Milestones: On Patriotism
It's the first full day of school today. Quite possibly the last year I walk any of my children to school. They've progressed in the same learning establishment for all their lives, although the edifice has changed. However, there are always traditions. The difference in uniforms between the lower grades and the upper grades. The response hand-clapping to render silence. The outdoor assembly of the entire school in pleasant weather for the Pledge and a patriotic song.
I've had my issues with the patriotic song which follows the Pledge. I prefer the National Anthem, however it can be a bear to sing first thing in the morning and it is vocally challenging. I don't mind "America the Beautiful" or "America", but show-tunes like "You're a Grand Ol' Flag" make me want to take out a cane and straw hat and do low kicks along the curb. However, I sing along, proudly, if only to be an example to the children who arrived a tad late and didn't make it into the gates and for the parents who are too busy catching up to show respect for the flag.
Unfortunately, traditions change.
The school is growing. There are at least 2 classes for each grade level through the sixth grade. The school only moved into this building a scant 5 years ago and it's bursting their corners due to the enrollment. As such, they can't hold all the children in the schoolyard/parking lot. So, to instill a sense of patriotism in the youth (one can only hope), the older grades now meet in the classroom and not in the yard in the morning. They do not participate in the school recitation of the Pledge.
I'm going to miss that.
So, I'll say it here.
I pledge allegiance to the the flag of the United States of America;
and, to the republic for which she stands,
one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
I've had my issues with the patriotic song which follows the Pledge. I prefer the National Anthem, however it can be a bear to sing first thing in the morning and it is vocally challenging. I don't mind "America the Beautiful" or "America", but show-tunes like "You're a Grand Ol' Flag" make me want to take out a cane and straw hat and do low kicks along the curb. However, I sing along, proudly, if only to be an example to the children who arrived a tad late and didn't make it into the gates and for the parents who are too busy catching up to show respect for the flag.
Unfortunately, traditions change.
The school is growing. There are at least 2 classes for each grade level through the sixth grade. The school only moved into this building a scant 5 years ago and it's bursting their corners due to the enrollment. As such, they can't hold all the children in the schoolyard/parking lot. So, to instill a sense of patriotism in the youth (one can only hope), the older grades now meet in the classroom and not in the yard in the morning. They do not participate in the school recitation of the Pledge.
I'm going to miss that.
So, I'll say it here.
I pledge allegiance to the the flag of the United States of America;
and, to the republic for which she stands,
one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.