It’s a daily routine to do the pledge of allegiance at school. Stand up, put your right hand on top of your heart and repeat the same words that person in the monitor is saying.
But as people know, this country is filled with all types of different people that have different ways of speaking, dressing and different religions. Imagine if your teacher embarrassed and yelled at you in front of the whole classroom for not standing up to do the pledge of allegiance. Your face is turning red, you feel the blood boiling up in your body and you’re incapable of moving or saying anything. That’s the feeling of embarrassment.
Teachers putting you on the spot in front of the whole class for not standing up for the pledge is a wrong way to approach the student. A lot of teachers don’t know that the reason some students dont do the pledge is because they don’t agree with what the pledge is saying. It might be because of the way they were raised or just due to the way they start viewing situations later on in life. But under no circumstances should you be mistreated for your beliefs in life.
The country we are pledging allegiance to is a country that is great at least in part due to our commitment to freedom of speech, whether we agree or like the speech or not. The reality is, saying or not saying the pledge is not a requirement in this country, and allowing freedom of speech is.
Of all people, teachers should be aware of the many reasons students may not say the pledge, including religious regions, and should respect a student’s right to freedom of speech. We should allow students to sit down quietly while the pledge of allegiance is being said if that is their choice. If they are not disrupting the pledge in any way, they should be left alone and not disciplined or shamed publicly.