Isn't the sentiment what's important?

Furor brewing out in Arizona: A elementary teacher in the Tuscon Unified School District has had her students say the Pledge of Allegiance in English, then Spanish, then in American Sign Language. Uh oh:

When Lance Altherr learned last week that his son was reciting the pledge in Spanish, he was outraged. He spoke with [teacher Anne] Lee and then Principal Paula Godfrey, demanding they stop the practice. They wouldn't, and Altherr moved his son to a different class. In the days before the Internet, that's where the drama would have stopped. But Altherr, who is a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, took his case to the Internet, sending out mass e-mails and posting on message boards. The result has been a swirling Internet controversy marked by crushing e-mails sent from across the country to Godfrey and the district. "You are pledging your allegiance, and your honor and loyalty to your country," Altherr said in a phone interview Thursday. "And I find it ironic that anybody would want to do that in a foreign language."

The thing is, the United States doesn't even have an official language like most other countries do. We have a predominate language, which is, of course, English. I fail to see the "controversy" since the Pledge is FIRST recited in the country's main language, then its second most common language, then in one which hardly anyone uses (if you look at the raw figures). So why isn't Altherr upset about the Pledge being hand-signed?

Isn't the sentiment behind the Pledge much more important than the lingo in which it's recited? I might understand Altherr a bit more if the class only said the Pledge in Spanish. But they're not.

"It's really not a story," said Chyrl Hill Lander, the district's spokeswoman. "They recite the pledge in English every morning, and they recite the pledge in Spanish. After they recite it in Spanish, then they sign the Pledge of Allegiance."

After Altherr raised his concerns about multilingual pledges of patriotism, Godfrey checked around on the practice. She checked with the district's legal department, and the state's Department of Education; both said it was fine. She even checked with the national office of the Veterans of Foreign Wars to ensure it wouldn't offend. The VFW gave her mixed signals on the matter.

A VFW official first said in an e-mail that it was "not disrespectful to say the Pledge of Allegiance in either" language "as long as it was stated as written."

But when the heat turned up, the VFW's national director sent the TUSD Governing Board an e-mail Thursday demanding a stop to the practice of Spanish-language pledges.

"To allow Spanish speaking adults the freedom to pledge their allegiance to our nation in their native language is completely respectful. However, to require English-speaking second-grade students to recite the Pledge in Spanish is another matter entirely," wrote Stephen Van Buskirk. "To the Veterans of Foreign Wars, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is a sacred and meaningful exercise."

Ah, but you see no one is REQUIRED to say the Pledge of Allegiance in ENGLISH either, if he/she does not want to. This has been the case for over sixty years.

As a language teacher, I think what Ms. Lee has her class do is a great idea, especially considering the ethnic make-up of the school. Predominately English speakers learn Spanish, and vice versa. Then there's American Sign Language thrown in for good measure. Again, who cares what language the Pledge is said in! Isn't it more important that our nation's many races and ethnicities actually say it at all -- and [hopefully] believe in it?

Posted by Hube at April 4, 2008 05:13 PM | TrackBack