We live in a society today that is for the most part illiterate. Literacy isn’t just the ability to read words on a page. Infact, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, Literacy means the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, accomplish one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and potential. Most Americans have the ability to read words on a page. However when it comes to our government and our nation’s most important document, our citizens lack true literacy. We live in a nation today that is constitutionally illiterate. Fundamentally, constitutional literacy is an idea that citizens are well versed in and have an understanding of the constitution. The first standard of constitutional literacy is that citizens must have read and understood the full text of the constitution. The second is that in turn citizens must understand and be willing to carry out their duties according to the constitution. The third is that citizens must be aware of their government’s actions in order to hold that government accountable when it steps outside of its constitutional bounds. In 2013 the …show more content…
However, few Americans recognize the rising danger. To rectify constitutional illiteracy, we must teach the generations of today, who will become the voters of tomorrow, about our government and our constitution. We do this by ensuring students read and understand the full text of the constitution, teaching them about their duties according to that constitution, and enabling them to perform them. By doing these things we ensure that our students and ourselves are aware of our government’s actions so that we have the ability to hold that government
“While the authors of the United States Constitution are frequently portrayed as noble and idealistic statesmen who drafted a document based upon their conception of good government, reality is that the constitution reflects the politics of the drafting and ratification process. Unfortunately, the result is a document that is designed to produce an ineffective government, rather than a government that can respond to issues in a timely fashion.” In support of this conclusion, the issues of slavery, The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and the civil rights struggle keenly demonstrate the ways in which our constitution hinders the expediency and effectiveness of America’s government. The constitution’s provisions towards voting eligibility and
Have you ever wonder the process that the Founding Fathers of America had to go through to create our system of government? One of the vital pieces to establishing this government was the famous document known as the Constitution. The Constitution was a highly argued document, because many people were concerned about if it would protect the newly-separated country of america from the tyranny that they had faced with their previous king. The Constitution ended up being the people's’ savior after the delegates signed it in September 1787, and protected them from tyranny in their country even better than before. All and all, the Constitution guarded the United States against tyranny creating a system
The essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” written by Jonathan Kozol and published in Readings for Writers in 2013, conveyed an extremely important message throughout. Illiterate American’s struggle with simple daily tasks which many of us take for granted. The amount of illiterate people in our society is much higher than it should be. According to the essay, there are millions of Americans who fail to excel in the ability to read and write. Such a large number of people have a problem with this that evidence has shown that if those people were able to read and write and could consciously make a decision to vote for the president of the United States, there would likely have been a different outcome to the 1980 presidential election.
Laurence H. Tribe and Michael C. Dorf wrote the article “How not the Read the Constitution” in an attempt to investigate the intended interpretation of the Constitution. It was commonly agreed form both wings of the American political system the wording of the constitution was vague weather left that way purposely or not. What the writers aim to state is that the Constitution was mean to serve as a guide to feature generations, and was left vague in order to reflect the continually changing American society. Other groups to this day who oppose this view, in favor of constitutional interpretation as the framers would have seen it. In order to be more applicable to society today though, It seems more appropriate that the constitution reflects
Imagine waking up to an unfamiliar world. A world that only may seem familiar due to years spent breathing, but not living. In this unfamiliar world, one can only imagine the panic and frustrations illiterates face each day as they coexist. An expert on this issue, Jonathan Kozol, wrote a book that deals with his theories of illiterates in America. He mentions how democracy is sacrificed from lack of acknowledgement of this issue. While focusing on chapter four in his novel, Kozol highlights real life hardships for illiterates and defends that their freedoms are nonexistent. In Jonathan Kozol’s essay, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, he presents the major costs and dangers from illiterates that impact our society as a whole and that our nation fails to address.
The United States Constitution established the nation’s national government and fundamental laws as well as implemented basic rights for all citizens. On September 17,1787, the United States Constitution was created by delegates in the Philadelphia, which allows each branch to uphold different work ethics and to ensure that each branch has equal authority. A written constitution clearly defines the limitation that each government, branches, and citizens can obtain in order to have a democracy world rather than a dictatorship. United States Constitution allows residents to understand their rights and to familiarize themselves with their state and federal government’s laws. It is important to understand that the written constitution does not
After taking the “Constitution Quiz,” I was very disappointed. Not only did I earn a 6/10 on the quiz, but I noticed a relatively low score of 7/10 for the state of California. Considering my performance in school and love for American history, I was embarrassed. I truly believe that this is a legitimate reflection on society’s horrible job of teaching the youth about the government in which they are under. Up until this point in the educational system, we students have not been exposed to the study of our own government or that of any other governmental system. Our knowledge dwindles past the obvious three branches of the U.S. government. Compared to other countries, we are far behind. I traveled to Japan this summer
Amelia Arcamone-Makinano brings this issue to light in her extremely informative book “KRONOS: All-Devouring Federal Reserve”, where she speculates how this very problem has occurred for nearly 50 years in the United States. She juxtaposes many instances of great leadership and strong educational reforms throughout moments in history, cementing her belief that the literacy of citizens can be considerably beneficial to a country’s success. Arcamone-Makinano utilizes a structure of example followed by analysis to further her arguments of the present-day crisis of education, while citing the main source of constant problems coming from the Federal Reserve Board, whose hold on the education system has been depleting the strength of the American education system. Though a sign of a good leader are the inclination to gain knowledge, the United States is losing its desire to gain knowledge, which is resulting in an increase in illiteracy and a problem that will many future generations to
Matacons, Doug. "Americans (And Their Politicians) Don’t Know Much About the Constitution." Outside the Beltway. N.p., 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
America. Are we born with knowledge of the Constitution? Has our sense of this land shaped our culture and formed our laws? If we pledge allegiance to it, must it also stand for “We the people?” Have we made America and the Constitution synonymous, compatible. One. There is a need to know the Constitution for oneself that is right, wise, and beneficial. And yet there has been a revelation. Living in ignorance of the Constitution is a life of illusions and deception. And the elect pose no action to rise above this. The illusion will sweep through this nation for people embrace the mere appearance of what it means to be an American. But promise and truth remain within the Constitution because it's inspired and useful. It has revealed what was
Throughout the history of our country there are a handful of documents that have stood the test of time, however the documents that have remained relevant are ever more important today then when they were originally drafted. The U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptist Church are three documents that are still hold relevance in today’s societal discussions. These three documents hold truths, principals and ideologies that were and are crucial to the continuation and the development of the United States. The very ideas and tribulations that led to the development of the United States are expressed loudly in these three documents. While these documents are vastly different in content, they do all hold the same basic principals that create the framework of the United States.
Through course readings, lectures, class examples and so forth, we have identified multiple flaws in some of our oldest documents, which have served as the foundation of the United States of America. Throughout history we’ve witnessed events, presidential terms, and cultural and demographical evidence that show how the Pillars of Citizenship have not successfully worked toward executing the achievement of important milestones amongst nationalization, globalization and equality up to this very day.
More than most would imagine, illiteracy is a phenomenal crisis throughout the world. Today, there are approximately 800 million illiterates in the world. Ninety-three million of those are Americans who have basic or below basic literacy. Thirty million of the 93,000,000 are functionally illiterate. The other 63,000,000 read at a fifth to an eighth grade level and cannot understand a basic newspaper. According to Literacy Partners, a foundation which helps low-income parents with limited English proficiency transfer literacy
The problem of interpreting the Constitution and framer’s intent is a constantly permeating and troublesome question in the minds of Supreme Court Justices, judges, prominent politicians, and policy makers alike. It is a problem that has been pondered for years and years in the courtrooms and on paper with no real conclusion. One such essay arguing this dilemma is “How Not to Read the Constitution” by Laurence H. Tribe and Michael C. Dorf, who explore the questions “Is reading the text just a pretext for expressing the reader’s vision in the august, almost holy terms of constitutional law?” and “Is the Constitution simply a mirror in which one sees what one wants to see?” (Tribe,
In this day and age it seems unfathomable that there are so many people that cannot pick up a cereal box and read its contents, or read the operating manual of a toaster oven. Why is it that so many Americans cannot fill out a simple employment application or write a check? Where is the reasonable judgment in electing a President or passing a proposition? Why is it that in a country like America, with free education, are there still many people unable to read, write, or think critically? There may be a slew of reasons for this epidemic of uneducated Americans across this nation based on both facts and opinion. In my opinion, a few contributing factors may be poverty, financial deficit within communities, and government and political contribution.