I am an American college student that was able to name 4.
Just to help I was able to name all 5 although I had freedom of the press tangled up in freedom of speech as publication/dispersal of speech. I am a middle aged Aussie.
I see a pattern. I knew all five and I am a middle-aged Canadian. So, Americans, if you want your children to know your constitution, send them out into the Commonwealth. Forty years later, they should have it down.
When I was in high school, 20+ years ago, Government class was required. We had to learn ALL of the Amendments to pass the class! There were only 26 at that time. They didn’t pass the 27th until well after I had graduated. We had to list them and the dates they were passed.
They don’t teach that anymore? That’s SAD!
They teach that in our district, but in 8th grade - which means the 12 and 13 year olds in the OP’s school may be getting it next year, if they’re like us.
In fact, I’m pretty sure 8th graders nationwide have to take the constitution test, don’t they? Or is that an Illinois thing?
What do you expect, we all know that the sepperation of church and state is the 1st, Right to abortion is the 2nd and the right to privacy is the 3rd.
Well since the right to abortion came from the right to privacy then abortion has to be the 4th, I guess there is no 2nd
What did you expect?
This is two – right of free exercise and the right to be free of government-established religion. (The Establishment Clause isn’t typically thought of in those terms, but since individuals can sue to get improper establishments of religion taken down/ended, there’s clearly a personal right there.)
In 11th grade, a student teacher of ours gave the quiz on the film Excalibur, which we had watched in class. The last question on the quiz was “What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?”
Not to brag, but I was the only one who got it right.
–Cliffy
Granted. I tend to look at it as one under the heading “freedom of religion” which seeing as how I live in the home city of the Freedom From Religion Foundation I really shouldn’t.
“Sad” and “Normal” are only two amendments. The others are the right to shoot your mouth off, the right to use guns to shoot other peoples’ mouths off, the right to assemble things piecemeal, the right to go to jail real fast, the right to be bitched out for whatever it is they THINK you did, and a bunch of others.
Did you point out that the answer isn’t in Excalibur?
I had a math teacher who put trivia questions about the 1950s TV show Sky King in her exams. (this was in the 1970s)
Believe you me, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst the other members of the class. But I happily wallowed in my slanhood.
–Cliffy
Which is important in Puerto Rico, because it gets kind of warm down there.
Isn’t this something that isn’t taught until high school Government or Civics class (Age 15-17)?
Did they, perhaps, mention some of the other rights found in the Bill of Rights, just not ones from the first amendment? If it’s just a matter of not knowing which rights are stated in which amendment, that doesn’t bother me all that much.
This just reminded me of a German exchange student that was at my high school many years ago. Almost everything we learned in high school, he had already covered in the German equivalent of elementary school.
When we have low expectations of our kids, guess what we wind up with?
I got “the right to bear arms” a few times, and “the right to vote,” (little do they know the storied and piecemeal evolution of this right in America, apparently) but none of them got press, assembly, or petition.
Maybe this knowledge is too advanced for 12 year olds, but I want them to know it, which is why I make a point of asking them about it and telling them. None of them knew how many members of Congress there are, could name both of their US Senators or their Congressman, and less than 5 of them knew how many Supreme Court Justices there were. To me, these are basic facts of being an American, and it feels to me like they should know them. As it stands, it’s only extra credit, but it might make them care about it a little more.
Um, you do realize that a GPS is completely, utterly useless without a map of some sort? And as for calculators… I’m the only person I know who carries a calculator with me everywhere I go, and I do mental math as often as not. I can guarantee you that those folks who say “I don’t need to know math because I have a calculator” don’t carry a calculator with them.
Back to the First Ammendment, I would say that the freedoms of Press and Speech are more closely related than are Assembly and Speech (and, in fact, the right to peaceable assembly isn’t all that far off from a right to party). For what it’s worth (since I doubt Dopers are a representative demographic), I knew four, but couldn’t remember Petition.
And kanicbird, you probably already know this, but the right to privacy is from the Fourth and Ninth Ammendments, the right to an abortion is extrapolated from the right to privacy, and therefore comes from those same ammendments, and the Second Ammendment is the one which allows private ownership of nukes. You did get the Separation of Church and State right, though; that is part of the First Ammendment.
In order to build, invent, or improve calculators, you need a fairly decent understanding of mathematics. Calculators are great, but I worry that an over-reliance on them will rob students of the mental abilities from which will arise the next generation of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. And You need some idea of where countries are on a globe to understand history, politics, and strategy. Not to mention interpreting what those GPS signals mean.
To lighten the mood, here’s one of my favorite Simpson’s quotes, when Marge must sub for a striking teacher:
Marge: Half these kids can’t find Canada on a map.
Homer: Oh Marge, anyone can miss Canada, all tucked away down there.
Did you simply ask in turn, “African or European?”
[QUOTE=Rubystreak]
Maybe this knowledge is too advanced for 12 year olds/QUOTE]
At first glance, I was horrified by these ignorant 12 yr olds–but then I started asking some practical questions:
Q:- - How can we expect kids to know the details of the Constitution?
A: Somebody forced them to read it, in a formal classroom setting. (It’s not really a fun thing to read on your own)
which leads to:
Q: – Which class teaches US History and government?
A: — I had it in seventh grade–i.e. age 12. But not until the second semester.
(I moved to a new city that year, so I can still clearly
remember the differences between 1st and 2nd semesters from 25 years
ago)
Suggestion solution: Maybe you should ask this question on a test in April?
Q: --Am I (a fee-paying Doper, a fighter of ignorance) an ignoramus for not being able to list the five freedoms in the OP?
A: – I hope not–but to be honest, I’ve don’t worry too much about separating the different clauses into precisely five distinct and separate rights. I would just say that the 1st Amm. gives me freedom of speech,religion, and the right to assemble peaceably—but I’m not bothered if someone thinks of freedom of the press and as included in freedom of speech, and doesn’t list it as a separate right. Or that petition for redress of grievances is a different right than attending a protest demonstration.
Suggestion: Maybe instead of asking them to list 5 specific rights, you should ask the kids to write a paragraph about the kinds of stuff which they are free to do (but kids in Saudia Arabia are not) because the 1st Ammend. protects it. Going to protest marches, going to church, saying whatever they want, etc.
Writing a paragraph as a bonus question, or a longer essay as an English assignment, will teach them the importance of the issue. The details can come from the history teacher.