Sunday, April 27, 2003

Recite these too

At the local place of coffee this morning there was newspaper-inspired discussion on the Bill of Rights, and attempted enumeration of the 5(?) rights in the First Amendment, and our abysmal performance got me to thinking, here every day students are putting hands on hearts and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, isn't it just as important for the future of our country that they also be able to recite the Bill of Rights?
Admittedly the BofR is a handful, but what if the class just learned one new amendment per grade, and maybe only had to recite one or two of them each day... This would provide both variety and excellent topics for discussion and debate. And clearly it's needed, Roger Ebert concurs :
I begin to feel like I was in the last generation of Americans who took a civics class. I begin to feel like most Americans don't understand the First Amendment, don't understand the idea of freedom of speech, and don't understand that it's the responsibility of the citizen to speak out...

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