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5/24/2010
Our Pledge. In Spanish. Right here in River City....
The Pledge of Allegiance, in Spanish, in an elementary school in Wrightstown. What do you think about that?
Sharla Adrian joined her kindergartener and other mothers and kids in the cafeteria of Wrightstown Elementary School last week for “Muffins with Mom.” During the brief outreach event, the morning’s announcements were heard via the P.A. system and, as many schools are wont to do, the announcements ended with the youngsters asked to rise and face the flag so they could say the Pledge of Allegiance. After the Pledge was finished, the announcer said “We will now say the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish.”
Spanish. Our Pledge of Allegiance to our American flag.
Adrian was not pleased – and, with her husband, voiced her concern to her young son’s principal.
We are writing to express our concern regarding the Pledge of Allegiance being broadcasted over the Intercom in Spanish. Not only does reciting this in Spanish insult our family as American citizens, it is disrespectful to the veterans who have defended our country.
English is the primary language in this country. Our government is in English. Our laws are in English. When a new American citizen publicly takes the oath of allegiance promising to defend the Constitution, they do so in English. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in English and should be recited in English. No similar accommodations were made for other immigrant patterns in history nor should they be as long as the American Flag is flying.
Furthermore, the purpose of the Pledge of Allegiance is to inspire patriotism and unify Americans to focus on the meaning of the Republic and encourage loyalty to the United States of America. Our child should not be subject to the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance in any other language than English. This is offensive and should be stopped immediately!
Principal Lee Mierow responded, commending the Adrians on their patriotism. He shared that the Pledge is read and recited in Spanish by those students whose primary language is Spanish; it is not recited by his English speaking students not fluent in Spanish.
First and foremost, we want the Spanish-speaking students to be able to understand what they are saying when they recite the pledge in English on a daily basis. We want them to get a grasp of the importance that the pledge has in the everyday lives of American citizens such as yourselves. If it is not presented to them from time to time in a language they can understand, they may never understand the profound significance that the pledge has for citizens and veterans alike…. Most of our families emigrated here from elsewhere and at one time did not speak English (German and Swedish in my case). Of course all kids must learn the English language in order to function well in the United States of America. That's why we first recite the pledge in English everyday.
In short, I admire your patriotism and sense that you want the best for the kids and the country you love so dearly. The Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights and civil liberties of every person in this country. It is my responsibility as a principal in a public school to give every student the opportunity to learn and grow as a student, no matter what their race or religion.
Sharla Adrian checked with the four elementary schools in Kaukauna, four elementary schools in Kimberly and Little Chute’s one elementary school. The Wrightstown mom also contacted 24 Green Bay elementary schools; two have responded thus far. None of these elementary schools, nor Wrightstown High School, recites the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish.
I appreciate Mierow’s commitment to respond and explain the thorny issue. I very much appreciate Sharla Adrian's taking a public stand - not always so easy to do. What do you think? Does a principal's responsibility to his students extend beyond teaching and diligently studying the English words of our great Pledge of Allegiance to our flag?
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
How many students in that school are unable to understand the words in English who would otherwise understand the Spanish? Is there an actual need as defined by the Principal? I doubt many students of any language understand the pledge at all. It becomes rote no matter what. It is possible that a student who cannot understand the pledge in English may actually listen to the words and try to comprehend them more because they are some of the few Spanish words they hear that day. It's kind of like being an English only speaker in Mexico and listening to some English words coming over the loudspeaker, you actually pay attention. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with the policy but these are things to think about. I would bet that many naturalized citizens have a better grasp of the fundamental tenants of our Constitution than native born Americans. Why? because they came here for a reason and if they didn't get their immigration test correct they didn't become a citizen. It means more.
dave allen (Mon May 24 06:57:01 2010)
I think this is wonderful. The original pledge was written in 1892 by a socialist. The words "under God" were added to the pledge in 1954. This is an oath with a colorful and complex history. Is it so wrong that in 2010, a Wisconsin classroom utters the pledge in Spanish? The pledge is to a flag, not a language...
Kole Oswald (Mon May 24 08:03:37 2010)
When folks become citizens they take an oath renouncing their country of origin and accepting their new citizenship completely. When a child recites the pledge they are accepting the United States as their national preference. "I pledge allegiance" are powerful words. They are infact renouncing their connection to their country of origin. They are pledging allegiance to the United States. If reciting it in spanish helps them to understand the profound statement they are making it is a good thing. Until they are fluent in english learning in spanish is an accelerator of good citizenship.
billie (Mon May 24 08:22:48 2010)
I would hope by the time children reach the age of elementary school that they would have a fairly good command of the English language. Yes, it is a learning process but the old adage that you learn by doing certainly applies.
When I was growing up my Grandparents(Hungarian on one side and German on the other) spoke in their native language when they were with their adult peers but were very adament that we speak English and understand the History of America.
Yes, they kept their heritage and passed along that heritage to us but there was never a demand that the school system teach their children in the "homeland's" language.
This nation was founded on the "melting pot" mentality and that heritage helped flavor the stew but you had to assimilate into the culture and that means adopting a common language-English.
In order for the melting pot process to work you have to be willing to Melt.
Mike
Mike Thomas (Mon May 24 08:50:08 2010)
We are not a melting pot, we are a salad bowl. Each culture adds to the complexity and richness of the salad while retaining the best of their cultures. Many of these children came here recently in the wave of imigrants required by our roofers and food processors. They have not yet had the emersion time necessary to have fluency in english. When the Southeast Asian people first arrived 20 years ago they were unable to speak english and the elders have not yet adpoted english as a first language. Three generations later their grandchildren are attending college, graduating with advanced degrees and bi-lingual. Give these folks a chance. No harm no foul. The fastest growing segment of middle class families in America are in the Asian and Latino populations. They are motivated, value education and interested in living the American dream. My grandparents too spoke only Danish. My father entered grammer school speaking only Danish they were able to make the turn because they were given some slack and would likely have benefitted from a bilungual teaching environment where they could be taught english properly the first time around.
billie (Mon May 24 09:09:16 2010)
My grandparents came here from Germany. They required that their children speak only English outside of the home. And yet, my parents spoke fluent German and I speak it as well, having learned from them.
My "culture" and sense of "heritage" have not been undermined, diminished or lost by being an American and speaking the lingua franca, English. Nor will anyone else's.
I am reminded of these prescient quotes from some of the former Presidents of this great melting pot called the United States:
"We have room but for one language here and that is English, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house." - Theodore Roosevelt
"There are a great many hyphens left in America. For my part I think the most un-American thing in the world is a hyphen." - Woodrow Wilson
Unfortunately, our Politically Correct educational establishment no longer teaches American History but revisionist history and no longer teaches that it is the melding, not the isolationist separatism that made us a Great Nation.
JT (Mon May 24 09:51:38 2010)
I commend Sharla Adrian.
And regarding the Melting Pot, I pass on this article which was written for but never published in an Orange County, CA newspaper. Written by Rosemary LaBonte:
Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made
up of immigrants.
Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty
because the people
now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through
Ellis Island
and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people
like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept
this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when
there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the
United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a
long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get
down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made
a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in
good and bad times. They made learning English a primary
rule in their new American households and some even changed
their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their
children a new life and did everything in their power to
help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was
handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws
to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship
they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out.
My father fought along side men whose parents had come
straight over from Germany , Italy , France and Japan . None
of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought
about what country their parents had come from. They were
Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of
Japan . They were defending the United States of America as
one people.
When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking
for the French-American or the German American or the Irish
American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we
carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of
those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up
another country's flag and waving it to represent who they
were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had
sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew
what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting
pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same
rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by
playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the
entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their
mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American
is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on
Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that
for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future
generations to create a land that has become a beacon for
those legally searching for a better life. I think they
would be appalled that they are being used as an example by
those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty ,
it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the
immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United
States just yet.
(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte
Andrew Ellis (Mon May 24 09:54:32 2010)
Total immersion is the best method of people learning a second language.
Children learn languages almost effortlessly. Teaching them anything in their native tongue is counter-productive, which fact has been proven time and again.
Principal Mierow sounds like a reasonable man and this should be pointed out to him.
He seems to have grasped the idea that most people came to this country from other countries and managed to learn the Pledge without learning it first in their native language. It's up to the school to make sure there is an understanding of the Pledge by both foreign-born and native Americans.
It's one of the reasons for the foreign-exchange student programs.
The fault I see here is there seems to be no explanation of the Pledge either in English or Spanish.
C.R. Stevenson (Mon May 24 10:36:36 2010)
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
integr8r (Mon May 24 13:49:15 2010)
Its too bad that most Educational systems do not understand the concept of total immersion, the most successful means to date of teaching language!
Th former Supt. of schools for Green Bay said it takes over 10 years to bring a ESL student up to high school entry level in English--- That my friends is absurd ! ( and unacceptable IMHO)
This great Country was founded with the words "E Pluribus Unum"
The secret of our 200 year achievement in Freedom and Liberty, is simple, and is found in this succinct phase. When our Founding Fathers needed a Moto- they choose it, and it isn't any clearer with the intent "out of many, ONE."
It applies to all things, not only in a Pledge to our flag ,but language too
In applies in the Military in whats called "Boot Camp" where soldiers are taught unified methods of function
Speaking many tongues is known as "babel", and we all know what that means. ( look it up)
Multi-cultural programs in public schools are alien to building common citizenship. It's fine for private schools and should stay there
We have un-informed members of our society and educational institutions who think such political recogniton makes society "better" , but the haven't a clue about a fundimental foundation for America, and why it is the "United" States of America.
They could never direct a Marching Band as they think every band member can march to his own beat.....Sorry , it doesn't work and only makes the whole effort weaker in performance and success
Unification of principals of citizenship and requirements of Citizen conduct assure that our method of Government for the Free, will survive. Anything less is detrimental and destructive !
You think they would know that ?
Rich Carlstedt (Mon May 24 16:11:10 2010)
An educational system is neither a military boot camp, nor a marching band. I've known many good educators, well-versed in educational practices and American history, who see value by including multiculturalism as part of our public education.
If those responsible for a particular school think it will help some students understand the important concepts of the Pledge of Allegiance by repeating the words in Spanish, I can see no harm. Ultimately, yes, we want students to learn English. But we want them to learn other things as well.
"E pluribus unum" was not necessarily intended by the founders to mean that everyone should think or speak in the same way, but that the several colonies could act as a single nation. Through the centuries, many have fought for and sacrificed for our nation. But was not their sacrifice for the liberty and freedom essential to our nation?
Our nation may be "one nation, under God", but it has "liberty and justice for all." Should someone choose to exercise that liberty to speak the words of the Pledge in another language, I believe it does not diminish us, it enlarges us.
Terry Dawson (Mon May 24 17:36:19 2010)
My grandparents had to learn English, and did. Total immersion is the best way to learn a language, even for adults. After spending only 10 days in Germany, visiting friends, I was starting to pick it up! We have summer students who understand NO English, stay with us, and after ONE WEEK they are understanding us, even though they may not have the vocabulary yet to speak back.
Many times immigrants pretend not to understand, for example, when being questioned by law enforcement. (Yes, I've seen this more than once with my own eyes.) There are those who truly do not know English, but keeping on speaking to them in their native tongue will only hamper their eventual understandniug AND employability, and keep them second-class citizens. Maybe that is the real reason for having all sorts of things in non-English.
emily matthews (Tue May 25 15:04:53 2010)
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