Students hear talk on constitution
SPRINGHILL TWP. – The U.S. Constitution is the blueprint for running our country, a local historical writer and researcher told a classroom full of students Friday. Frank Kurtik of Uniontown told fifth-graders at Friendship Hill Elementary School and teachers Lori Detweiler and Deborah Park how a group of men went to Philadelphia to draft a document that has shaped our nation’s history.
“When you build something like a school, you need a plan to follow, a blueprint,” he said. “The Constitution is the plan for how our leaders can run the United States.”
Kurtik talked about the Revolutionary War and the events that led up to the development of the Constitution, which was not easy to get approved.
“In your families, you know it’s tough to get along with everyone, and everyone was not happy with creating a new government back then,” he said.
He reminded the students that Albert Gallatin, whose home is not far from the school, was one of the most important men in the early government.
Kurtik reviewed the first three articles of the Constitution and outlined the Bill of Rights for students, who came ready with a number of different questions.
“Who was the youngest president?” one student asked.
“Which amendment is the most important?” another chimed in.
Kurtik reminded the students to always know their representatives and senators at the state and federal level and told them to be good, active citizens.
“Read the Constitution, try to learn as much as you can and remember to vote every year when you can, that’s your stake in our government,” he said. “You’re only in fifth grade now, but the years go by quickly and you’ll be full citizens someday.”
This week was Constitution Week, when all education institutions that receive federal funding are required to educate students and staff members about the U.S. Constitution, which was signed on Sept. 17, 1787.