Your Children are Not Learning the Constitution. There's a Reason for That

How can younger generations defend their rights when they don't know what they are?

constitution on fire

We're at a critical point, and the future of our country hangs in the balance. Our education system, which used to be a shining example, is failing. It's not equipping our young people with the essential knowledge they need, knowledge that is the very core of our identity as a nation.

Here's something that should make us all stop and think: too many of our college students, the ones who will lead us forward, can’t tell the difference between the U.S. Constitution and the Russian constitution. This isn’t a small problem; it's a sign of a significant educational crisis that threatens the future of our nation.

Political science professor at Suffolk Community College and Campus Reform Higher Education Fellow Nick Giordano said that 90% of college students couldn't differentiate the U.S. constitution from the Russia constitution.

"So for the last decade, I assign my students a constitutional exercise," Giordano said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "It's to see if they could identify the Constitution, and 90% of my students can't differentiate between the American from the Russian constitution. It really is startling."

Literacy regarding the U.S. Constitution has been on the decline for a while, according to other studies.

According to a survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenburg Public Policy Center, only one in six U.S. adults could name any of the branches of government.

This problem stems from an education system that has lost its way. Education should be about more than skills one needs to obtain gainful employment – it should be about creating informed and empowered citizens.

The reality is stark. When so many adults don't even know the branches of government, we are facing not just a lack of knowledge but a dangerous decline in civic awareness, which could lead to some pretty unpleasant consequences.

This ignorance isn’t just a theoretical problem – it has real, tangible, and dangerous consequences. A population that doesn’t know its rights or the checks and balances built into our system is at risk of having these rights violated by the state. We cannot fight to defend our rights if we do not even know what they are.

Is this lack of knowledge accidental, or is there a more sinister plan to create a population that doesn’t question, that doesn’t think for itself? This might sound extreme, but the evidence is there – the fact that schools are not teaching about the Constitution and civics is a sign that something is amiss.

The reality is that if the elites who run our governing institutions want to keep us compliant, they must also keep us ignorant. In light of this, it does not come as a surprise that civics is no longer a primary subject in many schools. Those who wish to make the government even stronger would love to turn out future generations that are easier to manipulate and subjugate because they are ignorant of what it means to have natural rights worth defending.

But we haven’t lost hope. Realizing this issue gives us the opportunity to change it. We need to acknowledge this problem and demand a change in our educational priorities.

This concerns all of us - parents, teachers, policymakers. We need a renewed focus on civic education, with a curriculum that deeply engages students in our constitutional heritage and prepares them to be informed and active citizens. Unfortunately, in many areas, this is not possible since public schools appear to be hesitant to teach about these subjects, which is why it might be best to remove one’s children from government-run schools if possible.

School choice can be a key part of the solution. Private schools and homeschooling are both viable alternatives for those wanting to make sure their kids are being educated instead of indoctrinated. Education should be about creating free-thinking, informed, and empowered citizens. We need a foundational change in our approach to education.

We can’t afford to be complacent. We’re not just filling a gap in education – we're fighting for the soul of our democracy. Every informed citizen is a defense against tyranny. Let's turn this crisis into an opportunity for a renewal of civic engagement and constitutional knowledge.

Our country’s future depends not just on the basic literacy of our people but on a deep, profound understanding of our constitutional principles. We’re not just teaching facts – we’re nurturing tomorrow’s democracy. Each informed citizen embodies the unyielding spirit of our nation, a spirit that can overcome any challenge.

Let’s make this a turning point, a moment of awakening, and a beginning of a renewed commitment to constitutional literacy and democratic engagement. The future of our nation depends on it.