Lesson Overview
Showcased Short article: “We Know the Pledge. Its Writer, Perhaps Not.” by Sam Roberts
Additional than a century soon after a Baptist minister from upstate New York took credit rating for writing the Pledge of Allegiance, new proof suggests the likelihood of a really distinct tale — that a 13-year-aged schoolboy in Kansas may well truly have been the writer.
In this lesson, you will go through about the historical past of the Pledge of Allegiance, and then look at whether or not students should really be expected to recite it in college.
Heat-Up
The Pledge of Allegiance now reads:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of The us and to the republic for which it stands, a single nation less than God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Have you at any time said the Pledge of Allegiance? And if so, do you have it memorized? What do you imagine is the purpose of reciting the pledge?
Do you imagine it is important for all People in america — specially schoolchildren — to know and recite it on a regular basis? Why or why not?
Queries for Crafting and Discussion
Read the posting, then solution the adhering to thoughts:
1. How did the authorship of the Pledge of Allegiance come into question this 12 months? What evidence looks to contradict the approved background of the oath’s origins?
2. In accordance to the Baptist minister Francis Bellamy, why did he create the pledge in 1892? According to Frank E. Bellamy, why did he generate the pledge at the age of 13 in 1890?
3. Would recognizing definitively who wrote the pledge make a distinction in how you sense about it? Does the historical past issue?
4. How has the wording of the pledge — and the way it is recited — improved since it was very first written? Why was it transformed?
5. What is your reaction to this article? Do you believe the discovery will transform how the background of the pledge is published and remembered?
Heading More
Almost all states involve that pupils in public colleges on a regular basis recite the pledge, even though the Supreme Courtroom has dominated that pupils ought to be allowed to opt out of it.
What do you imagine: Should really college students in the United States recite the Pledge of Allegiance just about every university working day? Why or why not? Do you believe finding out and reciting the pledge instills patriotism in youthful people? Does it foster loyalty to the country, along with a determination to the core values of liberty and justice for all? Or are every day recitations just routines devoid of meaning? Or, worse, does requiring that pupils recite the pledge violate particular person freedom?
These concerns are not just academic. In Texas, Mari Oliver claimed that in 2017, when she was a senior in significant college, she was harassed for opting out of reciting the pledge. In reaction, she filed a lawsuit from four teachers, a school administrator and her college district, and very last 7 days her lawyers introduced a settlement less than which she will receive $90,000, paid by the Texas Affiliation of School Boards.
The write-up “Texas Scholar Who Protested Pledge of Allegiance Gets $90,000 in Settlement” points out why Ms. Oliver refused to recite the pledge:
Ms. Oliver objected to the pledge simply because she did not imagine that the United States ensures “liberty and justice for all,” particularly for persons of coloration, in accordance to the assertion. She also did not agree with the text “under God.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1943 that pupils have a Very first Modification suitable to decide out of saluting the flag or pledging allegiance.
Study the full write-up, and then go over — or react in composing — your reaction to it. Why do you experience that way? Has it created you rethink your solution to the issue above about whether or not students should really be needed to recite the pledge?
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