My problem is with what I see as a ‘throw the baby out with the bath water’ underpinning to the call for an outright ban.

As for the entire link to bullying argument, I don’t even know where to start. As a left handed red head raised during an era where we did say the Lord’s Prayer every morning at school, I found myself at the receiving end of many far stronger enticements to bullying that the question of getting all the words right.

Edwin ~ I don’t disagree. In fact, I did say that I believe the pledge as well as the history behind it should be taught once the children are old enough to understand the concepts. The example from Ramona the Pest is referring to a practice which is common in the US, teaching the pledge in Kindergarten, which means to five-year-olds. And the question remains, is a five-year-old developmentally ready to understand the concept behind words like pledge and allegiance?

Wouldn’t it be better to ask the question, how can we best teach our children what these words mean?