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Joely, my 7 year old, has been fascinated with learning about the U.S. presidents lately. She pulled all the books about presidents off our bookshelves and had her nose stuck in the books for days. While on this presidential kick she even decided to memorized the preamble to the Constitution.
And of course, since she was on such a roll — and I'm a die-hard homeschool mom — I decided to teach her about the first ten amendments to the Constitution, otherwise known as the Bill of Rights.
And that's where I started stumbling over my words.
As I explained the meaning of each amendment, I found myself saying repeatedly, "Well, that's not really true in many places because there are laws prohibiting…"
It was sad, really, having to add an extra explanation amendment after amendment — that even though the Bill of Rights said we have a right to free speech, to freedom of religion, to assembly, to bear arms, etc., those rights are legislated nearly out of existence in many places in the country.
It wasn't the lesson about the Bill of Rights I was hoping she would need to learn.
That being said, there is still no other country in the world I'd want to be a citizen of. I'm proud to be an American, but so disappointed that our freedoms are being taken away from us little by little each and every day.
It's my prayer that my children will learn enough about the history of our great country so that they can grow to be educated citizens of our nation and can one day positively influence the direction of our nation.
Joy is the wife of 
I just had the same experience after watching a video on the Bill of Rights. I had to keep on explaining the 'exceptions' to the children, just as you did, and wondering to myself how it has come to this!
It is also my prayer that we can teach and train our children to be godly citizens and that our country can once again be turned in the right direction.
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I'm curious to hear more of your perspective on this – in what places and in what ways are these constitutional rights not being upheld? Since the Supreme Court has the job to overrule unconstitutional local laws (I'm not telling you this, I realize you know that), I wonder if they are instances that have not reached the SC, or just where some disagree with the SC?
I found you today via your book list for your kids – I have a three year old and he's listening to every chapter book I can get my hands on that is innocent enough to not give him bad dreams! Any ideas?
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Joy Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 10:46 am
@Catherine, My basic perspective is this. For many of the 'rights' delineated in the Constitution, you can find laws (not necessarily federal. More often they are local laws, rules, or practices.) that limit those rights, some to a great extent.
First Amendment: Freedom of religion? As one example, think of those university professors who lose their jobs because they don't believe in the status quo of humanism, which is the established religion of so many of our institutes of higher education, both public and private.
Second Amendment: Right to bear arms? Unless you live in any number of cities in the U.S. that take away those rights through their ultra-restrictive gun laws.
Fourth Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." I'm no Constitutional scholar, but I think this right applies to more than just the law coming in to search your house and your information when you've been accused of something. We're losing these right more and more every day as the Federal government collects more information about each of its citizens, including shortly, as a result of the new Health Care Law that was passed, our medical records.
Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Again, I think we just saw this right tread heavily upon with the passage of this Health Care Bill recently.
I realize that for some of these amendments, particular states have made their own laws (such as for the right to bear arms). But again, that means that when I tell my kids about that right in the Constitution, I have to say, "We have the right to bear arms, unless we live here, or here, or here." There always seems to be a caveat.
I hope that explains where I was coming from more specifically.
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So I'm considering homeschooling (we're a ways off yet) and I'm wondering where you come by info. For example I would have used a book or found the bill of rights online and taught it. I was unaware that there are places non-criminals are not allowed to own guns. So how to you collect the extra info to round out your lessons? We are really considering homeschooling because my husband works swing shift and regular school would prevent family time Monday-Friday. BUT I find the whole concept very overwhelming. I fear doing an inadequate job.
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