Students are also to understand that conflicts arise among these values. Private rights, for example, may conflict with prevailing conceptions of public good. They should realize that there are disparities, sometimes important ones, between American ideals and their realization. The Standards ask students to consider the ways and means the Constitution's framers devised to curb the potential abuse of power. The Constitution limits power by dispersing it.
Federalism disperses power by creating several layers of government.
Further, power is separated and shared through a complex system of checks and balances in which each branch of government shares some powers of the others so that none is unchecked. It is essential that students grasp the basic functions and organization of the institutions of government. They should know what the major responsibilities of the federal government are in domestic and foreign policy, and how state and local government are organized and discharge their responsibilities. Because state and local government provide most of the services citizens receive and are often most accessible, citizens should be knowledgeable about them. Citizens should understand the function of law in a free society and its place in the American system.