[NLA] Discussion: Some State Court Perspectives

[Catherine B. King]

Hello Leah and Colleagues:

In "Some State Court Perspectives," ". . . the court ruled
that schools were obligated by the state Constitution to
do nothing more than prepare students for low-level jobs,
for serving on a jury and for reading campaign literature —
the equivalent, the court suggested, of an eighth- or a
ninth-grade education."

What better examples, than the courts themselves give,
would show the need for developing public wisdom:
(1) serving on a jury and (2) political awareness?

I suppose a perusal of state Constitutions, with an eye to
education,  is in order.  Perhaps some of our think-tanks who
have money for this sort of study could add it to their
agenda if they haven't already?

However, the U.S. Constitution is general enough to infer a
wide range of federal and state obligations, and was written
in a general fashion in order to meet the dynamic demands of
a changing world.

That changing world at present would move the import of an
educated and educating public from the back to the front
burner, as it were, and reposition continuing public education
as the critical centerpiece to the ongoing crisis in our
"democratic experiment" in both State and Federal
government.  In some cases, what Constitutions DON'T say
is more important to Citizens than what they do say, and this
is also the case where education is concerned.

Three U.S Constitutional notes come to mind.  First, the Preamble,
where "promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings
of Liberty to ourselves, and our Posterity, . . . " couples with
(1) technology, (2) communications, (3) international events, and
(4) the foibles of the powerful, including our Congress, to strongly
infer the import, even the necessity, of continuing education of
The People.

This dynamic combination demands a high level of critical
awareness on the part of even the most remote and
marginalized among us, " The People," just to prepare the
possibility (certainly not yet the necessity) that we are diligent in
keeping our precious freedoms and do not ignorantly fall prey to
powerful and aggressive undemocratic forces; that we readily
recognize sheepscloth; and that we may understand the highly
complicated process involved in, e.g., serving on juries and
reading (and understanding?) campaigns and their literature,
not to mention debacles, oversights, and oversteppings of our
Courts.    Ignorance, it seems, is not restricted to The People
but may become institutionalized.  And a lack of stated
obligation does not constitute a necessary negation.

The second Constitutional note comes from the Ninth Amendment:

"The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

We must infer from the above that "certain rights" exist; that
they are de facto retained by the people; that they need not be
enumerated; and that these rights are, indeed, defined
precisely by not being so enumerated.  If not education as
an ongoing prerequisite to developing and maintaining the
wisdom of the people, then What?

Also, I suggest the above quote from the courts misinterprets
the importance of both jury duty and citizen voting and
disparages the unstated right retained by The People of a
democracy to participate equally in our system of government:
When continuing education of The People is not highly
valued and supported by our State and Federal institutions,
the ability of the people to retain the very foundations that
support the courts, and those institutions, is de facto
disparaged.

Like a building needs maintenance to avoid falling into
disrepair and finally collapsing, The People's continuing
education is essential to the maintenance of a developing
and maturing democracy.

The third Constitutional note comes from the Tenth Amendment:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
the States respectively, or to the people."

Without continuing education, The People have no powers
in a prima fascia way.  People who do not understand or know
their powers, do not have them.   And just being born into a
democracy does not guarantee the **ability** to understand or
participate wisely in it.

Also, in the Tenth Amendment, "The People" are distinguished
from both the federal Constitution and the States as a
separate entity, the fourth branch of government, as it were.

In this sense, State courts are not the voice of "The People" in
regard to State obligations--legislators are closer to this power?
Courts not only disparage our rights by arbitrarily construing
what is obliged by the States to The People with regard to
educating its citizens, they are also eclipsing the voice of The
People, as well as attempting to destroy the foundations that
would develop that voice as well as its quality.

And finally, when wealth alone confers with government alone,
"commonwealth" become opposed to both.

Regards,

Catherine King
Adjunct Instructor
Department of Education
National University
San Diego, CA




----- Original Message -----
From: Leah Carpenter <lcarp at kih.net>
To: <nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Sent: Monday, July 01, 2002 5:15 AM
Subject: Re: [NLA] Discussion: Some State Court Perspectives


> "...the court ruled that schools were obligated by the state Constitution
to
> do nothing more than prepare students for low-level jobs, for serving on a
> jury and for reading campaign literature — the equivalent, the court
> suggested, of an eighth- or a ninth-grade education."
>
> The scary thought is that we arm these people as well. Apparently, people
> with a high literacy level are not considered an asset...even a necessity.
> This makes  higher education, in my opinion, look like a luxury that you
can
> pursue or not pursue based on whether you can make it happen. While this
may
> be true...it certainly doesn't bode well for the society that doesn't
value
> it.
> Leah Carpenter
> Family Services Coordinator
> KRFH Head Start
> 501 S. Keeneland Drive
> Richmond, KY 40475
> lcarp at kih.net
>
> _______________________________________________
> NLA mailing list: NLA at lists.literacytent.org
> http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/nla
> LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
> http://literacytent.org
>

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