Expert Says Mexican Pledge in Texas a Good Thing
Expert Says Mexican Pledge in Texas a Good Thing
Following an exclusive KTRH report on what really happened during a controversial elementary school assembly, one noted sociologist in Houston says there is nothing wrong with immersing kids in other cultures.
By Scott Braddock
Thursday, October 19, 2006
The assembly at Velasco Elementary in the Brazosport Independent School District was meant to teach children about Mexican Independence Day, according to district officials. The holiday is celebrated Sept. 16 to mark the day Mexico won independence from Spain.
Sam Williams, the school's longtime principal, has said, in hindsight, he would have done things “differently.” He has also apologized to anyone who may have been offended.
Rice University sociology professor Dr. Stephen Klineberg tells KTRH News that parents upset over a pledge of allegiance to the flag of Mexico shouldn’t be so angry. He says that in a “global community,” children should have a good understanding of all cultures.
In Texas, "it seems entirely appropriate to raise the Mexican flag and hear the way Mexicans pledge allegiance to their flag comparable to how Americans pledge to our flag," Klineberg said. "It seems to me enormously important to help our young Anglo kids learn an appreciation for the various cultures with which they'll be dealing in this global economy in the 21st Century," he said.
One woman, who didn’t want to be identified because her daughter is enrolled at Velasco, told KTRH "handing the Mexican flags to everybody and then having them say the pledge of allegiance (to it) just completely crossed the line.”
That mother and several other parents have told KTRH News that some of the children, but not all, at the assembly said the Mexican pledge. The Brazosport ISD maintains the students did not recite the pledge.
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