Question For High Schoolers

[sheepdog 10]

I heard recently that the school system no longer requires the United States Constitution and the state constitution of what ever state you are in to be a requirnment in school. Back when I was in school you had to take the constitution or you could not graduate. Is this true????? Granted, I certainly hated the class when I had to take it, thought it was extremely dull, but as they say, hind site is 20/20 and now I realize the importance of knowing our constitutional rights. What with the politicians walking all over them today with a hellbent desire to restrict every thing in our lives, I find it extremely frightening that they would no longer teach our young people what our freedom and rights are supposed to be. How can you stand up for your rights if you don't know what they are?

[anwiii 17]

i don't think that's true, is it? the constitution is usually taught in general history classes or political science. i would still think they teach at LEAST the u.s. constitution. i don't know about state constitutions. i was born and raised in california and i was never taught our state constitution. i think it would be biased to teach any one state constitution in a public classroom unless you're in college and sign up for something specific as that.

if they HAVE eliminated teaching the u.s. constitution, then that is a shame! it's not only interesting reading....ESPECIALLY the bill of rights and maybe a few other amendments like the 14th. our constitution is our ancestry and any school not teaching THAT should not be allowed to teach our children! but now, the united states is a melting pot of all sorts of cultures and foreigners. so it seems maybe the constitution doesn't mean as much as it did back in the day? who knows. the 14th amendment would still be interesting to those who migrated to the u.s. since it defined a whole new class of citizenship and giving right to those who were slaves.

i dunno about this country if it can allow the dismissal of the u.s. constitution in it's classrooms for high schoolers and/or jr. high schoolers(is "schoolers" a word??? .

I heard recently that the school system no longer requires the United States Constitution and the state constitution of what ever state you are in to be a requirement in school.

[Jonnyabc 0]

The pitiful part is that few of the senators even know the constitution. No wonder they to pass laws that aren't supposed to even arise.

[sheepdog 10]

I certainly hope it is not true! Our constitution and bill of rights is what makes this country great. We have certain rights that cannot be infringed upon.

i think it would be biased to teach any one state constitution in a public classroom

I may not of said that just right, sorry for the confusion. If you go to school in Missouri they teach you the Missouri constitution, if you live in California, they would teach the California constitution. Just what ever state you were in would you need to study the constitution for. I suspect the state constitutions are all pretty simular, so if you had the basics for one you would at least have a clue as to the others.

Now, that makes me curious about something else, I wonder how much difference there is in the constitutions from state to state? The only difference I could think of right off the top of my head might be differences in gun laws.

[deadmad7 4]

The senators only think of a 'idea' of law, nowadays, they don't need to know the constition (except the basis, of course) they just tell the new laws to their lawyers or secatarys or watever and confirm if they can the law, and the people vote for the law, and then it is pretty much in the 'rule book' now

The pitiful part is that few of the senators even know the constitution. No wonder they to pass laws that aren't supposed to even arise.

[anwiii 17]

first of all, they DO need to know the laws. second of all, laws can originate from the senate OR the house of reps, OR the executive branch. i guess not only did they stop teaching the constitution of the united states, they stopped teaching government all together. how a bill becomes a law was one of the first things i was taught. although i forget a lot about the specifics since it's been 25 years since i've been in high school, i remember some haha

also, your representatives whether the house or senate, get elected by the people. these elected officials really want to be elected again. what does this mean? well, they may present a bill for a law or statute that conflicts with the constitution or any other federal law or statute to please the people. if something gets made in to a law that is contradictory, then they know it will ultimately pass in front of the supreme court. this is what we call part of our checks and balances. who can stop a law? the president. another part of our checks and balances in our executive branch.

why would a repusentative do this? it's not because they don't know the law. the represent the PEOPLE and try to give what the people want and be supportive so that they can be re elected.

now i think it's time for some of the high schoolers to approach their teachers to remind them that they really aren't learning anything according to this thread

The senators only think of a 'idea' of law, nowadays, they don't need to know the constition (except the basis, of course) they just tell the new laws to their lawyers or secatarys or watever and confirm if they can the law, and the people vote for the law, and then it is pretty much in the 'rule book' now

Edited February 16, 2010 by anwiii (see edit history)

[sheepdog 10]

I am really surprised that we haven't heard from any high school kids, I know there are a lot of them at Trap 17. I really am curious about this class, or the lack there of. My concerns are pretty deep, how can we protect ourselves from an overzealous government if we don't even know the laws and our rights? Every time I turn on the television and see the news I hear of new laws and I scratch my head, and think, "Is that even constitutional?" Seems like they just keep coming up with more and more little insidious ways to strip us of our "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."Doesn't anybody care??????

[OsamaBinSteve 0]

I am a high schooler (this is my final year, hence, I'm a senior,) and we've been learning about the US Constitution for the past 4 weeks in my US Government class. This class is a requirement to graduate. I'm not sure if we need to learn the state constitution, but I'm sure we might do it anyways. I just wanted to share with you, the fact that it is required in the state of Indiana, at least.

Notice from truefusion:

There is a report button at the lower left of each post. The next time you double post by mistake, report your post to us.

Edited September 30, 2010 by OsamaBinSteve (see edit history)

[sheepdog 10]

Ahhh, don't worry about it Steve, we all make mistakes when we are new here. I know I sure did. I appreciate your response. I am glad to hear at least some students are having to take it. I was really beginning to wonder. And with the way our current administration is trampoling our fights and freedoms, I figured they'd probably stop teaching the constitution, so nobody would be the wiser to their stealing of our rights.And ok, sorry, I have to ask, why did you choose your nickname?????

[OsamaBinSteve 0]

And ok, sorry, I have to ask, why did you choose your nickname?????

Well, my name is Steve, and one of my friends nicknamed me Osama Bin Steve one day (Why? I have no idea -__-) So now all my friends call me Osama Bin Steve. And something else is that OsamaBinSteve is an open username on everything I'm signed up on, (Myspace, Newgrounds, DeadFrontier, etc..) So, I just kinda use the name OsamaBinSteve now. I would also like to state the fact that I am in no way, a terrorist. (Because I know what some of you are thinking >_<)
Hope that answers your question!

[sheepdog 10]

Sheeeew....now that's a relief! Ya kinda had me worried! That is a real good reason to use it though, I don't expect too many other would want that one.