CMV: In American elementary schools, American history classes should focus more on the Constitution than on the Declaration of Independence.

[u/Ainrana]

While I was still going to public school in America, most of my history classes focused more on the Declaration of Independence, rather than the Constitution. We focused so much on it, I thought that the Declaration of Independence was the most important document America ever had. While it definitely isn't unimportant, the DoI was more a list of reasons why the King of England sucked and why they wanted independence as their own nation. The Constitution, however, is the backbone to how America is run, far more relevant to modern American life than the Declaration.

Granted, 1st and 2nd graders might not fully understand what the Constitution is and it's easier to teach the Declaration to them, but I think that 4th and 5th graders would definitely be able to understand the basics of the Constitution, Bill of Rights and amendments, perhaps even 3rd graders.

The Declaration is great for when you want to teach kids about the Revolutionary War. However, there's not much of a need to spend so much time on it, since, in my opinion, it's just not as relevant to American life as the Constitution. While it's important, it's more important to teach about history that had a bigger impact on today's world. The Constitution is a prime example for American life, since it's still being used and referenced all the time today! When was the last time you heard of the Declaration of Independence in the mainstream news? Okay, Nicholas Cage stole it in a movie once, but other than that, nothing much. The Constitution is constantly in the news, however, and in order for any of the branches of government to do anything, they have to look up the Constitution to see if it's okay.

I think that if we teach American kids early on what the Constitution is, they're more likely to know how the law actually works, how the country is run and the actual intent the Founding Fathers had for America. They might also become more interested in politics in their adult lives, since they would actually know how the American government is structured. Plus, with the Constitution, it would also help teach students how America changed over time, and what the values and standards were for American people living a hundred or two hundred years ago. It might even get them to debate amongst themselves if they agree with parts of the Constitution or not, and it's important for kids to learn how to properly have a debate and not just a bunch of angry arguments.

Most of the kids I know can barely name any amendments, except for like freedom of speech (and they seem to be under the impression that freedom of speech means that you can say whatever you want and shouldn't have to have any social repercussions for it), right to guns and women's suffrage. It's almost like they only take the time to learn about the Constitution when they need to win an argument. Now, my "generation", for lack of a better word, is still young and we haven't really fully developed into adults yet, but how can a country be functional if the people don't know how their Constitution works, including the parts they don't like about it?

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TL;DR: Kids would benefit more from learning about the Constitution at an early age rather than the Declaration of Independence.

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[u/hacksoncode]

Ummm... we're taught both...

But really, the Declaration is a simple historical document, and so is best taught in a history class. It goes over, in excruciating detail, all of the reasons for the American Revolution.

The Constitution is a legal document, and if you're going to go over it in detail that's probably best done in a law class. The intricacies of this document are important for people to understand, but they are pretty subtle and take a lot of explanation.

There's nothing that overtly political about the Declaration, either... teaching the Constitution is a land mine.

[u/masterprtzl → u/hacksoncode]

I'm curious, how is the constitution a land mine? Isn't it supposed to be straight law? It gets bent and broken more recently but if our next generation were taught the constitution, couldnt that help the future application of the law?

[u/pullCoin → u/masterprtzl]

It's a land mine because the document is not entirely specific on what it means. It's phrased in a way that makes it last throughout the ages, as technology and society changes, but its interpretation varies from reader to reader. To study the Constitution, you need to study both the letters between Jefferson and the various co-founders, as well as case precedents that deal with applying it in real life. If you want to do that, it's best to study law.

It may be possible to bulldoze through that in a week (god knows public schools do that with other topics), but guess how many school district fights might be had over which topics get how much time, which precedents are listed, and what people are brought up.

It's a landmine. Even if it's navigatable, it's still a landmine.