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Murphy: Make those truths more evident

Sep 9, 06:16 PM

Meriden Record Journal

By Jesse Buchanan
Record-Journal staff

CHESHIRE — Full-size framed copies of the Declara­tion of Independenceand the Constitution hang in the main entrance of the high school, ar­tificially yellowed. They were installed in 2006, following asuggestion by resident John White, but White doesn’t want it to stop there.

Thanks to his urging, copies of the nation’s founding docu­ments mightbecome more common in public schools across the country.

Rep. Christopher S. Murphy, D-5th District, held a press con­ference Monday to announce that he would propose a non­binding resolution in Congress encouraging schools to display the Constitution and the Decla­ration of Independence. White suggested the idea to Murphy.

“There is nothing Republi­can or Democrat about this idea,” Murphy said. “This is a completely nonpartisan issue.”

White, a former high school English teacher, is concerned that youn gpeople do not un­derstand the fundamental prin­ciples of America, andhad his idea several years ago.

Knowledge of the Constitu­tion and civic responsibility has eroded,White said, and the na­tion will not remain free unless its citizensare educated.

“I’m very concerned about the education of our youth,” he said. Displaying the documents could “help inculcate a sense of patriotismin young people.”

“It begins in the family,” he added, defining patriotism as a loyalty to the Constitution.

Every March 16, White visits Dodd Middle School for Liber­ty Day tointroduce members of local government to students and reinforce theimportance of the Constitution and Declara­tion.

“I’m trying to make the Con­stitution relevant to kids,” he said.

White suggested only a non­binding resolution, rather thanlegislation, saying the federal government doesn’t have theconstitutional authority to tell school districts they must dis­playthe documents.

At the press conference, Murphy cited a study that found onlyone-third of high school students had a basic un­derstanding of the Constitu­tion. This ignorance is what Robert Leming of the Center for Civic Education, a nonprofit organization based in Califor­nia, is trying to combat.

Leming, the director of the “We the People” program, was glad that Cheshire schools chose to display the Constitu­tion and Declaration,but said “it’s much more important to have them talked about.”

The focus on standardized testing has created a shift away from socialstudies and civics, Leming said, subjects that are not tested.

“Science and math is impor­tant, but all our students are go­ing to becitizens,” he said.While the only civics re­quirement in Cheshire is a half­ credit highschool course, school Superintendent Greg Florio said the mechanics of government, constitutional law and civic responsibility are“in­terspersed throughout the vari­ous grade levels.”

“I think we cover all the as­pects of a civics course in our curriculum,” he said.

In 2005, Congress passed leg­islation creating Constitution Day,mandating that schools teach about the Constitution on or around Sept. 17, the day the Constitution was ratified. The legislation has been met with reluctance by some schools, which view it as an intrusion.

State Rep. Alfred C. Adinolfi, R-Cheshire, who was ap­proached by White in 2006, plans to introduce a legislative version of theresolution in the 2009 session of the General As­sembly, if he is re-elected in November. The legislation, which would mandate the dis­play of the documents, has failed twice, once in the Education Committee and once in the Finance Committee. Town Councilor Elizabeth Esty, a De­mocrat, is opposing Adinolfi.

Adinolfi said he did not know why the legislation failed in past sessions, but said it is al­ready being voluntarily imple­mented bysome schools.

“If you go throughout the state, you’ll find schools are al­ready doing this,” he said. “It’s not an expensive thing. Out of respect for our Constitution, it’s good to display it.

“Murphy, also seeking re-elec­tion, is running against Repub­licanstate Sen. David Cappiello of Danbury. Cappiello said Monday that, despite his many policy differences with Murphy, he sup­ports the nonbinding resolu­tion.

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