Pupils sign Clearwater Elementary's constitution

Sitting around huge yellow pieces of laminated poster board Monday, Clearwater Elementary School third-graders stared at the school's constitution.

The pupils, who had learned about the U.S. Constitution, walked up and signed the school version after reading through the document together.

"Who knows what this big word is?" asked Tammy Wikander, a third-grade teacher.

All the pupils screamed, "Constitution!" delighted that they understood the concept and ideas behind what they were reading.

Clearwater Elementary implemented a school constitution a few years ago when Constitution Day became part of its curriculum.

"Instead of doing worksheets, we did research about other schools' constitutions and drafted our own," Ms. Wikander said.

The result was a grade full of pupils who pledged to finish all their homework and have an environment free of distractions.

Pupils don't just read through the school constitution; they also explain to teachers what words such as "peace" and "liberty" actually mean in the scope of school life, Ms. Wikander said.

Pupils have the option of signing the constitution or voting against it, just as the nation's forefathers did.

"I've never had a student not sign it, though," Ms. Wikander said.

Other schools in Aiken County also celebrated the day with programs to learn about the Constitution.

Ms. Wikander said kindergarten gets involved in the day by coloring the United States flag.

The University of South Carolina Aiken celebrated the 219th anniversary of the Constitution with student presentations about constitutional liberty.

Constitution Day began in 2004 after Congress adopted a plan to have a lesson taught about the document Sept. 17 of each year, the same day the document was signed. Constitution Day was celebrated Monday because the original date fell on a Sunday.

Reach Julia Sellers at (803) 648-1395, ext. 106, or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com.