Intercom: Good morning. Teachers, please turn on your televisions for the morning announcements.
TV: Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
...sound familiar? Every day at school students are asked to stand with hand-on-heart and recite the Pledge. While it is not mandatory to say the Pledge, it's encouraged as a way to honor our Country. At the very least, it is important not to create a disturbance during the Pledge as a sign of respect. Instead of the Pledge, some school have students stand at silent, respectful attention to the playing of our National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key (see the first stanza below).
O! say can you see by the dawn's early light / What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? / Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, / O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? / And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, / Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. / O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave / O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Your Assignment: How do you feel about the Pledge and/or the National Anthem. What do you do during this time? Do you agree with the idea of being respectful towards these ceremonies? Why/Why not? Explain. Your comment must be at least 4 complete and well-written sentences and is due no later than Friday at 3:30 pm.
For fun... here is the late, great Jimi Hendrix performing his very cool rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock in 1969.
