Edgerton School Board supports Spanish pledge reading

By STACY VOGEL   Tuesday, April 29, 2008
ADVERTISEMENT
 

— The Edgerton School Board received an education itself Monday night during a debate about saying the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish.

Speakers lectured on military history, the definition of “patriotism,” the state of the War on Terror and even the language of the Bible as they argued why Edgerton High School students should or should not be allowed to recite the pledge in Spanish over the intercom.

Sandra Moninger, an Air Force veteran, offered a history of the pledge. It was written in 1892, she said, and the words “under God” were added in 1954 to distinguish American democracy from the “godless Communists.”

Moninger said she fought to protect America’s freedoms, including the freedoms of speech and education.

“It is not the words but the meaning behind the words that mean the most to me as a veteran,” she said.

Myron Cobb, a Marine Corp veteran, said he learned Vietnamese when fighting in Vietnam so he could talk to the countrymen. He said people who come to America should learn English.

“I believe that the Pledge of Allegiance was designed as American, should be said as American, and America speaks English,” he said.

The controversy started in March after Edgerton High School allowed students from a Spanish class to say the pledge in Spanish over the intercom. Normally, the pledge is recited over the intercom in English each morning.

Todd Dix, a parent and veteran, contacted the school and local newspapers to express his anger. He later met with Principal Jim Halberg, who agreed that if the pledge is said in Spanish in the future, it also will be said in English either before or after.

The school board expressed satisfaction with the compromise Monday night after hearing nearly 90 minutes of debate. They voted unanimously to affirm Halberg’s decision and leave the subject in the hands of administrators.

“That’s what we hire administrators for is to make good practical decisions,” board member Jim Raymond said.

During his speech, Halberg cleared up what he said were misconceptions about the incident. The pledge had only been said once in Spanish at the high school this year, and the students meant no disrespect to the flag, veterans or the country, he said.

In fact, Edgerton High School offers many activities honoring veterans, including a Veterans Day assembly, an annual senior trip to Washington, D.C., and fund raising to erect veterans memorials in the hallways, Halberg said.

“Our students say the pledge with pride every single morning of the school year,” he said. “To them, this was just another way of showing respect to our country.”







reader COMMENTS (32)
momof1
May 12, 2008 at 9:48 a.m.
Suggest removal

JohnDoe - I love the analagy with Tacos!!! That is very true!
.
Leave the kids alone, they did a class project!! Good for them!

ms_sassy_wi
May 12, 2008 at 9:26 a.m.
Suggest removal

I agree with gazettefan.

gazettefan
May 12, 2008 at 7:38 a.m.
Suggest removal

And we don't need a bunch of bloated glory-hounds trying to intimidate teachers and students in our schools.

ms_sassy_wi
May 11, 2008 at 11:48 p.m.
Suggest removal

I found out today that I know the STUDENT who suggested this to the Spanish class' teacher. The fact that a student had the initiative to try to enlighten the rest of the school to a different culture other than small town America by reciting THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE to AMERICA (not Mexico, Spain, or Cuba, but AMERICA)shows not only that kids today are trying to think outside of the box, demonstrate thinking GLOBALLY, yet pledging their allegiance to the country that gives them those rights is not only admirable but is a blessing to the Edgerton community and Wisconsin! Try to be like the high schoolers and think outside of the box, for the good of "these United States".

JohnDoe
May 11, 2008 at 11:29 p.m.
Suggest removal

I still think your analogy is a bit melodramatic.

gazettefan
May 11, 2008 at 11:18 p.m.
Suggest removal

Yes, JohnDoe, there is more to that statement. Here is the entire post just as it appeared when you first saw the statement in question:

------------------

How is saying the Pledge in this instance disrespectful toward those who died fighting for our country? None of what has been said by those who opposed what the Spanish class did serves as an explanation.

What we have here are a few glory-hounds who exploited their veteran status for the sole purpose of bullying other people. They did this by behaving in a manner that would make any hardline communist or virolent fascist proud.

These veterans celebrated communism and fascism by stepping over the dead bodies of those Americans who died fighting against communism and fascism. Shame on them! They are a disgrace!

JohnDoe
May 11, 2008 at 10:43 p.m.
Suggest removal

etown....that's like saying if the cafeteria offered tacos for lunch, it's forcing the students to change their culinary heritage.
Ridiculous.

etown
May 11, 2008 at 12:01 a.m.
Suggest removal

johndoe , the focus isnt spanish class, the focus is saying the pledge on the intercom, during non class time activities, which in a way is forcing other student s to learn spanish even if they never signed up for the class, how else would they understand whats being said, my point was its not just this situation, this may be one point where someone felt the need to voice their opinion on what they did, right or wrong, what we need is someone to step up and say this is the usa , our children are taught in english, if you want your child to be educated here you need to teach them english

JohnDoe
May 10, 2008 at 5 p.m.
Suggest removal

etown...mom24 is RIGHT.
The situation you mention may also be true, but the focus of this article is Spanish class. One of many foreign languages offered at the high school level across the country for years.
It has NOTHING to do with immigrants...legal or illegal.

etown
May 10, 2008 at 1:36 a.m.
Suggest removal

mom24 , you are wrong , they are to asking our kids to learn spanish, there are kids enrolled in this district that dont speak english, and make no effort at trying, instead they get tutors, extra help, and in some classes they are using class time , ENGLISH CLASS TIME , to teach the other kids in the classroom spanish so they can communicate with one child, my problem with this whole situation, what about the other 25 students that are missing part of their english class , what happens next year when they are placed in different class rooms and are now behind, with the schools budget getting tighter and tighter should we be expected to fund the extra help these kids need , what about their parents responsibility , im not against anyone getting an education , but what about the other kids, they also have a right to the same education ,i highly doubt i could take my kids to another country and they would cater to them , they would be expected to learn their language ,

JohnDoe
May 6, 2008 at 10:30 p.m.
Suggest removal

"These veterans celebrated communism and fascism by stepping over the dead bodies of those Americans who died fighting against communism and fascism. Shame on them! They are a disgrace!"
.
Please tell me there is more to this statement than the emotional diatribe that it appears to be.
.
If not, then you owe an apology to some veterans who's opinion does not match yours'.
.

Not saying I agree with their opinion(s), but that statement isn't warranted.

ddrink
May 5, 2008 at 4:13 p.m.
Suggest removal

Of course they speak Mexican in Mexico, just like they speak Canadian in Canada.

momof1
May 5, 2008 at 3:46 p.m.
Suggest removal

MEXICAN LANGUAGE??????? Are you kidding?????
I hope you were JOKING. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!!! Mexican language.......

jk1304
May 5, 2008 at 3:28 p.m.
Suggest removal

In regards to Edgerton High saying the Pledge of Allegiance in spanish. There is a HUGE difference between the spanish language and the mexican language. Although both are based in latin and have some similarities, they are different. Spanish = Spain (in Europe) Mexican = Mexico (Central America)
Nobody would say one thing about the pledge being said in German, French or any other language class taught in high school. Stop being so ignorant and open your mind people!

fmrjvlres
Apr 30, 2008 at 4:28 p.m.
Suggest removal

Would you rather have people pledging allegiance in a foreign language, or pledging their hatred? I thought veterans died for freedom and liberty, not the English language.
_
We should say the pledge as it was originally intended - with no reference to God. Say it out loud including and excluding "God." It flows much better without God, and it's more inclusive. Did you know it was written by a Socialist! (at least according to this source:http://history.vineyard.net/pledge.htm)
_
For an interesting history of Francis Bellamy you might check out this source (http://history.vineyard.net/pdgech4.htm) which includes the Pledge author's views on Mexican labor (about 2/3 of the way down in the section "Editor of the Illustrated American").

Hockeyjockey
Apr 30, 2008 at 3:58 p.m.
Suggest removal

If what matters is the language it was written in and not the words themselves, then some of you had better learn Hebrew and Greek so you can respectfully read those Bibles you're thumping.

gazettefan
Apr 30, 2008 at 3:06 p.m.
Suggest removal

How is saying the Pledge in this instance disrespectful toward those who died fighting for our country? None of what has been said by those who opposed what the Spanish class did serves as an explanation.

What we have here are a few glory-hounds who exploited their veteran status for the sole purpose of bullying other people. They did this by behaving in a manner that would make any hardline communist or virolent fascist proud.

These veterans celebrated communism and fascism by stepping over the dead bodies of those Americans who died fighting against communism and fascism. Shame on them! They are a disgrace!

jsvlparkergrad
Apr 30, 2008 at 2:35 p.m.
Suggest removal

gazettefan,
I looked the Spanish words this past weekend for the Pledge of Allegiance. Even with my limited knowledge of Spanish, It looked pretty much the same wording as in English. It didn't look subversive, and even included the phrase "under God" in it!
Thanks for posting that, g-fan.

jsvlparkergrad
Apr 30, 2008 at 2:31 p.m.
Suggest removal

2manykids-
Are you a veteran? I am, so please don't lump "all other veterans" together. I served in the Army for the freedoms we have as Americans, including the right to free speech. I don't see a Spanish class in high school saying the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish as part of their learning as doing harm in any way to America.
Is it just that kids are learning Spanish, or would this be even a problem if they had done it in German or French?
As we are moving increasingly into global markets, I think it would be beneficial to learn another language, so that our children can catch up to the rest of the world, where many people know 2 or more languages fluently.
If we maintain the notion that Americans should only speak English, we are putting America at a disadvantage in world business and economy.
When I went to college, it was required we learn another language, such as Latin or German (Latin because of medical field's use of Latin terminology, or German, because a lot of scientific journals were printed in German). It's not required anymore, but anyone who can speak and read another language is definitely at an advantage in today's world markets.
Oh, this is funny! At the bottom of the page on this site is an ad to "Find the best Spanish Language Schools, in your area"!

tjncj
Apr 30, 2008 at 2:30 p.m.
Suggest removal

If you say it and mean what you say, which I am sure they did, what is the difference what language it is in?

gazettefan
Apr 30, 2008 at 2:11 p.m.
Suggest removal

Juro fidelidad a la bandera
de los Estados Unidos de América,
y a la república que representa
una nación bajo Dios,
indivisible cón libertad
y justicía para todós.

2manykids
Apr 30, 2008 at 1:51 p.m.
Suggest removal

I am very glad the students learned Spanish-I too know some.(I was only quoting the 500 million from DanHartung.) I just believe in what Myron Cobb said and that all other veterans deserve the respect that they have fought for --the Pledge of Allegiance should be said in English. Maybe they should have shown their skill by doing a Spanish play or song-but leave the Pledge of Allegiance in English.

tjncj
Apr 30, 2008 at 1:41 p.m.
Suggest removal

The US doesn't even have 500 million people, try 304 million. This is "Spanish Class" not immigrant assimilation class. There may not even be a student of Latin American decent in the class. The students were just showing what they had learned.

2manykids
Apr 30, 2008 at 1:16 p.m.
Suggest removal

I am not racist. I believe if you are in the US you should speak English--a second and third language is great to know,but we should not have to all learn it to understand each other.It's like flying the flag-the US flag comes on top-any other flag can be displayed below it. I believe the US deserves more respect. At the Olympics are not all the countries anthems sung in their own language?
The US does have 500 million Spanish speaking people-and English is becoming the second language.

curtaincall
Apr 30, 2008 at 7:51 a.m.
Suggest removal

2manykids sounds very racist and hateful. Is that what you are showing your kids? I hope not. We don't need any more racists in the world.

JohnDoe
Apr 29, 2008 at 7:11 p.m.
Suggest removal

This has NOTHING to do with immigrants.
It was a class for Spanish as a second (or third) language.
It's time to stop reading into this something that is not there.

Seabee
Apr 29, 2008 at 5:24 p.m.
Suggest removal

Hey Dan, part of immigration is a concept called assimilation. Good luck starting that business when you walk into a bank seeking a loan and you can't even read the application form, much less hold a meaningfull loan interview with the lending officer. Good Job Edgerton, way to go in doing your part of helping immigrants assimilate. Wonder if they are all legals by the way........

DanHartung
Apr 29, 2008 at 5:06 p.m.
Suggest removal

Congratulations to the Edgerton School Board, voting for education over ignorance and xenophobia. This is the 21st century and Spanish has 500 million speakers. This will help students get jobs and start businesses.

intrigued
Apr 29, 2008 at 3:11 p.m.
Suggest removal

2manykids - oh really? Where did your ancestors come from? Mine came from Germany and that first generation really didn't learn much English. Their children (my grandparents) did when they went to school. The newspaper here in Fort Atkinson was actually published in BOTH English and German for a few years, English on one side of the page, German on the other.

For MOST immigrants throughout the history of this country, the first to arrive may barely learn the language. It is their offspring that begin the assimilation. Relax, it will happen with this wave of immigrants too.

mom24
Apr 29, 2008 at 2:42 p.m.
Suggest removal

No one is asking anybody to learn Spanish. This was all about a class of students who were proud of learning something new. What message are we sending todays youth? Racism? Intolerance? Sounds like a mountain made out of a mole hill. Oh, and people, you're making the kids involved feel like crap. So what are you?

2manykids
Apr 29, 2008 at 2:05 p.m.
Suggest removal

Enough already-if I wanted to speak (or listen to )spanish I would live in Mexico. Our ancestors all were required to learn to speak English when they came here why can't the mostly illegal aliens learn it too instead of wasting our tax dollars paying for extra teachers to speak "their" language, free medical care, and don't forget the wonderful free housing. PLEASE enough already.
Remember Mexico requires you to speak Spanish when you work and live there. Why doesn't the US?

greengina8
Apr 29, 2008 at 10:19 a.m.
Suggest removal

Wait a minute, they made a compromise? I don't understand why the pledge has to be said in both languages. Wasn't this a class project, and not a daily occurance?

Before you post a comment, consider this:

Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy Agreement
  • Keep it clean. Comments that are obscene, vulgar or sexually oriented will be removed. Creative spelling of such terms or implied use of such language is banned, also.
  • Don't threaten to hurt or kill anyone.
  • Be nice. No racism, sexism or any other sort of -ism that degrades another person.
  • Harassing comments. If you are the subject of a harassing comment or personal attack by another user, do not respond in-kind.  Hit the "Suggest Removal" button on offensive comments.
  • Share what you know. Give us your eyewitness accounts, background, observations and history.
  • Do not libel anyone. Libel is writing something false about someone that damages that person's reputation.
  • Ask questions. What more do you want to know about the story?
  • Stay focused. Keep on the story's topic.
  • Help us get it right. If you spot a factual error or misspelling, email newsroom@gazettextra.com or call 1-800-362-6712.
  • Remember, this is our site. We set the rules, and we reserve the right to remove any comments that we deem inappropriate.

Post Comment

Commenting requires registration.

Username:
Password: (Forgotten your password?)

Comment:

ADVERTISEMENT