This man is raising his children to be patriotic. He’s not instilling them with robotic responses or making them go to military school. He’s making them learn the states and their capitals and the preamble to the constitution. What’s so bad about that? Check out the article if you’d like and sound off on what you think.
My take: Memorizing the states and not blindly accepting what the president wants is a good thing. Patriotism- in that respect is fine with me 
I don’t see that it has anything to do with patriotism. If a kid from the US learned all the provincial capitals of Canada, or a kid from Australia learned all the US state capitals, would that make them patriotic for a foreign country? There’s nothing wrong with a bit of geographical knowledge, but it’s not the same as patriotism.
I thought that “state capitals” and the “Preamble” were a regular part of all children’s education. When did this change?
I teach our children about the ideals our country (U.S.A.) was founded on. It’s not formal teaching though… I express my views, and it sort of rubs off on them.
In my mind, “being patriotic” means supporting and defending the philosophical ideas that made this country great (rugged individualism, free market capitalism, inalienable rights, private property, etc.). I do not believe a person should be “patriotic” toward a government. The government is our servant, and it’s only job is to follow our orders.
I don’t get patriotism. A good working knowledge of geography is great, a general knowledge of the politics of your home country and the way it fits in the world is good, an appreciation for the culture and tradition of your homeland is wonderful, a sense of ethics regarding your place in society is useful. But I don’t think any or all of those things add up to patriotism, which, as I say, I just don’t get.
Seems very superficial to me (and my kids have one of those jigsaw puzzles).
In our town, when someone serving in Iraq dies and is sent home, everyone lines the streets to pay their respects as the procession passes by. Mine are a tad young for that, but it seems like a better place to start IMHO.
I teach my kids to respect our country, it’s ideals, the flag and the government, even if we disagree with the folks in power. I also teach them that if they disagree with who’s in power it’s their right to say so.
I’m not convinced that learning geography and history is in any way a promotion of patriotism. I don’t understand what the supposed good of patriotism is, it makes public support for military actions that aren’t always justified. You won’t find a more patriotic nation than Nazi Germany, is it that kind of national frenzy what some want to replicate?
Do you really define that as patriotism? I sure don’t. What that was was a perversion of patriotism, IMHO.
The sort of general patriotism seen in the U.S. (respect for the Constitution, respect for the flag, deference toward public officials, public servants and military members, and knowledge of American history and culture) isn’t a frenzy at all, and is exactly the sort if thing I’m trying to teach my kids.
Good question. One dictionary’s definition of patriotism is “devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.” In my opinion, nobody exhibited this more than the Nazis.
There is nothing wrong with teaching history, geography, and general respect for national institutions. But I think that it got out of hand in the buildup for the Iraq War. Journalism became “patriotically correct” and dissenting views on the need for war were suppressed. The press abandoned its role as watchdog and became cheerleaders instead. The same people that parroted the false notion that “they hate us for our freedoms” ostracized the Dixie Chicks for exercising their freedom. The trouble with patriotism is that it can go too far.
The people that ostracized the Dixie Chicks - weren’t they free to express their own opinions on the subject in that way?
And haven’t I seen you ostracize some celebrities on these boards for one thing or another?
I mean, I ostracize the Dixie Chicks myself - but only because I think their music sucks. Is that OK by you?
Uh?
My parents taught us art and geography before it was in the school curriculum but it wasn’t about patriotism, it was about Culture. The historical stuff I picked up wasn’t even intended indoctrination: it was from hearing Dad and his brothers debate (it’s considered a perfectly normal “bonding activity” where I’m from).
I ended up patriotic and stuff (I know where do I “belong” and do my best to know as much as possible about that place and to tell others about it if they want to know), but really, the whole thing was about Culture and about Thinking By Yourself.
PS: I’m from a particular place in Spain and somewhat less from another. Middlebro is from a third place. Lilbro is partly from my first place, partly from the same one as Middlebro. But our passports are all the same color 
Here we go again. This article doesn’t claim that teaching the kids about the country makes them patriotic. It teaches them the necessary building blocks for establish patriotism. I really wish people would learn to separate the government from the country. Everyone does this, and yet everyone accuses the other side of not doing it. Funny how every time someone says they support the government, it’s tagged as “blind” acceptance.
Listen, it’s this simple. If you love the US, you are correct. If you don’t, you suck. Forewarning: If you criticize this statement, I’ll use the quoted “Dixie Chick” defense, even though it’s a silly contention, because it seems to be widely accepted as valid on this board. But that’s another issue for a different thread.
The utilitarian aspects of patriotism, I can totally understand and get behind - and because they’re utilitarian, they require no justification beyond simple utility - the things I just don’t get are the other aspects of patriotism such as (from your list) respect for the flag. I just don’t see the point of it.
Of course they were. But it was the mass patriotic hysteria that drove it.
Gosh, I don’t know about celebrities other than politicians. But I’d never do it because they doubt the Glorious Reich.
Hey, we agree! Actually, I’ve never really listened to them. But I just don’t care for country music.
Respect for the flag is pretty utilitarian as well.
That’s kind of a weird article. Was some of it a joke? Paying your kids money to memorize things they ought to know anyway? Maybe I just don’t believe in paying for learning. But it came off kind of weird.
We will be memorizing famous American speeches and documents (and, in general, a bunch of other things; we’re currently working on a poem and the first 20 Roman emperors, yes we are strange, but at least we can recite “Jabberwocky”), studying the history and ideals of our country, and eventually looking at the Constitution very carefully. Also we have the flag out at our house quite a lot–I like flags, especially in summer, so cheerful and summery.
I hope to teach our kids a love for their country and a conviction of civic duty; that is, they should always be working for the betterment of their country. Patriotism IMO is not the same thing as nationalism or jingoism, nor is it “my country is better than yours.”
But I’m not going to pay them for it.
Could you define what disrespecting is? Not following all the codes about not flying at night or when tattered or hanging it with the field on the wrong side? Or would it be not reverently facing it during the National Anthem? Or is it merely not burning it in protest?
For the sake of full information, not that anyone cares, I should say that we also have a map of the US on the wall. We are map people and have a lot of maps on the wall, all along the further end of the hall.
Hee. I’m very literal-minded and still “see” the states in my mind’s eye as the colors they were in our puzzle.