Taking a Stand: Daily pledges should not be mandatory
According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), students enrolled in public school must recite daily pledges of allegiance to the United States and Texas flags followed by a minute of silence to commemorate the events of September 11, 2001. Students may only be exempt from participating in pledges if their parent or guardian writes a note to the school.
While the issue of daily pledges has long been a point of controversy and dispute among citizens, school boards, and the government, daily pledges of allegiance should not be mandatory.
Before the issue of constitutionality is addressed, we must first recognize how daily pledges affect students. From the ages of five and six, students are taught to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge of Allegiance. By the time students reach high school graduation, they have been reciting these pledges every school day for 12 years. State law requires that a school year should have between 175 and 180 instructional days. This means that on average, Texas students recite the pledges 2,130 times over the course of their educational career.
When we examine these numbers, it should come as no surprise that many students don’t actively participate in pledges. Students are required to stand and place their hand over their hearts, but many don’t even bother saying the words. Whether students are mumbling, mouthing the words, or staying silent altogether, they are not engaged. When recited daily over the course of a dozen years, the actual meaning of the pledge is lost as students become bored.
Mandatory pledges contradict first amendment rights such as freedom of speech and religion explicitly outlined in the Constitution. Students should have the right to express or not express certain opinions in a school environment. Additionally, the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance violates religious freedoms. While this two-word phrase may seem harmless or even patriotic, it can be offensive to students who come from different religious backgrounds.
While those supporting daily pledges argue that they are required under Texas law, they are not required under federal law, and schools in some states such as Oklahoma and Wyoming have the option to abstain from daily pledges. Additionally, Texas is one of only six states that require students to recite the state pledge. Supporters also claim that it is disrespectful not to participate in daily pledges; however, students are not being respectful by going through the motions of pledging without being aware of its meaning and significance.
An alternative to daily pledges would be optional weekly pledges, occurring either at the beginning or end of the school week. Students would likely be more inclined to engage in the pledges if they occurred once a week and they did not feel pressured to recite them.
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I am Abigail, I am a senior, and am editor of the newspaper for 2017-2018. I joined newspaper because I love writing and like to keep up with what is going...
Karley Thomas • Jan 13, 2020 at 10:52 am
A weekly optional pledge would be a great idea if it was explained to the students the reason for the pledges. However, I do not believe the moment of silence should be optional. Many students use that time to think or pray, or simply remember what it is meant to represent. As for the religious freedom aspect, in many schools and extracurricular organizations, such as the girls scouts, students are allowed to change “god” for any other religious figure, or simply stay silent during the two words. If that were implemented, it could result in kids feeling less alienated from their peers.
Andrew • Jan 9, 2020 at 4:47 pm
Abigail, I am going to disagree on this topic. Although I believe that you should stand out of respect for our fallen heroes, it is our right listed in the constitution that unless we a military member we do not have to pledge our allegiance to the union. I think we should stand by that right no matter what
Dante Camacho • Jan 9, 2020 at 4:33 pm
Hi Abigail
Counter Argument: Although after years of reciting the daily pledges it has lost the meaning for many students or just people in general i do think it really serves a true purpose.
My Argument: I believe The pledges are there to commemorate the fallen soldiers that died to allow us to live the lives that we currently do. Also if you don’t recite the pledges for religious reasons that’ completely understandable and reasonable, although some may view that as disrespectful.
Jaiden Busbea • Jan 9, 2020 at 4:24 pm
Hi Abigail
I agree with you the meaning of the pledges have been lost over time and is almost pointless now
Though it is important to honor those lost to 9/11 and during military service maybe the pledges should be kept around nut not recited every day maybe limit it to once a week as you suggested or only on 9/11 and patriotic holidays.
Jaiden Ashton • Jan 9, 2020 at 3:49 pm
I do think that the pledges are important because many people have lost their lives to make sure our country is safe with that though people shouldn’t be forced to do it. I feel is that the pledges are a sign of respect to our country and our state but if you’re not a religious person and believe that you shouldn’t do them based on belief than that is entirely your choice.
Gunnar Willis • Jan 9, 2020 at 1:59 pm
Hi Abigail,
The pledge of allegiance is used every day and can get dull after hundreds to thousands of recitals. I agree with your thoughts on a weekly pledge and the fact that most students hardly know why they have to recite it, but I do not agree on getting rid of the pledge entirely.
I am of the belief that if you live in America, a country that battles for its freedom constantly, you should respect the people that fight for you and the ones who have lost their lives while fighting. Reciting the pledge every single school day for 12 years can get dull and meaningless, but it still shows respect to those who fight for us.
Thank you for reading,
Gunnar Willis
Sidney P • Jan 9, 2020 at 11:25 am
I agree with your argument that reciting the pledges every day allows the words to lose their meaning, To be honest, I didn’t even know why we did a moment of silence until I read this article. Stating ‘under God’ is against freedom of religion, but when this country was first founded, most everyone believed in God (and was a Christian) and the ‘freedom’ was to be able to practice Christianity differently. Stating the pledges everyday engraves it into student’s brains so that they become more loyal to this country and they know what it was founded upon. The Texas pledge also exhibits how strong Texas is/ was. Of course, this isn’t always how people view the pledges, but it is a view.
trista conner • Jan 9, 2020 at 11:04 am
Hey Abigail,
I almost completely agree with your argument ten-fold, but we do the pledges for a reason. We’re a very patriotic country and we want to respect the people affected by the 9/11 tragedy. I do get annoyed by reciting the pledge every single day, and I probably won’t have to ever recite them again when I’m out of HS. Maybe we can limit the pledges to just a moment of silence. A couple of my peers take that moment to reflect on themselves or pray. Hopefully we can limit the pledges on 9/11, veterans day or any patriotic holiday.