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School Divided Over Pledge
Filed under: Opinions
A heated controversy over the pledge of allegiance at a Vermont elementary school is dividing the small town of Woodbury, Vermont. It is also reinforcing my own decision to send our kids to a private Catholic school, despite the financial sacrifice. This month, I'll grumble a little less when I write the tuition check, thankful for not having to deal with "progressive" teachers, administrators and parents who are determined to strip the American public schools of a sensible civic tradition. These are the same folks who have given our children silly "winter" concerts that forbid traditional carols and require kids to suspend reality to pretend that this is all about a "season" rather than a two -thousand year old Christian holiday.
So here's the story of Vermont's Woodbury Elementary School. Somewhere along the line, the daily classroom recitation of the pledge fell by the wayside. Then this year, a parent-initiated petition convinced the school board to reinstate it. However, teachers and administrators were worried that students who did not want to say the pledge might feel isolated. So they came up with a ridiculous arrangement that would instead make those kids who want to say the pledge feel isolated.
First of all, despite a unanimous decision by the school board, the teachers decided that the pledge should not be said during school hours. Instead, five minutes before school starts, a 6th grader visits each classroom to take any children who wish to recite the pledge to a a 2nd floor gymnasium where together, they recite the pledge under staff supervision and then return to their classrooms. Boy does that make pledging allegiance to our nation seem like a subversive activity! Children who choose to exercise their constitutional right to not say the pledge have free play during that time.
Obviously, parents who favored the pledge and won school board approval for its recitation in class were unsatisfied with this arrangement. So the administration came up with an alternative arrangement: take all students out of their classrooms at the beginning of the day to an adjoining foyer for an all-school recitation of the pledge. Why not simply recite the pledge in the classroom? Well, because the principal and teachers decided that that was the best way to protect students who don't want to say the pledge from being singled out. In a crowd, they will be less likely to be detected not saying the pledge. This is the kind of insanity that is pervading our public schools.
But here's the kicker. The taxpayers of Woodbury are paying an astounding $12,000 a pupil for a school that is currently suffering declining tests scores. I say, give the parents a real choice. Allow them to use their tax contribution to Woodbury Elementary (or at least some portion of it) at a school that meets their child's needs and family's values. When parents get to vote with their tax dollars, these "progressive" shenanigans will end!
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 3)
11-18-2008 @ 8:08AM
Karen said...Vermont is a little tricky. Nuts up there I tell you!
This is a no brainer. The pledge should be recited every day. Children should be taught good posture, proper hand placement, how to speak correctly and enuciate (by the way - no comma after on nation - therefor no pause). They should understand the meaning behind the flag.
If they choose not to say it for whatever reason, they should still stand with good posture and be respectful. Period.
Does the school even have a flag outside the building?
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11-18-2008 @ 8:47AM
CLM said...For those who do not know their history, the pledge was originally victim of conservative shenanigans. The pledge originally did not contain the words "under god". That was added later by Congress, I believe in the 50s. I guess the fact that it was written by a minister wasn't good enough. I imagine that if the pledge was returned to its original form, there would be a lot less fuss over it - well except for the anti-progressives perhaps.
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11-18-2008 @ 9:38AM
Amy said...There are several religious groups that do not allow their members to say the pledge. As a teacher, I see these children standing beside their desks respectfully, arms at their side, while the rest of the class recites the pledge. None of the other students say anything about those who do not say the pledge, they mind their own business and everyone is happy.
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11-18-2008 @ 9:50AM
JennD said...I'm Canadian, so this really doesn't affect me. What I am wondering is - what on earth does saying the pledge of allegiance have to do with declining test scores?
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11-18-2008 @ 11:02AM
ninainindia said...I agree with Amy here, let the kids that want to say it and the ones that don't don't. What is the problem?
The best thing would probably be to go back to the orginal pledge without the religious reference, than everyone can say the complete pledge and actually believe what they are saying.
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11-18-2008 @ 11:05AM
Amanda said...I think this school went a little overboard in their reaction. When the pledge is recited, those who do not wish to participate should be allowed to stand or sit quietly while those who do wish to recite the pledge do so.
I do agree with CLM. If the words "under god" were removed, there would be no fuss. They were added there in the 50's as part of the whole McCarthy anti-communist witch hunt. The pledge should be to our country, and should not include any reference to any religion.
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11-18-2008 @ 11:28AM
JoAnn said...Rachel- for once I agree with you. For the most part.
If a child is making the decision to not say the Pledge, and you support (or have encouraged) your child's decision to not say the Pledge- then you should also teach them to stand up for that belief. They should stand there in the classroom quietly- and as someone above said RESPECTFULLY, while others say it.
I think it's important to point out that the freedoms granted by this nation are what allow those children to make a choice to not say the pledge in the first place. Would they rather relocate to a country where they would be beaten or worse for not saying it?
Why should those children who wish to say it be forced out of the classroom environment to do so? It does look ridiculously subversive done in that way.
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11-18-2008 @ 11:39AM
Greta said...Actually, Nina and Amanda - there was opposition to the pledge before the "under God" phrase was added - in the 1940s, Jehovah's Witnesses fought for (and won) the right to not say the pledge, because pledging allegiance to anything other than God is against their religion.
I personally am glad that my daughter goes to a private school that does not say the pledge, but I do remember getting some sort of patriotic charge as I was saying it as a kid growing up. So I would not fight against the use of the pledge if they decided to start having it at my daughter's school, but I'd probably just tell my daughter that she doesn't have to say the "under God" part. I like Sarah Silverman's suggestion for dealing with it - atheists like us can add air quotes when saying "under God". Fine with me.
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11-18-2008 @ 11:45AM
dee said...Rachel, so you know:
I went to Catholic school part of my life, and public school part of my life. Neither of the Catholic schools I attended ever had the pledge said, there are objections to it within Catholic education. (I don't recall what they are, though . . . not Catholic anymore, don't care.)
We said the Lord's Prayer or the Hail Mary in the morning.
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11-18-2008 @ 2:30PM
Jenni said...I went to Catholic school my entire life and every morning before recess we all lined up and said the pedge of allegience to the flag. If it was a rainy day, we all stood at our desks and said it.
I know some people feel that if they say the pledge of allegience, they are taking away from their religion because they think that they are worshiping the flag before God. However, the Word is that you obey the laws of God AND the Land. So you are actually not taking away from your religious beliefs (at least where those of Christian faiths stand).
11-18-2008 @ 12:03PM
Amanda said...Dee, I went to a Catholic HS and we didn't say the pledge either. We did recite the Lord's Prayer.
Sort of off-topic, why do people think Catholic Church = strong moral values. Don't they have that past (maybe even ongoing) molestation problem? It's fine if you want to believe in that religion, but don't say the church and it's schools are of a higher moral standing.
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11-18-2008 @ 12:11PM
dee said...I think that it depends on the religious order which has control of the school. The order in which your Catholic school was founded has very strong influences on the educational values of that school. A diocese school is going to have different educational values than one founded by the Mercys or the Jesuits.
Heck, I've been both to a school founded in the Mercy tradition and a school founded in the Jesuit tradition, and even the differences in religious education were pretty extreme.
11-18-2008 @ 12:28PM
dee said...Oh, and in response to your strong morals value note . . . my experiences in Catholic schools are why I am no longer Catholic. I think if I had stayed in public school with CCD, I might still be. But after being exposed to some of the religious power plays and hypocrisy that went down--especially at my high school--I was done.
And I wasn't even in the Catholic schools of the 1960s; I'm talking about the 1990s. Nuns* telling students they were going to hell for having a messy locker and constantly opening the lockers of kids they had focused on while they knew the kid would be in class, dumping the contents of the lockers on the floor, and letting their books be stolen (and a LOT of the kids they focused on were from lower income families and couldn't afford replacing the stolen books); giving kids detention for the actions of their parents; excusing bullying problems under the claim that the kid being bullied deserved it because they weren't right with God . . . gack. And this was a nationally-regarded college prep.
* Most of our teachers were laity, but administration was all nuns.
11-18-2008 @ 12:20PM
SKL said...I think saying the pledge is important to raising citizens with a clue about citizenship. Obviously this value is declining these days, but that doesn't mean it isn't important.
If the teachers felt that strongly about "under God," I'd be OK with them not saying "under God" when they recite the pledge. Personally I rather like the words as they imply humility, but if humility is that offensive to some people, fine. Kids who want to say "under God" should be allowed to squeeze the words in there either way.
I see nothing wrong with letting kids stand there and say nothing during the pledge if they don't want to say it. I went through a phase when I refused to say it because I felt it was stupid to keep renewing the pledge every day (as if it expired after 24 hours). So I didn't say it. Big deal. Nobody cared. I didn't feel any uncomfortable feelings and all that crap. Don't people know to teach their kids that nobody can make them feel bad without their permission?
I went to a Lutheran elementary school. Every morning, we said two pledges - one to the US flag and one to the cross. We faced a US flag and a Christian (cross) flag respectively. But more importantly, we talked about the meaning of both pledges and how they might relate to each other. In retrospect, I feel lucky to have been introduced to that level of thinking so young. I recall that in the 8th grade (public school), I was the only student who could write down the words of the pledge we'd all recited thousands of times.
It goes without saying that the above school's "solution" is idiotic. This is why parents need to fight against homework and such - because we need more time with our kids to undo the brainwashing they get in school.
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11-18-2008 @ 12:23PM
Leslie said..."These are the same folks who have given our children silly "winter" concerts that forbid traditional carols and require kids to suspend reality to pretend that this is all about a "season" rather than a two -thousand year old Christian holiday."
So I guess you are saying that we non-Christians need to just step aside while the world revolves around your holiday for a month or two? That my non-Christian child should just shut up and participate in a Christmas concert to celebrate your holiday, with no mention of the (entirely separate) holiday that she celebrates? We non-Christians do exist in America, and we don't cease to exist during the month of December while you are celebrating your holiday.
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11-18-2008 @ 12:35PM
Uly said...Oh, Leslie, don't you know? When Christians say this sort of thing, that's because they have *equal* rights. When *you* say that sort of thing, it's because you have a real desire to persecute them and get *special* rights!
11-18-2008 @ 7:19PM
Julie said...I'd just like to add my two cents to this topic. Celebration of the winter solstice occurred long before Christmas. Christians chose to celebrate Jesus' birth at the same time as the winter solstice. So, technically, celebrating "winter" happened before celebrating "Christmas." I think it's better to celebrate winter which is all inclusive.
As to the pledge issue, well, I think the Vermont's school's solution is a bit nutty, but why do people get so hot and bothered over the pledge? I really don't think elementary school kids put a lot of thought into it. Rather, it's over zealous parents on both ends that have the problem.
11-20-2008 @ 10:50PM
Sifrina said...Agreed and well said!! And I'd like to know where the "reality" is in Santa Claus going down chimneys and flying reindeer!! Talk about "suspended reality"!
11-21-2008 @ 6:19AM
Adrien said...I have sat through many a "winter" concert over the years, and as a Christian, it deeply hurts me that the children sing songs for Kwanza, Hannukah, etc., but cannot sing even ONE Christmas song because it might "offend" someone...give me a break!!!! The scale has tipped so far to the other side it isn't funny...while everyone else is excercising their "rights" and making sure that they are not being "offended", the Christians are getting pushed aside...far aside. Enough is enough...
11-21-2008 @ 6:35AM
Jo said...I am a teacher in the public school system in Illinois...in our district, our "winter" concert represents various ethnic backgrounds and religious holidays...Kwanza, Hannukah...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF CHIRSTMAS...somehow, it is okay to leave the Christians out of this, because it might "offend"...there is that word again. We couldn't even do a song about "Peace" last year, because it had too many "Christian undertones"...I agree with Adrien, enough is enough. No Leslie, it is not the non-Christians who are getting forced to accept Christmas, it is the Christians of this country who must fight to be able to say the words, "Merry Christmas", pledge our allegiance to "one nation under God", and be free to celebrate the birth of our Savior without having our hands tied and our mouths taped. As Adrien said, the scales are indeed tipped far too much to the other side...