im 20 for reference. ever since i was a kid, up until hs, we were forced every morning to stand, look at the flag and hold our hearts and say:
“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”
i didnt stand a single time because i disagreed with being forced, and i was berated by the teacher in front of everyone, and he threatened to kick me out of class if i ever did it again. i was about 11-12 then, it was 2015.
Yeah, I vaguely remember it making the news in the 90s, and I stopped standing at that point. I had one teacher tell me once it was “required” that I stand. I just said “no thanks” and continued sitting, and he dropped it.
It wasn’t a big protest in my case though. I normally had a CD player stuffed in my belt, and standing made it more likely to fall out and get noticed. I generally avoided standing as much as possible in those days.
It looks like there were a bunch of challenges in the 90s that got struck down. https://www.findlaw.com/education/student-rights/the-pledge-of-allegiance-and-legal-challenges-in-education.html An actual lawyer would know more detail, I bet.
Based on the timing, the 1998 ACLU lawsuit was probably what I was remembering. Would have put me right around my peak pain-in-the-ass years.
Me too. Though I remember it a few years earlier than 1998, when I reached 7th grade. Of course I don’t think any of my 7-12 teachers cared like the elementary school teachers would have.