There was a lot on the news yesterday about how the newly sworn-in House of Representatives decided to read the Constitution in its entirety at the beginning of their session. Now the Constitution can be a pretty dry recitation, but as political stunts go I suppose you could do worse.
Yet, whenever I think about the Constitution, I will always think back to high school and an American History class that I had when I was a sophomore. You see, we’d been studying the government and the Constitution and one day our teacher started off with a pop-quiz.
“Take out a sheet of paper and write the preamble to the Constitution.”
We all sighed and rolled our eyes and bent over our desks, trying to keep our Flock of Seagulls style haircuts out of our eyes as we wrote. In the quiet of the classroom, you could begin to hear a slight humming…
“Mmm hmm mm hmmmm… mm mm-hmm hm hmm…” which grew louder as we all began writing.
“OK — WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING!??!?” our confused teacher protested after a few minutes.
Of course, since we’d been kids in the 70s, we’d learned most of our history and grammar from ABC’s “Schoolhouse Rock” which had been inserted from time-to-time in between Saturday morning cartoons (you know, when cartoons were only televised on Saturday mornings).
After explaining this to him, he just shook his head and said, “Who said you kids can’t learn anything while watching TV…”
RIGHT ON!
Stevil 
I remember that cartoon. :) Although I’m afraid that video clip has been rickrolled….
Bummer — stupid Sony.
awesome story!
Schoolhouse Rock left out “of the United States of America,” so you had to remember that bit.
“We the People…In order to form a more Perfect Union” (enter the above where the ellipses are).
Born 1971 and greatly benefited from Schoolhouse Rock!
That’s right! Fortunately that’s at the beginning — you know, before you really get rolling. :)
ellipses… hmmm… LOL
Ha! I remember educators and academic-types criticizing Schoolhouse Rock for its “shallow” presentation of historical topics: but after all these years, nobody remembers Dr. So-n-So of Such&such University who wrote on the changing interpretations of the Second Amendment. Yet millions can recall the preamble to the Constitution just by humming a catchy tune! If only they could set all the primary numbers up to 100 to a Schoolhouse Rock song….
Conjunction Junction!?! Verb — That’s What’s Happening! Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here! It’s still the core of grammar understanding! :)
That’s how I’ve always remembered it, and stunned a bunch of “youngsters” when I could recite it. I did not tell them my secret … I just let them believe I was a genius.
I’d have a hard time reciting it without slipping into “singsong” voice — sort of like reciting the ABCs!
I am proud to still now and reference the preamble, via Schoolhouse Rocks, on a regular basis!
All this talk about Schoolhouse Rock makes me hanker for a hunk-o-cheese…
Love that one!
They don’t make stuff like that anymore. Those cartoons were brilliant.
Too funny!
Did you ever learn the Fifty Nifty United States Song? (“…from thirteen original colonies….”) I can still sing the fifty states in alphabetical order thanks to that.
oh that’s funny Steve. I didn’t think I remembered it and I don’t remember watching it, (I’m a little old) but my younger siblings must have watched it because a lot of the little blurbs here are familiar…Fifty Nifty United States song, Conjunction Junction. Hell, I might have watched it and just don’t remember. Old sagging memory…lol