--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact is that knowledge about the…" description: "\"The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the Court is not something that is handed down through the gene pool; every generation has to lea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/sandra-day-o-connor-3681_constitution_the-fact-is-that-knowledge-about-the-con_1673127.png" --- # The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the… ![“The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the Court is not something that is handed down through the gene pool; every generation has to learn it. And I'm not sure the recent generations have done that good a job of learning about it.” quote by Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/sandra-day-o-connor-3681_constitution_the-fact-is-that-knowledge-about-the-con_1673127.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/sandra-day-o-connor-3681_constitution_the-fact-is-that-knowledge-about-the-con_1673127.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/sandra-day-o-connor-3681_constitution_the-fact-is-that-knowledge-about-the-con_1673127.png) > “The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the Court is not something that is handed down through the gene pool; every generation has to learn it. And I'm not sure the recent generations have done that good a job of learning about it.” [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding the Constitution and Court must be taught each generation, not inherited genetically. **In simple terms:** People must learn civics anew each generation. Key Takeaway Teach civics actively. Themes civics education generational learning Mood reflective concerned Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - school curricula - public lectures - family discussions - media programs Key Concepts constitutional law civic responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we make constitutional education more engaging? - What role should families play in civic learning? A Different Perspective Knowledge may fade without engaging teaching methods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes local, state and federal laws so clearly run afoul of the Constitution that the court must step in and strike them down. 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It's usually superhot in California, so we swim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsai-martin/outdoors-i-have-a-pool-so-i-usually-swim-and-stuff-it-s-usually/) [Marsai Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsai-martin/) > [“you cant live your life swimming in the shallow of the pool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabiola-sully/you-cant-live-your-life-swimming-in-the-shallow-of-the-pool/) Fabiola Sully > [In the summer of 1964, my sister and I went to South Ballston, Virginia, to stay with my aunt and her kids. They passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/in-the-summer-of-1964-my-sister-and-i-went-to-south-ballston-virginia/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [When a man is not wanted in the village, he is always accused of raising dust even when he falls in a pool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/when-a-man-is-not-wanted-in-the-village-he-is-always-accused-of/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [When adults come together to form an intimate relationship, each person releases into it unresolved issues from their trans-generational pool of unconscious fantasies. Partners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-raphael-leff/when-adults-come-together-to-form-an-intimate-relationship-each/) [Joan Raphael-Leff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-raphael-leff/) > [If you look hard enough, you can find race issues and racism in everything. I know people who say, 'See, I don't play pool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chi-mcbride/if-you-look-hard-enough-you-can-find-race-issues-and-racism-in/) [Chi McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chi-mcbride/) > [As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/as-a-general-rule-so-long-as-you-have-any-choice-at-all-you-should/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Sandra Day O'Connor > [When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/when-i-went-to-law-school-which-after-all-was-back-in-the-dark-ages/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [I think I learned to appreciate and treasure each day, because you don't know how many you're going to be given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/i-think-i-learned-to-appreciate-and-treasure-each-day-because-you-don/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [I loved my husband very much, and it was heartbreaking to have him develop Alzheimer's disease, and to stand by and watch him decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/i-loved-my-husband-very-much-and-it-was-heartbreaking-to-have-him/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [My concerns through the years increased about the concerns of an independent judiciary and how we maintain it. Certainly in the states. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/my-concerns-through-the-years-increased-about-the-concerns-of-an/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [The courts of this country should not be the places where resolution of disputes begins. They should be the places where the disputes end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/the-courts-of-this-country-should-not-be-the-places-where-resolution/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Young women today often have very little appreciation for the real battles that took place to get women where they are today in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/young-women-today-often-have-very-little-appreciation-for-the-real/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [You have to answer the question, like it or not. And the questions deserve a valid legal response, even if the response isn't one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/you-have-to-answer-the-question-like-it-or-not-and-the-questions/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [A fundamental premise of American democratic theory is that government exists to serve the people. ... Public records are one portal through which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/a-fundamental-premise-of-american-democratic-theory-is-that/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [This chance will stand before you only once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/this-chance-will-stand-before-you-only-once/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [I care very much about women and their progress. I didn't go march in the streets, but when I was in the Arizona Legislature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/i-care-very-much-about-women-and-their-progress-i-didn-t-go-march-in/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [There was no hostility at the court when I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/there-was-no-hostility-at-the-court-when-i-arrived/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [And I went off to Stanford, I was pretty young and pretty naive. And I had a professor I really loved, who was himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/and-i-went-off-to-stanford-i-was-pretty-young-and-pretty-naive-and-i/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then they guide the horse with loose reins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/the-really-expert-riders-of-horses-let-the-horse-know-immediately-who/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [It is true that as you have children, there are a good many months when you don't want to be working full-time. I agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/it-is-true-that-as-you-have-children-there-are-a-good-many-months/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [The abortion cases produced an enormous amount of mail to my chambers, vastly more than to the other chambers, I am sure. I sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/the-abortion-cases-produced-an-enormous-amount-of-mail-to-my-chambers/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) [Explore all 124 Sandra Day O'Connor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) ## More Constitution quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [While not widely reported, our victories in Iraq are plentiful. National elections, a democratic parliament and the drafting of a constitution are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/while-not-widely-reported-our-victories-in-iraq-are-plentiful/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-coloration-of-whatever-may-be/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [There is not a revolution that succe Women are suffering because they are being excluded. The high military council excluded women from the committee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/there-is-not-a-revolution-that-succe-women-are-suffering-because-they/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“The Court has a special responsibility to ensure that the Constitution works in practice. While education, including the transmission of our civic values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/the-court-has-a-special-responsibility-to-ensure-that-the/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) Joe Pitts > [Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-constitution-can-be-final-truth/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [“I am apprehensive, Sir, that in the warmth of my feelings, I may have uttered expressions, which were too vehement. If such has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/i-am-apprehensive-sir-that-in-the-warmth-of-my-feelings-i-may-have/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) [Browse all 4,507 Constitution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fact is that knowledge about the Constitution and the Court is not something that is handed down through the gene pool; every generation has to learn it. 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