Picture Credits: @Britney4Real on X
From Harnett to Horry County, school districts across the Carolinas are celebrating “Constitution Week” in honor of our nation’s founding document. While most other weeks are characterized by division and disagreement, this week serves as a reminder of our shared American values.
At Coates-Erwin Middle School in Harnett County, history becomes interactive when students are given the opportunity to create their own social contracts and write a class Constitution.
In 2022, Gracie Stone, an 8th grader at Coates-Erwin at the time, captured the essence of Constitution Week when she said,
“Shared values in a community means people can agree more, argue less, and this makes it a better environment for everybody.”
This year, Moms for Liberty Union County, partnered with the 917Society, donated 4,000 pocket Constitutions for every 8th grader in Union County Public Schools. These came in handy as Union County students learned about the Constitution’s history and contents.
When I attended Franklin Academy in 8th grade, I was given a pocket Constitution during Constitution Week to assist with my learning. As my teacher, Mr. Shuler, took us through the Preamble, Articles, and Amendments, I vigorously highlighted and annotated in the margins. The inside cover still has my name and Constitution Day’s date, September 17, 2014. To this day, I keep it displayed proudly on my bookshelf as a reminder of how fortunate I am that I was taught about our nation’s incredible founding document.
It is now more important than ever for educators to teach the Constitution right, teach it early, and teach it everywhere. To best equip you with the knowledge you need to uphold our Constitution in your school district, here’s a list of resources!
First Amendment Cases School Board Members Should Know
Empower K-12 Students and Staff to Know Their First Amendment Rights