In schools, we are taught Algebra, English, Photosynthesis—science, and even arts or athletics. So why aren’t we learning about our Legal Rights and when they have been violated? Isn’t that just as important? If schools are preparing us for real life, civics should be taught to students from an early age, so they can defend themselves and understand when they have the option to refuse.
Understanding Your Rights Shouldn’t be an Opinion—It’s Essential
Every day, young people face situations where knowing their rights is crucial – for discipline, in public, during protests, and even on platforms that are central to teenagers’ lives, such as popular social media applications. Americans’ participation in this knowledge is vital in sustaining the democratic form of our Government. Yet most of us don’t learn about this until high school or college—if ever.
Know Your Rights Before You Lose Them
A teacher, police officer, or someone with authority asks to search through your private belongings like cell phones, backpacks, or any bags/possessions you carry without a “reasonable suspicion”; can you say no or demand to see a warrant, and firmly refuse if they don’t have one on hand? The fact that most students’ awareness of the option refusal even exists is generally low, which tells us a lot about how under-prepared we are. This entire situation seems absurd, especially since Freedom and Human Rights are the core of our country—what America stands for.
Or what if you went to school in a bright shirt with your opinion on something controversial in bold lettering, but not inappropriate or harming anyone in any way, and were told to take it off? Isn’t that violating your Freedom of Expression, since there are no legally dangerous reasons suspected for them to request you to change outfits? If you hadn’t known you were granted the Freedom of Expression simply for being born a human, wouldn’t you have changed shirts?
What if you posted a short-form video complaining about your school outside of the campus, and got suspended for such actions, is that violating your Freedom of Speech? In these types of situations, you have the power to fight back if you know your rights well enough. “Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.” — Thurgood Marshall.
From Revolution to the Constitution, to Classrooms and Daily Lives: How Were Your Rights Born?
The fight for rights isn’t new—it goes back to America’s founding. Just as the colonies fought for freedom, young learners today deserve the knowledge to stand up for theirs.
Decades ago, in the late 1700s, America was not yet a country; it was merely a collection of colonies. Ruled and mistreated by the very one that governed them—Great Britain, the colonies stepped up in rebellion against their rulers, after being fed up with the unreasonable taxes, tyranny, etc, and demanded independence and gained their freedom. Over time, after our Founding Fathers created the Constitution, public education came along, ensuring citizens’ knowledge, formally introducing it as a universal right to protect people’s education in the Fourteenth Amendment, so they won’t be easily manipulated, and “enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day”, as Thomas Jefferson said, armed with knowledge of their rights, given by the Law.
Data is 100% Objective: Most Americans Are Still in the Dark
According to the recent Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey, whose team has been conducting these reviews since 2006, publishing them to the public since 2014 exhibits their findings for the year 2025.
More than two-thirds of U.S. adults (70%) can name all three branches of our nation’s government—a jump from last year (2024, at 65%). When asked about their legal Human Rights, almost 79% of American Citizens said Freedom of Speech, guaranteed to them by the First Amendment. However, each of the other four rights is named by less than half of the interviewed group: the next-most often cited, freedom of religion, is named by 48%. Not even half of our country’s population can name every one of their rights, the very reason this country was born. If that itself isn’t enough evidence to convince school boards of why this should be looked into, and why it should become a mandatory requirement in public schools, what can?
When Personal Homes Can’t Provide—Public Schools Must Step In
Despite all the evidence–and how it points out a gap in our education system—telling us that teaching about this topic in schools at younger grade levels is best for children, as they are the future of our society, some have different viewpoints on the matter. Many ask the question, “Can’t parents teach their children about their legal rights?” And yes, this can be a wonderful way to inform young American citizens about the First Amendment; however, not all children have access to well-informed parents. Circling back to the Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey, most adults in the U.S. aren’t even aware of our constitutional rights.
Yet again, another debate is that some people claim schools already teach civics, but is that really true? The simple answer is: not entirely, students aren’t usually taught about their rights until later education, and even then, it’s not enough to matter. Even if you understand mainly what your rights are, but don’t know the whole picture, how can you know when you need to use them? These given rights protect you from being taken advantage of by corrupt law enforcers, government officials, employers, or even everyday people you meet, or when it’s behind the comfort of your phone screen, knowing your rights can defend you everywhere.
What You Don’t Know Can and Will Stab You In the Back—Rights are A Valuable Skill
Civics and Legal Rights shouldn’t be an optional decision, but a mandatory one for the safety of people, our future, and our country. Schools must start treating the Legal Amendment Rights more like a survival skill—which it is—and less like a simple history lesson. Teaching human beings their rights to live as a person shouldn’t be up for debate; it should be a requirement.
