My daughter's school is ODing on the jingoism

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

They already (by state law-June 2003, barring a parent note) say the Pledge of Allegiance, the Texas state pledge and have a one minute silent period (presumably for those who want to pray) every single morning. Now it is followed up by an intercom-led singing of the Star-Spangled Banner and the school song. It's an elementary school and they have a little short song. In the school song, they say "always faithful to the homeland."

I just want to make sure I am not alone in this, but it kinda makes me feel like I am going to throw up. The addition of the Star-Spangled Banner and the school song is new this year.

Too much? I think it's too much just with the TWO pledges and the minute of silence. But the addition of two "patriotic" songs is just too much, in my opinion.

A letter will excuse her from the pledges (she did it last year at HER insistence) but the songs aren't state law.

Geez. WHY DO people feel children have to be SO indoctrinated? What the HELL are we afraid of? When I was a kid in the 70s, we didn't even say the pledge past about first grade, I NEVER knew the state pledge (I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible. It's short.) and we didn't sing two songs every morning. We turned out just fine.

What is UP with this crap?

[madmax]

1. Wait until they start with the little brown uniforms.

I feel for you Moonbeam. Texas :cry:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

8. Aw, thanks

I do love my home state in a lot of ways, but the people running the shit need to SERIOUSLY unpucker.

[HEyHEY]

2. The war is going good! I hear our chocolate rations are to be increased!

Got any razor blades?

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

4. Seriously

shit like this makes me want to scream, cry, vomit.

I remember reading about the McCarthy era. This FEELS like what I read about.

I'm wondering when the kiddos are going to have to sign loyalty oaths to the homeland.

My kid is in fourth grade. She is VERY uncomfortable with all this. I've asked the principal and teacher about it and they had big grins and said "Isn't it GREAT?"

Uh. Yeah.

[GOPisEvil]

3. This is what happens when the ultra-conservatives take control.

I think it's excessive. Having a state law mandating the pledge is pretty fucking inane, too. Mandating patriotism demeans it. Idiots.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

7. It passed last summer

and last year, I wrote her a note excusing her from saying the pledges. She caught hell from her fundie teacher, who then caught hell from me and Mr. Moonbeam (we were even talking to the ACLU because she was yelling at our daughter to stand up and say it even after I gave her the note!).

Sigh. So this year she doesn't want to say them again (doesn't see the point of constantly pledging, thinks there's no meaning when you just say something by rote each day) and her teacher this year is even more redneckish.

This is going to be fun. For sure. Funny thing is, I am in a relatively laid back burb. Not too fundie-ish or freeper-ish. But in this particular school, it seems to be bad.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

12. And line #19 is snatched by GOPisEvil, no less!

See already way too long sig.

[GOPisEvil]

16. Thankyouverymuch!

*bow*

[flamingyouth]

5. I don't think we ever said the Pledge of Allegiance past 2nd grade

Of course, I grew up in Seattle, which explains quite a bit. ;)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Ugh!

:puke:

Any chance you could move to a less constipated state?

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

9. We've looked into it many times

but my husband is a part-owner in a local company and his skills don't really travel well. I'm a teacher, so mine do, but we'd need more than my salary. And things are tough all over, job-wise.

THANKS BUSH!!! HATE YOU!!!!

[Obamarama]

10. Ugh....sounds like they are trying to make little Hitler Jugen.......

Oy vey. Isn't there a Montessori near you? From previous posts it sounds like your daughter is a very brilliant, intelligent young woman. Bet she'd fit right in.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

11. Sigh

Academically speaking, it's a very, very good school. And it feeds into an awesome middle school. The nearest really good private school is a good haul away and costs about $6,000 a year.

I just don't know why the hell they have to OD on this stuff. It smacks of insecurity. Of brainwashing. I'm seriously wondering, if bush wins, if loyalty oaths to the country for the kids are next. I know that sounds crazy, but if you would have told me ten years ago my kid would have to do all THAT at the beginning of the school day, including singing of being faithful to the homeland, I'd have said you were out of your mind!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

Have you talked with your daughter about it?

Or is she too young to be worried with it?

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

24. It bothers her

that's why she told me about it. She's not even comfortable with saying the pledges each day (she told me last year saying something by rote takes the meaning out of it and so I wrote the note and went through hell with her teacher about it).

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. Will you get lynched if you go to a PTA and suggest they...

...pipe it down a little?

(I'm afraid the answer may be yes.)

[wildeyed]

13. Pretty soon, no time left for learning.

Prayer and patriotism all day everyday.

How is the school other than this craziness? What do the other parents say about it? There must be other parents who are concerned and disturbed.

As to what the HELL are we afraid of? I have no idea what these people fear. But they fear allot and they take it out on the rest of us and on children, too, apparently.

[GOPFighter]

14. Indoctrinated!

You nailed it. Too many Americans are scared of anyone who doesn't think excatly like they do, anyone who doesn't believe like they do. They are scared. They don't trust their brains because sometimes their brains scream out: "This is all bullshit!!" and it scares them to death. Better to have everyone on the same page.

Just let kids be kids!

[Kellanved]

17. I will never understand this "pledge " stuff

First time I heard about it was in twelfth grade in class (1997). The freshly returned exchange students reported about their year at various US highschools and several complained that they had to do the pledge with their American classmates - what is the point of having exchange students taking a pledge?
Also the whole concept is totally alien: in all my school years, I never was in a classroom with a flag (outside the US), never sung the national anthem and never gave a pledge on anything.

[punpirate]

21. Exchange students shouldn't have been required...

... to pledge allegiance to the US. I recall one incident in high school, now four decades ago, in which one girl was roundly castigated for not standing for a pledge at an assembly.

Turned out that she was a Canadian citizen (her father was a tech rep and was in the US temporarily on a long-term contract). Her reasoning was simple and sound--why should she pledge allegiance to a country not her own? Would any US citizen pledge allegiance to Canada were they living there temporarily?

And there the argument ended.

Cheers.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

29. And see? All you Germans are TOTALLY unpatriotic!

(Kidding!)

I grew up in the US before all this craziness, and we didn't pledge past the first grade. We're all fine.

[Deja Q]

18. Always faithful to the homeland? Uh,

wouldn't that be Britain? We took the US from scores of other peoples...

Or do they mean New Germany? :-(

[Iris]

19. Doesn't that take up a lot of time? They're leaving CHILDREN behind!

Do they have phys. ed or is the state only concerned with their spirtual and patriotic development?

[LibDemAlways]

20. I would show up at the next school board meeting

and question why valuable instruction time is being wasted on multiple pledges and songs. I'd remind school officials that patriotism comes from within and cannot be imposed by forcing kids to sing songs or recite nazi-like pledges of being "faithful to the homeland." What's that all about, anyway?

Put them on the defensive, and don't back down.

If your daughter doesn't want to participate in any of this, she shouldn't have to. Last time I looked, there was still a 1st amendment.

[ROC]

22. Does this happen in home room or activity period?

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

26. In the regular classroom, it's an elementary school

[henslee]

23. My friend attended a Waldorf sch & had to say a nature prayer in the AM.

It was a long poem. Actually kind of cool. They also had to work in the community garden twice a week.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

25. When do they start with the little red books glorifying fearless leader?

I guess it's a simple matter to change the prole caps to a Stetson and the red star to a Texas Lone Star.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

27. YIKES!!!

I understand you are in my area (sort of). Pipe down, there, don't be givin' 'em any ideas!

[Wapsie B]

28. Aren't there a group of konservative fundies in TX

who choose the texts for a large number of schools there, especially history texts? I seem to remember a thread on this quite awhile ago.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

30. Wouldn't surprise me in the least

in my suburb, we do a pretty good job of keeping the 10% of the population who are fundies out of power and control. Even moderates are creeped out by them and don't want them on the school board, etc.

But it wouldn't surprise me.