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MR. GENTRY: Is the curriculum of the schools
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standardized to the extent that this is actually to be
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taught or is this left up to the school and the teacher?
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DR. ZIMMERMAN: No, we require teaching the
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Constitution. We require it three times through the
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grades, twice in elementary school and once as a required
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course in the senior high school. At the elementary
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level, you get an overriding general concept and, as you
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go on up, you get a more thorough and specific treatment.
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So, when you get to the senior high school, I remember,
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if you will pardon the personal reference, when I taught
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U. S. history, I had the youngsters go back and study
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Madison's papers and we had a. constitutional convention
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and we all actually went through the actual procedure.
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This is a real kind of experience for youngsters to have.
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So, they see the great documents come into being, and
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the youngsters got a real thrill out of coming to the
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Pratt Library and finding the first papers.
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Most textbook writers don't get into this
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real fine experience. They write about it. We wanted
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to teach it, show how it came into being, get the feel
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