Teaching about the Constitution

View this in your browser ([link removed])
Published in RealClear Education ([link removed])
Four Things We Should Teach Children About the Constitution
by Hans Zeiger, JMC President

When we think of the United States Constitution, we probably consider the structure it gives to our national government. We may think of its presence at the center of political controversies past and present. Or we may think of ways in which the document has been neglected.
But as we mark the 235^th anniversary of the Constitution’s signing on Sept. 17, 1787, it is worth noting the positive ways in which our daily lives as individuals – and our shared lives as citizens – are profoundly shaped by that document.

First, the Constitution is a common reference point for American civic life. The Preamble tells us the Constitution’s purpose – one that “We the People” share together. It speaks of the need to maintain our “more perfect Union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” This purpose is as relevant today as it was in 1787.

The founding generation certainly bore a heavy responsibility in adhering to these purposes, but each generation must do its part in the ongoing work of self-government. And each individual citizen is a shareholder in the enterprise of democracy.

Even with this shared mission, we don’t hold everything in common, and we never have. The second way in which the Constitution touches our lives is that it creates space for disagreement. It serves effectively as a framework for deliberative processes that are inclusive, civil, and dispersed.

Our Constitution makes way for diversity and variety in a large and ever-growing country. It does this through representative institutions that encourage debate and participation and protect minority rights. The Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the ratification thereafter, was a remarkable demonstration of public deliberation, one that set in motion an entire regime centered on deliberative democracy.

The Constitution also makes way for a plurality of governing philosophies, partisan affiliations, and local and regional preferences through federalism. Federalism gives us a multitude of concurrent and overlapping local, state, and national jurisdictions in which we can participate in our own governance. This allows different levels of government to solve problems in different ways.

While the national government is equipped to solve some of our problems, the state and local governments, and “the people,” as referenced in the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution – living their individual lives and taking part in civil society – are capable of solving most problems. Individuals, families, and communities are just as much a part of our constitutional order as is the government.

Finally, the Constitution is a framework for balance. It stands for order and freedom together or what has been called “ordered liberty.”Not only do we have institutional balance of powers, with checks and balances between the branches of government to prevent government overreach, but our constitutional system provides other kinds of balance as well.

As Americans, we must understand the balance of rights and responsibilities we hold as citizens. Along with individual freedoms, we have civic commitments to our local communities, states, and nation.

Among our civic commitments is a responsibility to understand our Constitution. As we celebrate Constitution Day, we should do our best to pass along this knowledge to our children. Civic education is fundamental to the continuity of our free society. While we strongly contend for our positions in the political arena – left, right, and center – we are all inheritors of the Constitution. Let us join together this Sept. 17 to celebrate the Constitution and pass along its blessings of liberty to the rising generation.

This article was published today in RealClear Education ([link removed]) .
The battle for the soul of our nation will be won or lost in our
classrooms ™ — Jack Miller

At the Jack Miller Center, that battle is our sole mission. We are the boots on the ground, working to bring the America's founding principles and history back to the classroom. To get the job done, we need your support. Please consider a tax-deductible gift ([link removed]) to JMC. Your donation, large or small, is an investment in the future of our country—for you, for your children, for your grandchildren.
Click Here to Donate Today ([link removed])
If you think your friends or contacts would be interested in this article, please forward this email or share on your social media!
[link removed] Post ([link removed])
[link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fgojmc.org%2Fzeiger-constitution Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fgojmc.org%2Fzeiger-constitution)
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) public charity with the mission to reinvigorate education in America's founding principles and history. We work to advance the teaching and study of America's history, its political and economic institutions, and the central principles, ideas and issues arising from the American and Western traditions—all of which continue to animate our national life.

We support professors and educators through programs, resources, fellowships and more to help them teach our nation's students.
www.jackmillercenter.org

============================================================
Follow Us!
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
The Jack Miller Center
[email protected]
484-436-2060

Our mailing address is:
3 Bala Plaza West, Suite 401, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.