OC HIGH: STUDENT NEWS AND VIEWS : my turn : A Salute to Pride and the Pledge of Allegiance

Whatever happened to our elementary school habit of saying “I pledge allegiance to the flag . . .” every morning? Or every Monday and Friday morning? Or even only on Mondays? Does it matter how often we salute our flag? Do we really need to bother with it at all?

Yes! Every classroom at Corona del Mar High School comes equipped with an American flag. What purpose have these flags served since school began this fall? I guess if you count the two times that the morning announcement team has attempted to lead the school in the Pledge of Allegiance, then it has served some purpose. However, in the words of one student, “When they’ve done it over (the PA), people seem to treat it as a joke.”

The fact that we do not regularly say the pledge is a problem. In fact, it is directly connected to the larger issue of respect for our school, our community and our nation.

To resolve this issue, the administration needs to set a schedule to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Whether we say it once or twice a week, or every day, there needs to be structure and format.

The teachers must also agree to take time from class at the scheduled time. Unless there is a contradiction of nationality, every student should be out of his or her seat, without a hat and with his or her hand placed over the heart.

We need this opportunity to show pride in our country. If we don’t do it, where are we going to start? If we are going to fix all our world’s problems, and we can, then there are certain things we have to respect: 1)ourselves, 2) our friends, 3) our school, 4) our community, 5) our country and 6) the world.

This could raise spirit. We have school spirit. Why not country spirit? Why couldn’t the American flag become a bigger part of our American schools? School spirit and country spirit could become one and the same.

All it will take is to give it a chance.