Both schools I've taught at have said it. It's always made me uncomfortable because my kindergarten students had no idea what they were saying, just repeating word in order. I had a professor who had her older students (4th grade?) wrote their own pledge about what the oh try means to them and they recited that every morning instead.
"You. You and your crazy life. You and your geographic anomaly. You and your drunken lesbianic ways and terrible navigational skills." - ProfArt and her holy baby
The school district in my town does it every morning in all of the schools. K-8 they make everyone participate, when you get to high school it becomes optional.
Where I teach, yes, but students are not required to say it. I do ask that they stand. Our state also requires a daily moment of silence, b/c a daily prayer bill failed and the "moment" was the compromise.
My 5 yr old knows it, they say it in pre-k. He also knows My Country Tis of Thee (he was singing it to me yesterday--so cute).
I'm a teacher (no kids). We have it everyday as part of the announcements, as well as a moment of silence. We have students do it. (Student council president, as well as each class president freshman-senior takes a day.)
We don't force kids to stand, but in 6 years in the district, I've only had one kid refuse. He started doing it about half way through the year, and I think he secretly did it to upset his classmates. (Rural community, very patriotic, a lot of families with members active in military.)
Post by onomatopoeia on Jun 3, 2016 8:50:43 GMT -5
My kids' school says it every morning, followed by another patriotic song (the song changes every day - the anthem, Grand Old Flag, etc). No one is forced but the kids take it very seriously.
I don't have a problem with it. I'd personally prefer that they take out the "Under God" in the pledge but it's not a hill for me. I remember singing the Canadian anthem in school as a kid and feeling really...patriotic? united? It sounds cheesy but it's true. I think my kids feel the same way.
Post by clairedunphy on Jun 3, 2016 9:46:08 GMT -5
My son's school says it every morning, it's led over the PA during announcements. On his first day of kindergarten last year we, and other parents, were still hanging around when they did this part of the morning, and none of the kindergarten kids had any idea what to do. It was sort of cute, I don't care if they say it or don't, but I'll admit, for some reason seeing those little kids trying to recite it that first day was the only time I had a tear in my eye on his first day of K. It made my little boy seem so grown up.
Post by penguingrrl on Jun 3, 2016 14:23:36 GMT -5
My kids do. I think it's kind of weird to have kids say it when they aren't old enough to grasp the meaning (so maybe as young as 13 they could start to understand for real?) but they do it.
Post by UMaineTeach on Jun 3, 2016 16:39:20 GMT -5
We leave it up to the teacher. The effort of daily AM announcements becomes too much about mid year. When they do announcements they just say at the end 'Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance' and then they click off and leave it to the teacher to decide whether to do it or not. And other than one BSC teacher who's not coming back, not one forces reciting on individual children.
We say it during prime time. I think most teacher require their kids to say it. I tell my kids they can either stand an say it or quietly sit...I quietly sit.
Post by starshine1977 on Jun 4, 2016 15:17:04 GMT -5
Here's a good one. They do have the pledge everyday during morning announcements in our school district.
However, the school board issued a policy in 2001 that this must be read each time before the pledge is recited: "We live in a nation of freedom. Participation in the pledge is voluntary. Whoever wishes to participate may stand, those who do not may sit" Gotta love my liberal city
When I taught in the public elementary schools, some stood, some sat, no one really made a big deal about it. But once again, did they really even know what it meant at that age?