Sunday, February 28, 2010

 

Why the Banner is Star-Spangled

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The incident began on a Wednesday in late January, when the girl did not stand for the pledge. Her teacher yelled at her, demanded that she stand and then sent her to the office for her defiance, Quereshi said. The school system confirmed the sequence of events.

The next morning, the girl again refused to stand for the pledge. This time, the teacher called two school police officers to the classroom to escort the girl to the office.

That was not an incident in a private school. The teacher was using the power of the state not only to humiliate a student but to physically intimidate her.

Fortunately, the school realizes how inappropriate the teacher's behavior was:

A school spokesman said Tuesday that the teacher's actions were a clear violation of the school's regulations, which are based on state law. The teacher, who also has not been identified by either side, will have to apologize to the student, spokesman Dana Tofig said.

"The policy is very, very clearly stated," Tofig said. "Our teachers are expected to know the students' rights and responsibilities. . . . A mistake has been made, and it will be rectified."

Given that the student was reportedly "mocked by other children in her class," the ACLU is exactly correct that the teacher should not only personally apologize to the student and promise to respect her rights in the future but that the incident should then be discussed in the class so it can become an educational opportunity. Anyone who thinks that might be too humiliating for the teacher or undermine her authority should just remember how humiliating it is to be dragged off by police for exercising one's Constitutional rights or how the authority of the Constitution, the supreme law of our land, is undermined by petty bureaucrats with delusions of grandeur.
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Link - Posted by John Pieret @ 7:13 PM
Comments:
Making a pledge means so much more when it's mandatory ...

This isn't a new concern, by any means. Jehovah's Witnesses are, or at least were when I was in school, against pledging allegiance to any state or its symbols.
# posted by Blogger Cujo359 : 10:05 PM
 
Making a pledge means so much more when it's mandatory ...

Or when it can be made to seem so ...
# posted by Blogger John Pieret : 11:27 PM
 
We need a Matthew 6:5-6 for loyalty oaths.
# posted by Anonymous Ferrous Patella : 4:00 AM
 
Ah, yes, ye olde Pledge. First, I didn't understand it. When I was old enough to understand it, I didn't understand why it wasn't voluntary. At no time did it infuse me with patriotic joy and a willingness to defend my country to the death. All it did was make me consider becoming a Jehovah's Witness so I wouldn't have to stand and babble inanely for two minutes every morning.
# posted by Blogger Dana Hunter : 8:22 PM
 
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# posted by Blogger raybanoutlet001 : 2:53 AM
 
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