Understanding the U.S. Constitution

Another writer posted in the newspaper was a school teacher with a Hispanic name who was frustrated with funding for English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, his teaching responsibility. Mind you, his state spends more per student for ESL than any other state but yet not enough according to him. His reasoning for more, and I quote, "It is our constitutional right to an education". This is pitiful and ignorant thinking for multiple reasons. First, the U.S. Constitution is totally silent on the matter of education. It is not codified anywhere or even hinted at. As such there is no such 'constitutional right'. Because of this silence the matter of education is implicitly a state or local responsibility and totally up to local control and funding. There may be state level constitutions that determine education as a right and a governmental responsibility and there may be others that are equally silent. But it is very clear that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee and education for anyone. Second, funding is a legislative responsibility. Individual citizens can support or oppose anything but funding is a matter for our elected lawmakers. That a secondary school teacher is so ignorant of our basic rights does not augur well for the overall quality of our public school systems. Lastly, he is inferring that education, because it is some sort of right, should receive unlimited funding. This is bizarre. No - it is stupid. God help our schools.