. Truth is not opinion, because truth must be substantiated with facts, and it is a lie to claim otherwise.
In any case, as a teacher what did my students need to know?
- The three branches of government. My students would not pass my class without a working knowledge of the government. The legislative, the executive, and the judicial branch with its own leadership, duties, and responsibilities.
- The checks and balances on all three branches. For example, Congress has the power to declare war, but the President has the power to protect our military oversees any way he sees fit. If Congress disapproves, they have the power of the purse. They can withhold funds and successfully block the President. The President is the sole commander-in-chief. He dictates foreign policy, not his aides, not his military advisors, and certainly not Congress. Less the politicians forget today, you can disagree with the President’s foreign policy, but he isn’t doing anything wrong. It’s in the Constitution, you are so fond of quoting when it suits you. Let’s not forget though, there are three branches. The courts are the arbitrators of disputes between Congress and the President. They determine if something falls under the domain of executive privilege or if subpoenas should be honored. Maybe there’d be fewer problems in our government if everyone were allowed to do their job as designated by the Constitution.
- We can certainly teach our kids how bills become law, veto power, first amendment rights, core democratic values, and many other things, but it occurred to me I was missing something.
It is important to note that educational policy, programs, and methods swing with the pendulum. Here today, gone tomorrow, only to swing back in the next decade. Memorization, rote learning took an unpopular hit for a while. Students should be taught to think not to commit things to memory, we were told, but think about your own education. Think of the valuable things like multiplication facts or sight words that you needed to know. The pendulum eventually swung back as educators realized students needed some things locked into that Rolodex in their brain for easy access and educational blocks to build on.
At the time I took government, students were required to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution. Still today, some forty years later, I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, but the rich vocabulary of that one sentence rolls off my tongue effortlessly. In the last few years I taught, I realized that was the missing piece my students needed. The preamble, the introduction to the document, spells out our founders’ purpose.
We, the people of the United States, in order to form a perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
When I told my students they were required to memorize this sentence, I got the expected reaction.
“It’s too long,” they whined.
“It’s one sentence,” I retaliated.
“But the words are too hard,” they argued.
“It’s English,” I responded with exasperation. “I know you can read these words, and I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think it was important.”
Funny thing is the one outcome I didn’t expect, pleased me a great deal. My slower students took such pride when they could recite the words from memory like everyone else. They sensed the importance of the words and marveled in their ability to learn the phrases in chunks, but the real learning wasn’t just reciting the words. It was understanding what the founding fathers were saying as their justification for the document that would guide the new nation.
It should be noted also that after the Revolutionary War, our founding fathers weren’t as clear as to what type of government should follow in our new nation. They reacted to the tyranny of the English monarchy with a loosely constructed document called The Articles of Confederation. Its basic flaw was its weakness. A national government with little power subject to the will of all the states. Wisely, it was scrapped for a different document, the Constitution.
We, the people… Simple but incredibly powerful words. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people. A nation whose people determine who remains as their elected officials, who will run the government, and who will be unemployed after the next election. People whose vote is their voice. Hear it, loud and clear, politicians. The ballot that insures a peaceful change in government as opposed to a war or a coup. It’s our government. Some amongst us seem to think the power of the government belongs solely to them. They are wrong. Millions of Americans will cast their votes and elect the next President. No more monarchy like the tyrannical King George that taxed the colonies without representation and housed British troops far from home to keep order. No, the people have the control and will speak decisively yet again at the next election.
In order to form a more perfect union… I’ve read that’s a vague phrase and can mean anything to anyone. I call baloney on that one. In context, a perfect union was that which wasn’t the norm under British rule. A government where officials are elected, not ascending a throne, where officials are answerable to their constituents and the citizens all over the country have a right to be heard. We still may not be a perfect union yet, but we’re a lot closer than we were before 1789, and we continue to improve and strive for perfection.
Establish justice… So often the term ‘equal justice under the law’ is bantered about, but what exactly does that mean? The Constitution provides the framework for arrests, bail, witnesses, a jury trial, and sentencing. Due process for all citizens extends to the wealthiest in our nation to the poorest, to the lawyer and the street sweeper, and to the doctor and fast food server. Justice for all isn’t just a catchphrase. It guides us through the legal system and has also been abused in recent times. Are potential Supreme Court justices or even the President of the United States not entitled to due process, not entitled to defend themselves before the American people and a body of their peers? How I hate the way are basic core values have been abused and trampled on by a few self-righteous and self-serving politicians. All the American people ask, no, demand is that you stay within the letter of the law. You show the highest respect for our Constitution, the supreme law of the land, and that all citizens are treated fairly and given the rights accorded them as Americans.
Insure domestic tranquility… Peace within our own country. I wonder what the founding fathers would think of our government today that has orchestrated the divide between the people of this country to this ridiculous extent. Peace to live your life in harmony without trampling on the rights of your neighbor, and peace to live your life, raise a family, and plan for the future.
Provide for the common defense… The creation of a strong military to protect our country from an outside attack from a foreign nation. We expect our leaders to avoid war, but as in two world wars sometimes that isn’t possible. Sometimes a nation has to ban together and stand up for what is right.
Promote the general welfare… Elected officials have the responsibility to make life better for their constituents. Healthcare, jobs, reproductive decision making, homelessness, immigration, gun laws, and safety are just some of the concerns plaguing the American people. It seems today less emphasis has been placed on these real concerns as opposed to other partisan issues. The American people will eventually decide if politicians have lived up to their elected responsibilities.
And secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity… Our founding fathers had the foresight to realize this new government with its stronger Constitution wasn’t just for the people in 1789 but for generations to come. It is a living, breathing document that expands, contracts, and survives the people who use it in unscrupulous ways. It is stronger as people (we, the people) stand up for its principles we continue to live by.
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
This is what I hope my students remember. It’s what I hope they demand of their elected officials in the future. I hope they remember my passion, and that it ignites a fever in them for a better tomorrow.
