From EduinReview.com:
The North Collins Elementary School in New York has ignored the requests of students and parents to bring back the full Pledge of Allegiance. Each morning, the students are prompted with the first six words of the pledge, “I pledge allegiance to the flag” before the intercom system is turned off. School officials maintain that it’s more time efficient and better for the students to let them continue the pledge at their own pace. Students and parents believe they are missing out on a certain level of patriotism that should be present at school.
Perhaps it would be easier to understand if the students didn’t spend the time every day (in unison, over the intercom) to recite the school’s “character pledge.” Some people are concerned that the priorities presented here are a little twisted.
This story has been in the news alot. I expect this school is not the only one with deviations regarding The Pledge. Some schools right here in Prince William County say The Pledge in both English and in Spanish. Some schools somewhere probably do not have it at all.
Principal Ben Halsey further illuminated his position to Fox News:
“It has been the philosophy of the building that the pledge does indeed get recited every day, but it gets recited by teachers and students individually, so the pace is appropriate for their level,” Halsey said. “The public address system simply serves as a prompt to start the pledge.”
He said the practice enables students to recite the pledge at their own pace, which is typically slower for younger students.
In the first place, no one can force a child or anyone else to participate in saying The Pledge of Allegiance. It is a matter of free speech to not say it. Some religions like the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not allow their congregants to say the pledge. They generally take great delight in bringing brochure after brochure to their child’s elementary teacher each year. Some kids just get a mind set that they aren’t going to say it. Middle and high schoolers sometimes choose not to participate because…they can. Their parents often don’t even know that they are sitting it out.
Often schools will insist that the child stand along with everyone else. Sometimes the child is required to step into the hall. Both of these practices are questionable. Wise schools just insist that the child remain respectfully quiet while everyone else chants the pledge.
There is also something to be said for the PA being shut off and each classroom doing its own thing. What difference does it make who leads? ” I pledge allegiance to the flag…” is a good start. Teachers or student volunteer leaders give students in the classroom more ownership of what is going on than canned pledging from the PA.
Perhaps the real question needs to be should the Pledge even be said each morning in schools? Do all countries have a pledge? Are those countries that don’t lacking in patriotism? I don’t think saying the Pledge ever made me feel more patriotic. It was just something you did. The lips moved. Does real patriotism come from saying the Pledge?
What do our contributors think about the Pledge being said in schools?
and… a lot of people don’t live the “…and liberty and justice for all”.
Exactly, Bruce. And just saying it doesn’t make it come true either.
I think rituals are important to children. They may not be reciting the pledge with heartfelt gusto, but it is a nice way to get everyone to come together and focus on one thing for a minute or so that unites all of us, and then move forward with their day. What’s wrong with a little ritual and tradition in daily life?
I don’t think saying the Pledge ever hurt anyone. I would never force it though. Most parents would probably want their kids to say it unless there were religious prohibitions. Hopefully teachers alert parents.
I understand that first six words thing. That has been done in many places before. Character pledges are often short with simplified language, and can be in the middle of announcements. It’s commonplace to put the Pledge of Allegiance at the end.
As someone who has to help organize morning announcements on a daily basis, with elementary school kids saying the news, it is definitely not an easy thing. The staff always has a lot of suggestions, and they often want different things. There was a time when my school did the pledge at the end, and just said the first words before cutting off the audio.
Kindergarten teachers and other primary grade teachers often complained that their students couldn’t keep up with the pledge pace of the older students on the announcements. We tried to slow them down over and over again, but it was never slow enough to satisfy those teachers. They were very interested in having their students actually learn all the words to the pledge. Very young students have to go slowly and practice for this to happen. So, at some point, the teachers brought up the idea of just starting the pledge. Everyone still said the pledge, they just went at their own pace.
That reasoning wasn’t explained as well in the article as you explained it, DG. Thanks. Makes perfect sense to me now.
There are many places where the speaker starts the pledge, and the audience picks up and finishes it. Am I missing something? At least they are saying the Pledge. Funny how something written in 1892 by a Christian Socialist gets everyone in a tither.
it’s time to dump the bourgeois reactionary exclusionary outdated pledge and pick up the glorious internationale
Enslaved masses, stand up, stand up
The world is about to change its foundation
We are nothing, let us be all
This is the final struggle
Let us group together, and tomorrow
The Internationale
Will be the human race