The American flags at Grant High School are hard to miss this year. In front of the school, a huge flag waves in the wind. Stickers of flags are plastered on each entrance door. And in every classroom, miniature flags stand about six inches tall in windowsills and on bookshelves.
Most recently, another was placed just above the Grant Bowl for people to look toward during the national anthem.
This raises the question: is the administration trying to instill a stronger sense of nationalism in its students?
Compounding this, last month the administration nearly made the decision to have all students recite the Pledge of Allegiance once a week in every classroom.
At the beginning of the school year, a memo was sent to all the high schools in the Portland Public Schools district. The memo included a reminder of an Oregon state law that declares: “Provide students with the opportunity to salute the United States flag at least once each week of the school year.”
Benson is one high school that began to recite it early last month. After thorough conversation, the Grant administrators decided to shelve the idea, opting rather to have discussions with the student body before making a final decision.
Some take issue with the pledge and its wording. The phrase “One nation, under God” is problematic because it contradicts freedom of religion along with the separation of church and state, both of which were keys in the founding of this nation.
At the end of the pledge, the phrase “with liberty and justice for all,” raises issues for many, especially people of color who feel that they have not been treated equally in this country.
“It’s a tough one because we are a public school,” says Grant Principal Carol Campbell. “We have people from various backgrounds and cultures and religions. So if we are truly going to be accepting and welcoming to everybody, there just needs to be a thoughtful way that things like nationalism and patriotism are presented.”
But what place does nationalism have in schools? Do our students truly benefit from being taught to show pride in a flag for a country, even if they feel it is marginalizing large groups of its people? Wouldn’t our students be better off being taught to hold our nation to a higher standard?
This recent resurgence of nationalism comes at a time when the topic is being widely debated across the country. The most prevalent medium of disseminating patriotism that has gained a lot of media attention lately is the Star Spangled Banner.
The issue of our national anthem is all over the news because NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has decided to kneel rather than stand while the song is played. His decision is based on protesting the mistreatment of minorities in the United States by law enforcement. Players in the NFL, WNBA and other professional athletes across the nation followed suit.
So why do we play the national anthem at nearly all sporting events – from professional down to the high school level? Who decided that the anthem is critical to these events? If you don’t stand at the playing of the anthem, are you any less American?
Many argue that the national anthem shows support for our troops and that protesting it is disrespectful to them. However, our military exists to protect the lives and freedoms of U.S. citizens. If respecting the troops means not taking your rights for granted, then protesting is doing exactly that.
With all the controversy surrounding saluting the flag, the Grant administration is making plans for a Race Forward event – a school-wide conversation focused on issues of race (see story: Grant High holds school-wide talks about race) – in October to discuss the pledge. The purpose of the event will be to hear multiple perspectives and gauge the opinions of the Grant student body.
It is important to remember: the pledge is outdated and dismissive of the religious preferences and lived experiences of many United States residents, including recent immigrants, people from differing religious groups and others.
In addition, the extensive distribution of the American flag and consistent use of the national anthem at sporting events can both be considered as a way to condition students to support their country and disregard its flaws.
Moving ahead, Grant students should voice their opinions and question norms, and the administration needs to continue to listen. If this truly is “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” then our students should feel emboldened to utilize their right to stand up, or kneel down, for what they believe in and feel that their actions are those of valiance. ◆
