Should the school day begin with the pledge of allegiance?

Question

Should the school day begin with the pledge of allegiance?

Answer 1

I believe it should be, however, I believe that the one nation under God portion should be inserted with the God you worship.  So, if you are Christian you would say, "one nation under God."  If you were Muslim you would say, "one nation under Allah."  If you are an athiest you remain quiet during that time...  or you can be excused into the hallway while the pledge is being said.  No one should be forced to say it though.

Answer 2

Yes, absolutely without a doubt!

Answer 3

If a minor can't sign a legally binding document by themselves, they have no business making pledges or oaths.

Answer 4

Yes, including one nation under God.

Answer 5

It certainly shouldn't be mandated. As one of your previous answer states, elementary school children don't even know the meaning of the words in the pledge of allegiance. We should be able to show our allegiance by our actions, not just mindless words. Actions speak louder than words.

Answer 6

only if you insist on state controll of EVERYTHING!

Get a clue people, some kids are HOMESCHOOLED and they don't have to put on a show of "partriotizm" they either love AMERICA or they don't and the  whole  "pledge of allegiance"  bit is a FARCE!

Answer 7

Patriotism should be felt, not mandated.

I say no.

Answer 8

I think schools should have it, but they should also allow their students to choose wether or not to say it. Like for example, in my elementary school, everyone had to stand up and say it, but since I didnt understand the pledge at the time, I said it. Now that Im in highschool and I understand what it actually means, I dont say it anymore.

However, when we do the pledge of allegiance in the morning, I do stand up in respect for the country and the people who do believe in god, I just dont recite the pledge itself.

Answer 9

yes, its about pledging your alligeance to your country, and as american citizens i think its our job to help support where we live. if people have a problem with the "under God" part then i guess they can choose not to say it.

i understand why people disagree with the religious aspect of it but they seem to forget the real message of support for the US.

Answer 10

When I was in school, particularly when I was going through an agnostic stage, I hated it. Not just "Well, this is kind of annoying.": I despised the fact that Texas lawmakers had passed laws to force it to be said, (previously, in my first two years of high school before 9-11, I hadn't said the pledge since middle school.) and it more or less angered me for the rest of the class period.

Now that I'm an adult, I could pretty much care less. I will say that the pledge of allegiance, particularly in elementary school, is for the parents, not the kids. It's just to make parents feel good about what their children are doing in school, the children don't know what it means and it's simply a chore.

Perhaps 5-10 year olds shouldn't be taking oaths of loyalty to anything.....nah, that's crazy.

Answer 11

When I was in elementary school, I didn't really understand the meaning of the words within the pledge of allegiance.  By the time I was in high school and understood the words, I still didn't understand the significance.  Kids will say they believe something if their hands are forced, but whether they truly believe what they're told to believe is often another story.

I think it would be an insignificant policy.  Freedom of speech would still have to permit kids not to say the pledge if they chose.

Answer 12

Do the British really need to copy the Americans at everything. I don't feel that we need too. The Americans only do it to show off! They are swearing an allegiance to a flag for Gods sake. I would hate it for it to be in this country. The British suck up the Americans big time. They need to stop-soon we will have our steering wheels on the right hand side!

Answer 13

It definitely should,  Although Libs. would like us to not have any identification "as American" and wants this country to become a landing strip for foreigners to come and go as they please.  We are a judeo-christian country.  We accept other peoples freedom to worship and believe what they want, but over 90% of this country believes in god, therefore the pledge, as small as it may seem, is something that shows respect, patriotism, and a belief that we are one-country under god.  We don't need to bend-over backwards for every whack-job Lib who would love to ban the pledge as well as anything wlse that has the words "under god" in it.

Answer 14

I think, on balance, a healthy breakfast might be better in poor areas of your divided country, and half an hour's vigorous exercise in those areas where too many young people are seriously overweight.

And if you mean British schools, no, no, NO!   Better to start the day by burning Old Gory and portraits of Bush, Blair and Brown.  

Patriotism needs to start with independence from an imperial power.  You knew it - don't be surprised if we know it too.

Answer 15

you've been asking some thought-provoking questions my friend

anyway, i don't consider it that much of a burden since its only said once a day (at the beginning) and it takes 10 seconds to recite. however, if it would be said more than once a day then that school might as well have a big banner that says "We're  Nationalist" and another saying "No Atheists Allowed"

Answer 16

Just one more attempt by the government and the churches to brainwash our children into believing their fairy tales.

Answer 17

I can't think of any reason why it should, only if you want  to.