South Dakota board rejects veterans’ request for Pledge of Allegiance
Ben Velderman
Ben is a communications specialist for EAG and joined in 2010. He is a former member of the Michigan Education Association.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – High school students in the Sioux Falls School District won’t be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, due to a new school board policy adopted earlier this week.
KDLT.com reports the Sioux Falls school board’s updated “Flags and Patriotic Activities” policy formally requires elementary and middle school students to say the Pledge every school day, but not high schoolers.
The board decided the complex schedules used at the district’s three high schools didn’t allow for a consistent time for students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
That decision didn’t sit well with the “half dozen uniformed veterans” who addressed the school board during its recent Tuesday evening meeting – which occurred one day after the nation celebrated Veteran’s Day, KeloLand.com reports.
“This is what we are asking, ten seconds a day from standup until sit down. Ten seconds to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day,” Jim Borman, one of the veterans, explained to the board.
Board members refused to change the policy, adding that it based on feedback from principals who said students find it more meaningful to recite the Pledge before special occasions, such as a school assembly.
South Dakota board rejects veterans’ request for Pledge of Allegiance The veterans didn’t appear convince by the board’s reasoning.
Dave Saunders pointed out that it took one of his fellow veterans, who was wounded in war, “longer to get out and get up and get his crutches, then it would have taken the students to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.”
“Yet they decided they didn’t have enough time in their day to do it,” Saunders told KeloLand.com. “He gave almost all he had for our country, but our school district couldn’t give ten seconds, sorry.”
It appears at least one Sioux Falls high school will continue reciting the Pledge, despite the board’s decision to not officially require it.
“I think it’s important that everybody realize the sacrifices our military have made for the freedoms that we have,” Lennox High School Principal Tim Raabe told KDLT.com.
WTK – Re-posted with permission 11/21/13 – http://eagnews.org/south-dakota-board-unanimously-rejects-veterans-request-for-daily-pledge-of-allegiance-in-high-school/
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WHY SAY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE?
Many millions of Americans are inspired by the Pledge of Allegiance. Without doubt, it is a tradition that is among our most treasured, reminding us of our loyalty to our Republic, our unity as a nation, and our quest for liberty and justice for all. I am the founder of We The Kids, an effort to encourage children to learn about and respect America. Recently, We The Kids produced a video … completely kid oriented … that memorializes Red Skelton’s timeless explanation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Judy Lane Frazier
Tricia Raymond, author of America’s Story: The History of the Pledge of Allegiance, speaksfrequently to audiences about the importance of the Pledge. “If children were taught the history of the Pledge of Allegiance, I am certain there would be a different attitude toward it. By the time children were in high school, they would want to recite it,” Raymond states. “But only if they are taught its history, completely and truthfully – warts and all.”
Raymond’s book delves into aspects of the Pledge’s history that no other author has written about. For instance, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited for the first time in 1892 during the nationwide celebration of America’s 400th anniversary of discovery. Everywhere, that is, except Washington, DC.
“You might think it had something to do with politics, but in truth, it was not recited there because the first lady, President Benjamin Harrison’s wife, lay dying in the White House,” Raymond explains. “Protocol was such that celebrations were kept to a minimum out of respect for the President.”
Raymond goes on to say that the idea of a Pledge was conceived as a way to unite America during a time when Americans were very divided. “National traditions such as the recitation of the Pledge should be kept alive. It unifies us as a nation. It reminds us that America is exceptional. And it clarifies that our rights come from God, not from the government,” Raymond continues. “Who wouldn’t want students of all ages to be reminded of those ideals on a daily basis?”
Tricia Raymond
www.LibertyAloud.com
"If we ever forget we are one nation under God, we will become a nation gone under." ~ President Ronald Reagan
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