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Backstory: Is America pledging less?
The schoolkid’s mantra is more legally mandated than ever, but recited less than ever.
By Chris Gaylord | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
CANTON, MASS. – A familiar “Good morning” rings over the Hansen School loudspeaker, calling the children of Claire Lund’s first grade class to their feet. Ms. Lund reminds her pack of 6- and 7-year-olds to place their pint-sized paws over their hearts, face the stars and stripes, and pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. It’s a slice of Americana: Little kids mangling big words as they’re introduced to the patriotic principles of liberty, allegiance, and an indivisible republic
It’s also an American ritual: Every morning, kids from kindergarten to high school recite the 31-word salute.
Or do they?
A generation ago, it was nearly impossible to get through the American public school system without learning the oath - and equally impossible to forget it after so much practice.
Today, though, ask kids if they know the pledge and you’re increasingly likely to get a blank stare. Veronica Baccki, a talkative second-grader in a Needham, Mass., public school flies through “of the United States of America” just fine. But then there’s a long pause. She stares at the ceiling with her mouth open, then gives an embarrassed smile and covers her eyes, working to summon the next line.
Backstory: Is America pledging less?
The schoolkid’s mantra is more legally mandated than ever, but recited less than ever.
By Chris Gaylord | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
CANTON, MASS. – A familiar “Good morning” rings over the Hansen School loudspeaker, calling the children of Claire Lund’s first grade class to their feet. Ms. Lund reminds her pack of 6- and 7-year-olds to place their pint-sized paws over their hearts, face the stars and stripes, and pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. It’s a slice of Americana: Little kids mangling big words as they’re introduced to the patriotic principles of liberty, allegiance, and an indivisible republic
It’s also an American ritual: Every morning, kids from kindergarten to high school recite the 31-word salute.
Or do they?
A generation ago, it was nearly impossible to get through the American public school system without learning the oath - and equally impossible to forget it after so much practice.
Today, though, ask kids if they know the pledge and you’re increasingly likely to get a blank stare. Veronica Baccki, a talkative second-grader in a Needham, Mass., public school flies through “of the United States of America” just fine. But then there’s a long pause. She stares at the ceiling with her mouth open, then gives an embarrassed smile and covers her eyes, working to summon the next line.