Pledge of Allegiance in School?

[Anonymous]

Not in DC, but my kids' private schools did not have them recite it.

[Anonymous]

Girl Scout Troop leader for a group of girls at my daughter’s private school. We taught it to the Troop and when teaching the Girl Scout Promise talked about what the duty to god and county means. These are important conversations. Good on you for wanting to engage in them! Some of our girl say the pledge, some don’t, but we stress it’s about choice and about being respectful.

[Anonymous]

Primary Day is secular and has always done the pledge during mornings and assemblies.

[Anonymous]

I'm a proud American in many respects, but saying the pledge in a daily school context doesn't make sense to me. If you're working for the US government, in the military, or becoming a citizen? Totally get it. But rattling it off before math class or a basketball game always feels weird. Plus:

- My kids' school has a significant international population for whom the US pledge of allegiance literally doesn't apply.
- I don't like invoking the divine outside my own religious observance. It just feels disrespectful.
- I don't think you should take an oath, even a benign/positive one, without really knowing what it means ... and I had no clue what I was saying when I learned the pledge in the early '90s

[Anonymous]

Went to private schools my whole life and have never once said the pledge. I barely know it.

[Anonymous]

Yes at my kids private school. So all other countries pledge allegiance to the country they live in-as you should. Not pledging allegiance to a cansidate but the country as a whole

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a proud American in many respects, but saying the pledge in a daily school context doesn't make sense to me. If you're working for the US government, in the military, or becoming a citizen? Totally get it. But rattling it off before math class or a basketball game always feels weird. Plus:

- My kids' school has a significant international population for whom the US pledge of allegiance literally doesn't apply.
- I don't like invoking the divine outside my own religious observance. It just feels disrespectful.
- I don't think you should take an oath, even a benign/positive one, without really knowing what it means ... and I had no clue what I was saying when I learned the pledge in the early '90s

All of this.

[Anonymous]

Went to FCPS high school in the 1980s and we didn't recite the Pledge. Seems more like something you do in elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes at my kids private school. So all other countries pledge allegiance to the country they live in-as you should. Not pledging allegiance to a cansidate but the country as a whole

No they don't. I lived in eight countries in Europe and Africa and never heard of anything remotely like the pledge. It's a weird American invention that most other cultures find bizarre at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to clarify - no one can make your child pledge allegiance. Make sure your child knows this. They don’t have to stand, or recite, etc.
they may want to stand and just keep their mouth closed. Just reminding everyone that no one can make them pledge.

We teach ours to stand and actively participate in the pledge and to be proud of being American.

More power to you. But you completely missed the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to clarify - no one can make your child pledge allegiance. Make sure your child knows this. They don’t have to stand, or recite, etc.
they may want to stand and just keep their mouth closed. Just reminding everyone that no one can make them pledge.

We teach ours to stand and actively participate in the pledge and to be proud of being American.

We teach ours to be engaged citizens and critical thinkers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to clarify - no one can make your child pledge allegiance. Make sure your child knows this. They don’t have to stand, or recite, etc.
they may want to stand and just keep their mouth closed. Just reminding everyone that no one can make them pledge.

We teach ours to stand and actively participate in the pledge and to be proud of being American.

We teach ours to be engaged citizens and critical thinkers.

Ours are all that AND proudly stand and participate in the pledge. Apparently you do not appreciate the many freedoms that we have that other parts of the world wish they had. Try living overseas for a while, it might open your eyes to how wonderful the USA really is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to clarify - no one can make your child pledge allegiance. Make sure your child knows this. They don’t have to stand, or recite, etc.
they may want to stand and just keep their mouth closed. Just reminding everyone that no one can make them pledge.

We teach ours to stand and actively participate in the pledge and to be proud of being American.

We teach ours to be engaged citizens and critical thinkers.

Ours are all that AND proudly stand and participate in the pledge. Apparently you do not appreciate the many freedoms that we have that other parts of the world wish they had. Try living overseas for a while, it might open your eyes to how wonderful the USA really is.

Like freedom of the press? Freedom of speech? The current government does not seem to approve of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a bad idea to have kids pledge unquestioning loyalty to an increasingly fascist state every day, IMHO.

then vote and change or put your tail between your legs and move out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes at my kids private school. So all other countries pledge allegiance to the country they live in-as you should. Not pledging allegiance to a cansidate but the country as a whole

No they don't. I lived in eight countries in Europe and Africa and never heard of anything remotely like the pledge. It's a weird American invention that most other cultures find bizarre at best.

Other countries have citizenship oaths, sure, but you only recite them when becoming a citizen for the first time. (Fun fact: the Canadian citizenship oath involves swearing loyalty to the king of England.) Having a pledge that you say on a daily basis, which the US didn't even officially adopt until the 1940s, is pretty unusual. I'd be more on board with something that's actually in our founding documents, like, everyone reciting the preamble to the Constitution.

But as to the OP, our school doesn't do it, in part, because there's no practical time/place. You'd basically need to have a homeroom in the morning with an available flag, which is more a thing in elementary school. I went to a college basketball game recently that had no flag in the arena, so we saluted like a digital projection. It was awkward.