Live from Music Row Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  hosts Leahy and Swain discussed the National Constitution Bee competition to take place on October 24 at the Springhill Suites Marriott in Brentwood, Tennessee.
During the third hour, Leahy and Swain discuss the details of the National Constitution Bee which is open to all 8th grade thru 12th-grade students nationwide.
Leahy: I want to segway to a couple of interesting things today. September 17, 1787, the Constitution was signed at Constitutional Hall in Philadelphia. It was then sent to the states for ratification. So this is Constitution Day and it seems relevant. We also had some questions about our National Constitution Bee which is going to be held here in Brentwood, Tennessee at the Marriott Springhill Suites on October 24 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. This is for kids in 8th grade to 12th grade.
It’s all based upon the book that I co-authored. Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. You can go get the book. It’s like $30. Go there and get the book. Also, Carol, I have created a podcast of the entire book. And so you can download it. It’s about 27 podcasts and you can listen to the entire book.
If you are a kid right now and you want some scholarship money, $10,000 to the winner. $5,000 to the second place. $2,500 to third place. We are giving this money away for education scholarships. That means not just college. You can use the money from this scholarship to pay for your private school.
Swain: So Michael, what is the age range again?
Leahy: Eighth grade to 12th grade. Anybody in the entire United States listening to this right now, you can get the book. guidetothecostitution.org. You can listen to it for free the entire book with 27 podcasts. Our friend Jimmy Tidwell moderated part of it.
Swain: High school is too late.
Leahy: Yeah, I hear you.
Swain: When are you going to something for middle school children?
Leahy: One step at a time Carol. This is a lot of work.
Swain: We’re trying to save the republic here.
Leahy: Yeah. I hear you! Why are people under the age of 30 in favor of Joe Biden by two to one? Why do they hate capitalism? I’ll tell you why.
Swain: They are ignorant.
Leahy: They were born in 1990 and they were given propaganda from day one in K-12 public schools and in colleges.
Swain: What do you mean by K-12 public schools? It’s happening in private schools as well as Christian academies.
Leahy: In some private schools it is yes.
Swain: A lot of private schools and Christian academies.
Leahy: A lot. So if you are out there right now. I’m going to talk to Fran Bush who’s on the board of Metro Nashville and represents district six. To the kids that aren’t going to school and want an opportunity to go to school and you are from district six in MNPS right now. Sign up!
You can sign up at nationalconstitutionbee.org. Or you can go to guidetotheconstitution.org and you can get the book and listen to the book. There is a link to sign up there as well. it’s free to sign up. The book costs $30. but it’s a great book. I wrote part of it.
Swain: You don’t have to apologize for $30.
Leahy: I think they can afford it. But if they can’t the podcast is there. Here is a little secret about this thing. The winner is getting $10,000 for an educational scholarship that they can use to go to a private middle, high school, or college. So anybody can use that money starting in January, right? It’s a four-year scholarship. So if you want to pick it for the spring semester you can do that or the spring and fall.
Swain: So give us the website address again so that people can go in there and dig around.
Leahy: nationalconstituionbee.org. Go sign up. We are going to be doing Zoom classes for kids every weekend between now and then. But here’s the little secret. We are giving away $10,000. The kid will earn $10,000. Carol, we’ve done this. This will be our fourth year.
It’s like pulling teeth to get the kids to come to this event because the teachers in the public school aren’t really supporting it. There are a couple that are but most aren’t for the most part. But we had like 16 kids are the first year. 17 kids are the second year. 24 our third year. This is our fourth year. And I think we’ll be fortunate if we get 30 to 50 kids there.
Swain: Well have you targeted the homeschooling population?
Leahy: We targeted the homeschoolers too. I’m just telling you the most important thing in the country today as you and I will agree is to have kids understand our history and understand our Constitution. It’s not being taught in public schools.
Swain: We need adults to understand it. So I think that maybe we need another part of the Constitution Bee for adults. You might get more participation.
Leahy: Maybe. I don’t disagree with that.
Swain: Everyone needs to understand the Constitution. It’s not about the high schoolers. But our country for it to stand we have to have something that we all share. And that needs to be a knowledge and reverence of the Constitution as well as the founding documents and I would include the Bible. The Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.
Those are the things that really bind us together as Americans in a Judeo-Christian country.
Leahy: I totally agree.
Swain: And I still say there is erosion, this nation has been a Judeo-Christian nation that’s eroding but we need to turn things around. Otherwise, we become a failed socialist experiment.
Leahy: I totally agree with that. And the first step is to get the kids to understand the Constitution. Now the little secret I was going to tell you is you know how some people say it’s just like 95 percent of life is just showing up? Just show up. Just show up. There are going to be 30 kids there. Maybe 40. Maybe 50.
Anybody in the United States can come. Eighth grade to 12th grade. Anybody can come. Your odds of winning the prize of $10,000 are pretty good because there is such a lack of interest among the public school infrastructure to support the Constitution.
This is the opportunity now for you that are listening to help your kids or grandkids earn money for educational scholarships. And you have a pretty good shot. If you are one out of 30 and we are giving three prizes away, that’s a one in 10 chance of walking away with some educational money. I think that’s a great selling point.
Swain: I agree with you and I hope our listeners will consider their own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and the homeschoolers. I would be all over this.
Leahy: The homeschoolers have been very good about it. And what’s interesting is that the last time we had like 24 kids participate. We had probably about five or six that were homeschoolers. And we have a good relationship with the homeschool community. If your kids or grandchildren that are homeschooled go to the NationalConstitutionBee.org.
The event is October 24th at Springhill Suites from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s just a great opportunity. It’s great odds. Anybody listening to this program anywhere in the country can sign up. You might have to drive or fly. We don’t expect a lot of people from outside Tennessee but it’s open to everybody.
Swain: Well you do need a program for the adults and that may be an incentive to push their kids to compete.
Leahy: Maybe. We’ll see. The adults today they are busy making a living in this coronavirus world and making sure their kids get some level of education. I am just shocked at how little the public schools and private schools are doing to actually educate kids about our constitution. That’s why you need to go to guidetotheconstitution.org. You can listen to the entire book on the podcast for free. My passion for the Constitution and teaching our kids on full display.
Listen to the full third hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.Â
