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I have a situation I'm currently facing that has me twisted up in all kinds of moral/ideological knots. I honestly don't know what the right thing to do is. My oldest child is "graduating" from his daycare/preschool program next month and starting Kindergarten in the Fall. Yes, it's a little corny to have a "graduation" ceremony for 5-year-olds, but I figure it's something fun for them, and it's a nice opportunity to take some pictures for the grandparents. I'm fine with the idea of it.
But here's the kicker. Today, they sent home a memo giving us parents the details of the ceremony. We have to help our children learn a little paragraph that they're going to recite in which they say their name and age and what school they'll be going to and what they want to be when they grow up. Pretty standard stuff. That's not the issue.
What IS the issue is that there was a second memo asking parents to help the children learn the Pledge of Allegiance, and it was written out below the memo so we would have the text of it. Immediately I wondered whether making a 5-year-old take a loyalty oath was a wise thing to do. Plus, it's the version that includes the "under God" phrase. Now, I know that I, myself, would choose NOT to recite the Pledge of Allegiance if I was ever in a situation where I was asked to do so (I wouldn't make a big deal of it--I'd just remain silent). But do I have any right to force that belief on anyone else, let alone a 5-year-old kid who probably doesn't even understand what the words mean anyway? Further, I thought, "Well, maybe if I just tell him to stay silent at the 'under God' part........." But then I was worried what kind of message that would send to him.
Also, this is a very culturally diverse daycare/preschool, and my son's class includes at least 5 Muslim children, as well as several other children from foreign countries who may or may not be Christians. It makes me wonder why the daycare owner, who is Hispanic and normally prides herself and her school on being very sensitive to cultural issues, would use the "under God" version.
I have no intention of making a big issue of this. I'm not going to be one of those people who takes a very minor issue like this one and causes a major uproar based solely on personal beliefs. I'm just not sure what the proper thing to do in this situation is. My wife thinks it's harmless, and it's just something the kids will say without really even knowing what the words mean. I kind of agree, but as I told her, the idea of having children taking "loyalty oaths" just doesn't sit well with me. But I also recognize that it would be improper to fight a political ideological battle through a 5-year-old (who clearly is not old enough to understand why Dad is making him be different), so I'm inclined to just let this one slide. It does irk me, though. If it was just me being affected, I know what I would do. But things become very different when you're talking about what is appropriate for a young child.
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