Thread: Air Force Veteran Angry That Daughter's School Is Asking Her

Air Force Veteran Angry That Daughter's School Is Asking Her to Recite the Pledge of Allegiance



Published October 23, 2011


Reuters


An Air Force veteran is outraged that her daughter’s school recently announced that students will be asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each day, the Seattle Times reports.

Haley Sides, 26, moved to Seattle after four years in the Air Force so her 6-year-old daughter could attend John Stanford International School, which promotes the same multiculturalism that Sides says she has tried to instill in her half-Jamaican daughter, according to the paper.




But Sides became angry when the school’s new principal announced that students will be asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day before the start of classes. The policy, which has long been mandated by district policy but not traditionally observed at John Stanford , will start Monday.

"It pains me to think that at a school that emphasizes thinking globally we would institute something that makes our children think that this country alone is where their allegiance lies," said Sides. "This has no educational value for young children. Absolutely none."

Sides started crying as she described why she is so opposed to the pledge being recited in her daughter's school. The explanation goes back to her partner, a Jamaican-born Navy serviceman who died just seven months after obtaining U.S. citizenship — and when his daughter was 18 months old.

According to the paper, the pledge will be read over the PA system every Monday and recited in individual classrooms the other days of the week. Students who don't want to participate will be allowed to sit or stand respectfully.

Many parents said they had never really thought about the practice before.

John Stanford, which offers dual-language immersion programs in Spanish and Japanese, has traditionally let teachers decide whether or not to do the pledge, said Kelly Aramaki, a former principal who moved to Beacon Hill International School this year.

But Aramaki's replacement, Jesely Alvarez, decided to change that. In a pair of letters sent to parents this week, Alvarez acknowledged some opposition from teachers but said that after a month of internal debate it was time "to move forward" in "following state law."

At John Stanford's weekly coffee hour Friday, the pledge was a hot topic of conversation among the dozen or so parents in attendance.

Janet Robinson, the PTSA treasurer, argued that its recitation would be an opportunity to talk about an important representation of American freedom and liberty.

"It's a symbol of our country," she said.

Click for more on this story from the Seattle Times


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/23/ai ... e/#content#ixzz1bdLLzUCL

Pledge of Allegiance sparks controversy at John Stanford

A new principal's implementation of a routine Seattle Public Schools policy has ignited a debate over the meaning of an "international school."

By Brian M. Rosenthal

Seattle Times education reporter










MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES


Rainier View Elementary third-grade students recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Dan Jordan's classroom Friday morning. While state law and Seattle Public Schools' policy requires the daily pledge, practices have varied from school to school, with some disregarding the rule.





Washington state law regarding the Pledge of Allegiance

The board of directors of every school district shall cause a United States flag being in good condition to be displayed during school hours upon or near every public school plant, except during inclement weather. They shall cause appropriate flag exercises to be held in each classroom at the beginning of the school day, and in every school at the opening of all school assemblies, at which exercises those pupils so desiring shall recite the following salute to the flag:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Students not reciting the pledge shall maintain a respectful silence. The salute to the flag or the national anthem shall be rendered immediately preceding interschool events when feasible.

Source: Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 28A.230.140


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When Haley Sides moved to Seattle after four years in the Air Force, she chose to settle in Wallingford so her 6-year-old daughter could attend John Stanford International School — an educational community promoting the same type of multiculturalism Sides has tried to instill in her half-Jamaican daughter.

Sides was outraged when the school's new principal announced this week that students will be asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of each day. The practice, which has long been mandated by district policy and state law but has not traditionally been observed at John Stanford, will start Monday.

"It pains me to think that at a school that emphasizes thinking globally we would institute something that makes our children think that this country alone is where their allegiance lies," said Sides, her voice oscillating between disappointment and anger. "This has no educational value for young children. Absolutely none."

While Seattle Public Schools has required daily recitation of the pledge for decades, implementation has historically been left to individual schools. PTSA presidents reported a variety of practices: Some schools broadcast the pledge over the PA system; some ask teachers to lead it in classrooms; some do it weekly, some do it daily and some don't do it at all.

Many parents said they had never really thought about the practice before.

John Stanford, which offers dual-language immersion programs in Spanish and Japanese, has traditionally let teachers decide whether or not to do the pledge, said Kelly Aramaki, a former principal who moved to Beacon Hill International School this year.

But Aramaki's replacement, Jesely Alvarez, decided to change that. In a pair of letters sent to parents this week, Alvarez acknowledged some opposition from teachers but said that after a month of internal debate it was time "to move forward" in "following state law."

"As adults in this school community, I believe it is important that we follow rules," wrote Alvarez, who declined to comment for this story.

The pledge will be read over the PA system every Monday and recited in individual classrooms the other days of the week. Students who don't want to participate will be allowed to sit or stand respectfully.

Many in favor

Many parents are delighted with Alvarez's decision, and it is fully supported by district leadership.

In fact, the administration sent an email to all district principals reminding them of their legal responsibility regarding the pledge — the first such reminder issued during the school year "in recent memory," district spokeswoman Teresa Wippel said.

The district doesn't have the resources to enforce the policy on a day-to-day basis, Wippel said.

The reminder may make principals across the district rethink how the pledge is handled in their schools, Aramaki acknowledged.

School Board President Steve Sundquist said he plans to talk with interim Superintendent Susan Enfield about enforcement of the pledge policy.

"The School Board's policy is clear. State law is clear. And our job is to follow the state law and to follow our policy, so I'm firmly in the camp that says we need to be doing this," Sundquist said.

But in Wallingford, that explanation isn't playing particularly well.

"What if the law's a bad law?" asked George Ptasinski, who has a first-grade son at John Stanford. " 'Separate but equal' was the law of the land for a while. Was it right to enforce?"

Still, Ptasinski said his biggest complaint is that this decision was "thrown on" parents "without any discussion."

Executive Director of Schools Marni Campbell disagreed, noting that Principal Alvarez spent a month coordinating its implementation.

"I know she is highly committed to the global mission of the school," Campbell said of Alvarez. "In a community where you're talking about global citizenship, it's also important to talk about American citizenship and what that means."

Schoolwide debate

At John Stanford's weekly coffee hour Friday, the pledge was a hot topic of conversation among the dozen or so parents in attendance.

Janet Robinson, the PTSA treasurer, argued that its recitation would be an opportunity to talk about an important representation of American freedom and liberty.

"It's a symbol of our country," she said.

"But it's 'I pledge allegiance to the flag,' not even the country," answered Jessica Rose, who has a fifth-grader in the school's Japanese program. "I don't think we should be making kids stand up and pledge to any one thing. It just totally goes against what this community is about."

Students can decide not to participate, Robinson noted.

"But then it forces a kid to be ostracized," chimed in Patrick Durocher, who has a son in kindergarten. "And a 5-year-old doesn't have the ability to understand what they're doing."

While there are strong feelings on both sides, many other parents don't really care and don't understand why it's a big deal.

Alayna Setter, who has a first-grader at the school, is one of them. "If people have a problem with it they have the right to opt out, so I don't know why parents should have an issue with it."

"It's political correctness run amok," she added. "People are bending over backward to make things issues that really aren't issues."

But for parents like Sides, it's a very real issue.

A 26-year-old graduate student and single mother, Sides started crying as she described why she is so opposed to the pledge being recited in her daughter's school. The explanation goes back to her partner, a Jamaican-born Navy serviceman who died just seven months after obtaining U.S. citizenship — and when his daughter was 1 ½.

Since then, Sides has worked hard to teach her daughter to think about the world as an integrated community, she said.

"This is an emotionally charged issue," she said.

Brian M. Rosenthal: 206-464-3195 or brosenthal@seattletimes.com

sorry.....THIS IS AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You don't like our pledge....then put your daaughter in an international school in some OTHER country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is an excellent argument for the abolition of the Federal Department of education and the institution of school voucher programs. Private schools are not Union controlled and those teachers as well as administrators not meeting standards are more readily fired. Parents have the choice of where to send their children and by all accounts costs per student are lower. If you want your child to go to the Atheist school, School of the Global Community or the Communist school that would be your choice. Mainstream God fearing, Patriotic Americans would not have to put up with these malcontents always causing problems, or subject their children to the brainwashing of government run education or wackos simply seeking their 15 minutes of fame.

The private sector is more able to provide any service or product with increased efficiency and improved quality over any similar product or service offered by the government. Products and services offered in the private sector must provide value or else the public will not accept or purchase them. Product offered or forced on one by the government demands no such criteria for value received. One simply accepts it for what it is and has no choice. From a governmental point of view , equality in education means the suppression of individual thought or beliefs and an equally dismal and totally inadequate education for all.

But Sides became angry when the school’s new principal announced that students will be asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day before the start of classes. The policy, which has long been mandated by district policy but not traditionally observed at John Stanford , will start Monday.

"It pains me to think that at a school that emphasizes thinking globally we would institute something that makes our children think that this country alone is where their allegiance lies," said Sides. "This has no educational value for young children. Absolutely none."

Then GTFO. This is what "diversity" brings us. Japan has the right idea in keeping their country sovereign. If only we could be so lucky.

Simple Suggestion.... LEAVE!!!!! You would be considered a "Minority" if this were to be Voted on in The School District.

THE NEW WORLD DISORDER

They're doing it: U.N. makes its move into your school
Program already operating in hundreds of U.S. locations

Posted: August 10, 2010
9:10 pm Eastern

By Michael Carl
© 2011 WND



The Brown Academy of Chattanooga, Tenn., the 3,000th International Baccalaureate World School

The agenda of the United-Nations-funded and -run International Baccalaureate Curriculum is making massive inroads into America's public schools, with operations already established in more than 1,000 locations.

Worldview Weekend President and Founder Brannon Howse says the program is trying to train American students to embrace an anti-Christian worldview.

"This U.N. curriculum is extremely hostile to Christians. It's hostile to American values and ideas and very big on humanism, redistribution of wealth, and very big on pluralism and that all religions are equal," Howse told WND.

Howse says one of his radio program's listeners is frustrated that there is no outcry from the public.

Here's the instruction manual on an alternative to public schools, in "You've Decided to Homeschool, Now What?"

"The man wrote me an e-mail, and he said, 'It's crazy how we're not informed and how so many parents, Christian parents, are shuffling their kids into these programs thinking it's a good thing, a positive thing," Howse said.

Listen to with Brannon Howse:

Howse points to the program's objectives that say the entire curriculum is shaped by the U.N.

According to a report at EdNews.org, the program should overrule any "parochial" values or beliefs, with a heavy focus on a social agenda throughout classes.

"Math Studies curriculum explores problems concerning the weather, environmental protection, conservation and energy. … The statistics unit will examine a variety of problems from a global perspective, such as the disparity of wealth distribution between first- and third-world countries."

The report says Latin students "will examine the ancient world as a sounding board to measure and compare the global issues in a modern world. Students will discuss the impact on the Roman world, as well as their own, of such topics as women's rights, slavery and national imperialism."

The report is highly critical of the International Baccalaureate.

The organization "not only teaches its own worldview, it simultaneously undermines the beliefs and values of the United States (also called the 'American creed')," the report said. It cites an International Baccalaureate teaching page, which says, "Both Democrats and the Republicans supported a more or less unrestrained capitalist system. They believed that it offered unique incentives to hard work and opportunities for all even though there was plenty of evidence that it left many people very poor and a few grotesquely rich."

(Story continues below)




A teacher who asked not to be identified believes the standards in Massachusetts, one of the states where the International Baccalaureate has been expanding, are fine the way they are.

"One thing that greatly troubles me is we have an excellent curriculum in Massachusetts public schools. Our frameworks are second to none. Our [standard] is the envy of the nation," the teacher said.

The teacher is also pleased that the current state standards allow for openness to the Bible.

"Did you know we are not only allowed to use the Bible in public schools – it is encouraged as recommended literature?" the teacher asked.

She added that further interference from the federal government will compromise this freedom.

"This past month I believe the liberal legislators on Beacon Hill took Obama's bait (involving financial incentives) and are adopting the federal standards 'Common Core Curriculum.' I very much doubt that the federal standards exalt the Scriptures as quality literature. In our social-studies frameworks, it includes what salvation means, in the life of a Christian. Doubtful the federal common core standards do that," the teacher said.

The Massachusetts teacher's concern for her own state would appear to be justified because the Massachusetts Department of Education website discusses Massachusetts school systems that are introducing the International Baccalaureate Curriculum.

One link is to the Sturgis, Mass., Charter School that lists its International Baccalaureate program among its best practices.

The Sturgis site says, "To foster international awareness and understanding and ensure world-class standards of academic achievement, Sturgis will maintain for membership in the International Baccalaureate."

Later, on the same page, the site boasts, "Ensuring College Readiness: International Baccalaureate for All. Sturgis Charter Public School offers a nonselective International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for students who are admitted to the school by lottery. The school has been successful at ensuring college readiness for all students at the school through the program."

Who is behind the advocacy of the International Baccalaureate program?

Recent evidence of federal involvement is seen in a 2008 position paper issued by the Obama-Biden campaign that openly promoted the International Baccalaureate program.

The statement begins with campaign slogans and speaks of a vision for a "21st Century Education."

Then the statement continues.

"Barack Obama and Joe Biden will create a national 'Make College a Reality' initiative, based on the successful efforts underway in many states to increase the percentage of students taking rigorous courses and assessments, such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses."

While not specifically mentioning the International Baccalaureate program by name, the president's website continues to echo the "global" theme.

"At this defining moment in our history, preparing our children to compete in the global economy is one of the most urgent challenges we face," Obama's education issues page said.

A search for references to the International Baccalaureate program leads to the National Education Association website. A 2008 NEA policy brief openly promotes introduction of the International Baccalaureate Curriculum.

"In a revamped high school, the concept of rigor is broadened to include mastery not only of core academic subjects but of the higher-order cognitive skills that the global economy demands. A rigorous high-school program aligns curriculum, instruction and assessment with high standards and high expectations. It focuses on the integration of skills and knowledge. It is coherent and sequential and encourages students to tackle challenging Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and honors courses," the statement recommended.

The NEA further listed an advocacy letter from U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisc.

"Researchers and other experts have recommended that these indicators could include graduation rates; postsecondary and career-placement rates; attendance rates; student mobility or transfer rates; the number and percentage of students participating in rigorous coursework (including honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual enrollment, early college)," Moore's letter read.

The NEA declined comment on this story.

Support for the program also comes from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. In a May 2010 Council on Foreign Relations forum, Duncan advocated more international integration for U.S. schools.

"I really appreciate the chance to have this conversation. I want to begin by discussing two important trends that inform our drive to transform education here in America. The first is increased international competition and the second is increased international collaboration," Duncan stated.

The reference is to international collaboration, but while he was superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools, Duncan promoted the International Baccalaureate Curriculum.

The Chicago Public Schools website features two pages that discuss the implementation of the International Baccalaureate program in the Chicago schools.

Both pages say one of the goals of the International Baccalaureate Curriculum in Chicago is encouraging students to be globalists. The "Diploma Programme" page lists the goals.

"Goals: Teach students how to learn. Provide an opportunity for each student to strengthen their communication skills. Enable students to become global citizens by encouraging their understanding of people from other countries and cultures," the "Diploma Programme" site said.

President Obama's support for the International Baccalaureate program goes back to his connections with unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers. While the two worked together at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, the Walter-Annenberg-funded program gave money to Chicago-area schools.

In a document posted on the Truth About the International Baccalaureate website, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge is reported to have given money to the Beverly–Morgan Park Middle School to fund the "Middle Years" International Baccalaureate program.

Further funding for the International Baccalaureate Curriculum comes from such diverse organizations as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation website reports that the group gave over $2 million to the Irving, Texas, public schools.

Other groups that have contributed large sums of money for the adoption of the International Baccalaureate program include former International Baccalaureate Board Chairman Carol Bellamy's Star Network.

The Star Network's World Learning site also lists the George-Soros-connected Tides Foundation, Zonta International, the United States Agency for International Development and Soros' new organization, the Open Society Institute, as donors to the cause.

Worldview Weekend's Howse adds that America's biggest problem is that parents and schools are working against their own interests.

"Here we have 1,095 schools across the country adopting a U.N. curriculum and you have conservatives, whether it's conservative parents, thinking it's great for their kids to be in there, and conservative educators who if you asked them would say they are conservatives. Then you have conservative school-board members who have bought the lie that they can rewrite the curriculum," Howse observed.

"So much for Washington. If Washington waits around, we'll destroy ourselves," Howse said.

WND previously has reported on a growing move in the U.N. that would impact significantly Americans' rights regarding their children's education.

Its programs are being opposed by ParentalRights.org, which was created in response, advocating for a simple addition to the U.S. Constitution. The proposed change would state: "The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right. Neither the United States nor any state shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served."

It also would specify, "No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article."

Read more: They're doing it: U.N. makes its move into your school http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=189413#ixzz1bhwkx4CY


ALSO

Truth About IB (TAIB) represents the most comprehensive compilation of investigative research on the International Baccalaureate® (IB) program available on the Internet. The purpose of this site is to provide factual information and resources to parents and taxpayers who have unanswered questions about IB. If you are unable to locate the answers to your questions, please feel free to e-mail us at: info@truthaboutib.com

http://www.truthaboutib.com/

Time to DISBAN the United Nations... STOP giving them OUR MONEY!
And to all the U.N. Lovechildren here in the U.S., if they do not like it they can LEAVE TOO!

I can't stand people like this who have no problem serving in our military for the benefits, but when it comes down to it they are nothing more than traitors!!!!!!!! I remember when I was in the Air Force and I had to work with someone like this. She was from the Phillipines and all she could do was talk about "her people" and fly a Filipino flag in her car window. I couldn't stand her, I wanted to slap her every time I saw her!

Hello
the kids do this every day In our school it been that way . for along time? every kid did this . & Im in NYC .
if your in PS 9 or PS 43 or any other school in NYC this is the way The American do it ? what the hell with all of you every kids In the USA every day said the Pledge of allegiance
our guy & lady fight for that .
& I will say it & so will My kids or I will kick them In the ass
God Bless American & the Pledge Of ALLegiance