Public School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public School - Essay ExampleMr. Bellamy, the magazines circulation director, brought together those words to be recited by children in celebration of Columbus Day. The pledge was reprinted and sent out to schools across the outlandish, and more than 12 million students joined in that year. Very shortly after that, Mr. Bellamys composed words became an everyday service in the nations classrooms. The words my Flag were replaced by the phrase the Flag of the United States of America, in June 1923, at the case Flag Conference in Washington.In 1924 the oaths wording was changed slightly (the original my flag became the flag of the United States of America). Officially recognized by the governing body in 1942, the pledge became compulsory in some public schools, but the following year the Supreme Court ruled that recitation could not be required of any individual. It continues, however, to be mandatory or recommended in a majority of the states and is a daily fixture in most American c lassrooms.The utmost alteration to the pledge occurred in 1954 when, by a joint order of Congress, the words under God were inserted. The change is usually ascribed to a cold-war attempt at differentiating the United States from officially atheistic Communist countries. The addition caused little stir when it was enacted, but in 2002 opposition to it resulted in a federal appeals court notion that the words argon unconstitutional because they violate the First Amendments prohibition against government endorsement of religion. An appeal of the controversial decision is pending. (W. Baer, 1992)Thesis StatementAn consignment to ones country eventually leads to active civic and political involvement and engagement.Body of the EssayServices, forms and customs of patriotism were first employed in the United States between the well-mannered War and World War I. At the end of the bloodiest civil war of the 19th century, the combatants left the battlefields for political, economic, and c ultural arenas, where the struggle to devil a nation go on with renewed intensity. In fact, many of the patriotic denotations and rituals that we now take for granted or think of as timeless were created during this period and emerged not from a harmonious, topic consensus, but out of fiercely contested debates, even over the wording of the Pledge. Confronted by the dilemma that Americans are made, not born, educators and organizations, such as the Grand troops of the Republic, Womens Relief Corps, and Daughters of the American Republic, campaigned to transform schools, in George Balchs words, into a mighty engine for the inculcation of patriotism.The point is not to downplay the value of civic knowledge or the promise of Americas democratic commitments to equality and justice rather, it is to help students use their love of country as a motivation to critically assess what is needed to make it better. Public Schools do not intend to turn students into critics of the United Stat es, such that they do not portray any appreciation for its virtues. At the same time, these schools are not failing to assist the students in recognizing the role critique can play as a way to help make society better.An allegiance to ones country eventually leads to active involvement. This is also evident from the survey in a number of public schools.