Just Tell the Truth

I recently received a mailing from Hillsdale College that had, visible through the address window, this bold-face question: “Will you help put the Constitution back in South Dakota schools?” As an educator in South Dakota–and a history teacher, specifically–I was curious what this was about. I have known of Hillsdale College for years and I enjoy reading their publication Imprimis. But I knew that the Constitution was not, in fact, missing from South Dakota schools.

The letter begins with the statement, “K-12 education in America is at a crisis point.” Not at all alarmist, right? Of course it is at a critical point, and there are very real problems, but then, when have there not been? The next paragraph is where the buzzwords come out, referencing “activists,” “entrenched education bureaucrats,” “destructive ideas” “critical race theory” and “other Marxist ideologies.” That was followed up with the bold, underlined sentence, “And they’re doing so in K-12 classrooms in your state.”

The letter is a plea to give money so that Hillsdale can continue to distribute pocket-sized copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, one of which they kindly enclosed with the appeal. The letter references a letter from “a little girl named Bailey” and even includes a copy. While neither the appeal letter nor Bailey’s letter says so, the response card says, “Schoolchildren like Bailey in South Dakota are counting on you!” Maybe the intent is to refer to schoolchildren in South Dakota who are like Bailey, but it sure seems to imply that Bailey is from South Dakota–just like the visible part of the letter I received suggests that the Constitution is missing from South Dakota classrooms.

So here’s my message to Hillsdale College–just tell the truth.

I can respect Hillsdale caring about the country. I can respect an effort to provide copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to schoolchildren. I can respect that there are real concerns about public education in the United States and about critical race theory. What I cannot respect is lying to try to get my support.

Sadly, lying seems to have become an accepted part of American life. Politicians do it regularly. Tucker Carlson does in just about every show. So do other so-called journalists. And this is on both sides of the political spectrum. It seems that an “end justifies the means” approach has taken over and few people have an issue with it. But it’s not just sad, it’s scary. And it will, if left unchecked, lead to the end of America as we know it.

For the record, the Constitution is not missing in South Dakota classrooms. The Social Studies standards that were adopted in 2015 say “Students will explain the historical impact of primary founding documents including, but not limited to, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments.” And that’s not for fourth grade, by the way–that’s the standard for kindergarten. The new standards, adopted in 2023, say, “The student identifies and explains the meaning of different symbols of America. Symbols may include, but are not limited to” followed by a list of thirty-three documents, dates, places, songs and mottos, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as well as the national motto, “In God We Trust.”

I could provide ample examples from the 2015 standards, but let me stick with the 2023 updates. For first graders, “The student can recite the Preamble to the United States Constitution from memory.” A second grade student “demonstrates knowledge of the United States Constitution,” with seven subpoints laying out what that looks like. A second-grader also “demonstrates knowledge of the early United States under the Constitution” (six sub-points for that one) and knows the “initial and later views on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution” of Frederick Douglass. Fourth graders have nine-sub points to demonstrate an understanding of the Constitution, seventh-graders have eight sub-points to do so (plus another seven sub-points about James Madison, including his role in the Constitutional Convention and in writing The Federalist Papers) and have another eleven sub-points for demonstrating “understanding of the structure and function of the United States Constitution.” Eighth grade students can name and explain the “16th, 17th, and 18th amendments to the Constitution” and can compare and contrast “the main ideas and programs of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.” This is all before the student reaches high school, where both United States History and American Government are required for graduation.

So please, Hillsdale, don’t act like the Constitution is missing from South Dakota classrooms. Make sure you know what you’re talking about–and tell the truth!