The First Lesson of Constitution Day Is There Should Be No Forced Lessons on Constitution Day

Neal McCluskeyToday isConstitution Day, marking the anniversary of the drafting of the United States Constitution, a document that has survived – sort of – since 1787. “Sort of,” because that oft‐​invoked document has been twisted, ripped, and shunted aside – and not through the totally Constitutional amendment process – so frequently it is hard to say that it is really still in force.Education – my area – is a perfect example of this. The Constitution only gives the federal government specific, enumerated powers, and none are about education. YetWashington annually spends tens ‐​of‐​billions of dollars on K-12 schooling, funding that brought us to thebrink of a national curriculum; gives grants and loans to college students that fuelsrampant tuition inflation, amongother disasters; and reachesinto the cribs of the youngest Americans. Indeed, any educational institution that receives unconstitutional federalfunding has to teach about the Constitution today because the feds unconstitutionally require it in exchange for the unconstitutional bucks.See what I mean about twisting?To help you see the light about the feds and education, I offer some Cato Center for Educational Freedom resources tackling the federal government and education:For a history and analysis of federal education policy up to the mid ‐​2000s, you can read my book,Feds in the ClassroomIf video is more your medium, CEF hostedthree panel discussions l...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs