"You can show them, teach them, help them understand our country, and then because of the love of their country ... they will become more patriotic because they choose to be, because they understand the freedoms our Constitution gives us."

In the aftermath of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, several schools showed outward signs of patriotism, including singing patriotic songs, writing notes to the troops, offering service.

Schools still do that sort of thing. But they've been downplayed as schools focus on the three R's and do-or-die tests. And it's true, today's students are not like those in the 1940s.

"How do you change society?" Hunt said.

"It's been a long time since we've had a world war ... since our nation has truly come together and sacrificed hard," she said. "We get a little spoiled in our life — and sometimes it's our own freedoms, freedom of speech, of being able to do things we do ... and we forget truly what that freedom has given us."

Leavitt says students learn better when they can relate the Constitution to their lives now, rather than to words on a hanging document or in a textbook.

Riverton High students turned civics lessons into practice last month when they lobbied legislators and the Jordan Board of Education to observe Veterans Day, a state and federal holiday, with time off from school. Students came up with the idea from their own experience with family members and loved ones who have served or are serving in the military, and they wanted a day to spend time with and honor them.

"When kids see civics in action, that's the best way to learn," Leavitt said. "That's kind of what we're teaching as educators, is rigor and relevance, something where the kids think this is going to apply to them, pertain to them, in the future. That's the best way to do it."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com