Posted on 04/10/2013 9:15:02 PM PDT by Up Yours Marxists
Stephen Schaetzle, college student and Navy reservist didn’t know what was in store early Wednesdaywhen the little kid in a red Liberty Day t-shirt with Betsy Ross flag on the back, asked for a minute of his time.
A good sport, he submitted to being politely grilled on the Constitution by Claire Byrnes, fifth grader.
It didn’t go so well.
“I haven’t a clue,” Schaetzle replied when she asked what the requirements are to be a U.S. Congressman.
Sympathetically, she handed him a mini-version of the Constitution and asked him to read the answer: be at least 25 years of age, a citizen seven years prior to election, and resident of the state
After his recital, Schaetzle joked: “It’s a long day already.”
(Excerpt) Read more at gazette.com ...
It’s g-damn rocket science.
When I was in 8th grade (I’m 29 so not that long ago) everyone had to take and pass a constitution test or else they didn’t graduate elementary school.
Why can’t these chumps retain information? Too much dope?
Outstanding!
Does anybody know if reciting the pledge of allegiance is a daily requirement in schools today?
I mean it’s NOT rocket science.
Like proofreading, which is.
This is pointless and meaningless. The kids probably just finished studying the Constitution whereas the college students hadn’t. Under those circumstances, the kids will always do well. Doesn’t mean they actually know or understand what they studied, only that they got the questions that were on the test!
They are not smarter than a 5th grader. We had similar work in 8th grade.
Agreed. Let’s see how they do on LaPlace and Fourier transforms.
“This is pointless and meaningless. The kids probably just finished studying the Constitution whereas the college students hadn’t.”
When I swore my oath to defend it, I decided I’d study what I was defending. Same thing with driving and the laws of the road. Even before that I knew the Constitution prior to going into college. I guess I’m old school.
Most people in this country think they don’t have to know the law, even when it affects them EVERY SINGLE day. How foolish. There’s no latitude in ignorance of the law, and nobody’s gonna force you out of that ignorance. The judge ain’t gonna tell you “it’s OK...you’re a slobbering idiot” when sentencing time comes.
I didn’t have anything like that, but then I went to NYC public schools.
“This is pointless and meaningless.”
No it isn’t. Only next time, ask these questions of some congressmen. I’d bet money they wouldn’t do as well as the college students.
Even the writer got the president requirements wrong. The president must be a natural born citizen, not “born in the US”. If being born in the US was all that was required, an anchor baby could be elected president. Both parents must be US citizens. I guess they didn’t want to pull the scab off with Obama still in office.
That is a fair point, however, there is another factor here.
As Bill Whittle pointed out in his virtual inaugural address, this country has become so glutted with laws, rules, regulations, legislations and so on that it is nearly impossible to unknowingly be in violation of some law.
I believe Bill Whittle is 100% right. And I do believe that it is not wholly unintentional, either.
Still, people should have at least an understanding of the Constitution, its construction and major parts. I am not sure that I would get some of the fine detail, but I can discuss the various components and provide some historical context for the reasons those components exist.
I meant to say: “...it is nearly impossible to NOT unknowingly be in violation of some law...”
I have the same thing. It is a great thing to have at your fingertips.
The biggest qualification to being a Congress man is a desire to live a life of luxury by sucking off the governmet tit.
It helps if you are a lawyer with a failed practice.
Not apologizing for these college dummies but 2 years ago, I had to relearn some elementary math to help my daughter with home work. I forgot how to divide fractions for example. Don’t quiz me on grammar or especially the appropriate place for commas either.
It’s been well over 50 years since I first learned that stuff and haven’t had a need to divide fractions in all that time. These college students are not that far removed from learning the Constitution.
Knowing the law is not the same thing as being able to quote the Constitution. I studied the Constitution as a kid and went back and re-read it as an adult in preparation for teaching it to an ESL class. I still couldn't accurately quote salient passages of the Constitution today because I don't use that information on a regular basis so it isn't fresh.
Let me give you an example - Can you diagram a sentence? Surely you learned how to do that by the 5th grade, but I would bet that anyone who doesn't diagram sentences as an adult (such as a teacher) could do it today. That's the substance of all these "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" nonsense. A 5th grader who just finished studying something is more than likely going to understand or know the topic better than an adult who hasn't just finished studying it and is more concerned with bills, job, kids, etc.
Any number of scientific studies have proven that information we learned at some point in our lives that isn't used on a regular basis fades away. That's simply how our brains work. So, yes, this is pointless and meaningles. It is designed to make us think that children who are learning less in school today than I did when I attended school are actually smarter. It's a red herring!
LOL!! Dude, you're tough!! But I agree with you.
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