Why? Your children need to learn respect. They are citizens of the United States. They need not salute the flag by saying the pledge of allegiance. However, it is respectful to stand and be silent.

Jehovah's Witnesses have a long history of not saluting the flag or saying the pledge of allegiance b/c they feel it is an act of worship in contravention of the Second Commandment prohibtion against idolatry and their duties as Christians to be "in the world but not of it." However, their children will stand quietly.

If the children of people with a deeply held religious belief prohibiting participationn in the plege can stand out of respect, so can your children.

I for one will teach my children the pledge and its meaning. It was authored by a socialist Baptist Minister, Francis Bellamy, who felt it good to instill a sense of patriotism among the country’s schoolchildren. It is good to remember that at the time it was written, the Civil War had ended less than 30 years before. One of the results of that war was the unification of the United States as one nation rather than as a simple “union of sovereign states,” yet there was still not a strong notion of being “American.”

I do not want my children to mindlessly mouth the pledge, which is why I have read to them James Clavell’s “The Children’s Story” about the dangers of teaching our children to mouth words without truly knowing what they mean.

You can read it here: http://home.comcast.net/~llefler/clavell.htm

It's wrong and creepy for schools to pressure little kids to pledge their allegiance to anything. Try earning allegiance instead of forcing it through brainwashing. I'm going to encourage my kid to not recite the pledge or stand for it.

Shall we expunge God and any discussion of aged from public life? I just learned mynDD's history textbook removes Lincoln's "under God" from the Gettysburg address. Maybe femove it also from the copy of the address carved on the Lincoln Memorial?

Really, this is new to DCPS? I've never heard of a school in America not saying the pledge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I find most disturbing is how few parents, teachers and administrators do not seem to know that the Pledge is entirely voluntary.

Send the principal a letter, citing the Supreme Court decision and recent relevant cases. There have been several in Montgomery County.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-09/local/38399003_1_aclu-pledge-allegiance
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2010-02-24/news/36797160_1_pledge-student-handbook-allegiance

The principal has all that and has made it clear that they will be saying the pledge because she has been directed to do so. It's a DCPS, not MD. Nothing is on the DCPS website or in the Parent Handbook. I would love to have my child just refrain but I think expecting a 5 year old to understand anything about this situation is unreasonable. BTW: My child came home from school today saying s/he wants to say it "because everyone else is doing it".

PP, in that case, I think you have to decide how important the issue is to you. Do you want to fight DCPS about a requirement that DCPS schools say the pledge of allegiance? Do you want to insist on your child not saying it?

You should homeschool your child.

I grew up in Fairfax in the 70s--reciting the Pledge. I almost got misty-eyed when I was in K class while they were doing it. Brings back lots of childhood memories.

I have no problem with it. There's nothing religious about it. I like the tradition.

I had a grade-school teacher who noticed I never said the pledge, and said in lieu of that I had to write a paper about the pledge. I said exercising my right not to say it should not single me out for extra work. The principal agreed, and the teacher never said another word about it.

I promise your snowflake will be just fine.

There is usually an Obama Youth rally after. They typically have snacks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I find most disturbing is how few parents, teachers and administrators do not seem to know that the Pledge is entirely voluntary.

Send the principal a letter, citing the Supreme Court decision and recent relevant cases. There have been several in Montgomery County.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-09/local/38399003_1_aclu-pledge-allegiance
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2010-02-24/news/36797160_1_pledge-student-handbook-allegiance

The principal has all that and has made it clear that they will be saying the pledge because she has been directed to do so. It's a DCPS, not MD. Nothing is on the DCPS website or in the Parent Handbook. I would love to have my child just refrain but I think expecting a 5 year old to understand anything about this situation is unreasonable. BTW: My child came home from school today saying s/he wants to say it "because everyone else is doing it".

Anonymous wrote:What I find most disturbing is how few parents, teachers and administrators do not seem to know that the Pledge is entirely voluntary.

Send the principal a letter, citing the Supreme Court decision and recent relevant cases. There have been several in Montgomery County.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-09/local/38399003_1_aclu-pledge-allegiance
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2010-02-24/news/36797160_1_pledge-student-handbook-allegiance

I am an American, my mother is not. When my mother brought my grandmother to see me in school in the 70s and she saw me saying the pledge, my grandmother thought it reminded her of school in Germany in the 30s.

Anonymous wrote:I realize that this is an old post but it's a new issue for me. Our public school in DC (one of the JKLMMs) will begin publicly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance this week. The "announcement" was buried in a small part of a newsletter sent out after Labor Day. Every child has a right to refrain from saying the Pledge of Allegiance - this was established by the Supreme Court in 1943, before the objectionable "under God" was added. What I find most disturbing is how few parents, teachers and administrators do not seem to know that the Pledge is entirely voluntary. Also, there doesn't actually seem to be a rule that DC schools have to recite the Pledge - at least the principal can't find one (!). This is an extremely contentious and divisive issue for 70 years and yet there has been no consultation with parents.

School newsletters aren't long enough to "bury" an announcement. It's not the NYT or WashPo.

If you don't want your kid to say it, then tell him/her to skip it.

I realize that this is an old post but it's a new issue for me. Our public school in DC (one of the JKLMMs) will begin publicly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance this week. The "announcement" was buried in a small part of a newsletter sent out after Labor Day. Every child has a right to refrain from saying the Pledge of Allegiance - this was established by the Supreme Court in 1943, before the objectionable "under God" was added. What I find most disturbing is how few parents, teachers and administrators do not seem to know that the Pledge is entirely voluntary. Also, there doesn't actually seem to be a rule that DC schools have to recite the Pledge - at least the principal can't find one (!). This is an extremely contentious and divisive issue for 70 years and yet there has been no consultation with parents.

Anonymous wrote: It's really something that is only common in dictatorships and communist countries.

NP: exactly. This is why I don't like it and think it is weird.