Constitution Day Consternations

When Benjamin Franklin emerged from Convention’s final work in Philadelphia, a woman asked of him, “Well, Dr. Franklin, what have you given us?” The elder statesman replied, “A Republic, madam - if you can keep it.” Today’s legislators should take heed of Franklin’s admonition, for the ultimate fate of the Republic may well hinge upon their actions. The world’s longest standing Constitution has withstood the tests of Civil War, Fascism, Cold War and countless other challenges. Whether it will continue to stand, Aristotle reminds us, “depends upon the education of youth.” How stands the ship of state today? ‘Not well’ must be everyone’s unqualified answer.

One year after 9/11 a Roper Survey discovered America’s voting age young adults were last among nine nations in correctly identifying the approximate size of this nation’s population. They were last in knowing that Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban and was about to be invaded by the U.S. for refusing to surrender Osama bin Laden. They were last in being able to locate Russia, Italy, Argentina, Japan on a world map, and were almost last in recognizing the location of their own nation! Almost half of the students believed the majority population in India is Muslim and less than half could correctly identify the location of New York. Since then, numerous surveys attest to the fact our youth more readily recognize the names of the long dead Three Stooges, Snoop Doogy Dog, the members of the Simpson Family and the identities of Beavis and Butthead than can correctly identify key Constitutional Amendments or basic principles of American Government.

National attempts to rectify the problem in the last two Congresses have been in vain. Despite being told that “American History is the nation’s worst subject”, Congress for the last two sessions has neglected to pass a paltry $8 million measure (S860) that would have provided equity for this subject on “The Nation’s Report Card” – the National Assessment for Educational Progress. Although Congress has been able in that last few years to fund about a half billion dollars in training for American History teachers, the one time allocation of $8 million to hold states accountable for what students actually learned in that subject was apparently too costly.

Shall it be said of this generation of lawmakers that for the cost of a few Cruise Missiles our nation literally risks an implosion like the former Soviet Union? Shall our governors never be held accountable for how poorly they equip our nation’s future citizens with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to perpetuate this Republic? Despite public education's primary purpose being an informed citizenry, no state’s civic education program has ever been held to the same standards of comparison as that given to such areas as reading, writing, math, science or even teens’ alcohol and drug consumption habits! One can more easily find the last time a typical 13 year-old was offered cocaine in SW Florida than what that student knows about the Constitution or our nation’s past heritage.

And yet Florida continues to promote what is now a tsunami of civic ignorance among youth. In recent years our state was ridiculed by Phyllis Schlafly and condemned on the floor of both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate for its hostility toward civic education. Florida has never known to what extent its students are prepared for citizenship. It seemingly doesn’t care. The legislature has repeatedly refused to amend the state's Pupil Progression Law so that civic understanding may be taken into consideration for grade promotion purposes. The former House Education Committee chair and the current D.O.E. bureaucrat in charge of FCAT have stated in writing that they are opposed any assessment of United States History because due to our ‘diverse population’ it would be ‘almost impossible to assess.” Curiously, various other states and the College Board have successfully been doing this very thing for years.

So where are we today as we celebrate another “Constitution Day”? Well, we’re still a Republic. But for how long? President Reagan warned in his 1989 farewell, “An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? . . . I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American Spirit.”

We are as ignorant today in Florida of this question as we were when Reagan took office. The result of ignoring his warning is that many civic educators today have arrived at the conclusion that the erosion of the American Memory is already well underway. The Florida Legislature can avert this danger to our Republic by requiring an assessment in this vital area of our children’s education -- before it’s too late! Both our children’s future, and that of our Republic rests upon their decision.


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The writer has been a social studies educator, a former elementary school principal, and serves as Legislative Chair for the Florida Council for the Social Studies. He may be reached at JSBovee@aol.com.