# Americans: Until what age did you have to say the Pledge of Allegiance each morning?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-until-what-age-did-you-have-to-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance-each-morning/672087>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 24, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-until-what-age-did-you-have-to-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance-each-morning/672087 "2013-10-24T04:41:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-until-what-age-did-you-have-to-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance-each-morning/672087/81 "2013-10-26T17:55:56Z")

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When I went to private school in Pennsylvania and Illinois we never said it. I didn’t learn it until I went to public school in Northern Virginia starting in 4th grade (1998).

I stopped saying it in 10th grade because I think it’s weird to pledge allegiance to my country five days a week. There were a fair amount of students from different countries who simply sat during the pledge. I only had one teacher object to any of this and she was a long term sub for our fashion design teacher (fashion design was an elective at my high school). My friend who was a citizen of the UK brought in the student rights handbook to show her where it stated that students merely had to sit quietly through the pledge, not actually say it.

As an aside this same teacher also wanted us to write letters to soldiers. Nothing against soldiers, but everyone said, “What does that have to do with fashion??” and we never did it.

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**Author:** ![snuffleupagus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@snuffleupagus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snuffleupagus)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-until-what-age-did-you-have-to-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance-each-morning/672087/82 "2013-10-26T19:35:47Z")

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Until the end of elementary school (6th grade), which was 1989 for me, in Kentucky. You were not required to say the pledge, I had a few classmates who were Jehovah’s Witnesses and they did not, and I’m sure you could decline to say the pledge for any other reason you might object to it and would not be given a hard time.

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**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-until-what-age-did-you-have-to-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance-each-morning/672087/83 "2013-10-27T03:05:09Z")

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> [@GusNSpot](#):
>
> Where & when & what age? Really want to know. 🆒

As stated in my first post in this thread: West Texas, 1960s, elementary school.

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**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-until-what-age-did-you-have-to-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance-each-morning/672087/84 "2013-10-27T14:48:48Z")

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Through high school, from which I graduated in 1972.

Of course, not everyone actually _said_ it – I was among those who didn’t. Oooh, rebel!

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**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-until-what-age-did-you-have-to-say-the-pledge-of-allegiance-each-morning/672087/85 "2013-10-28T07:07:15Z")

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Indiana, high school class of 2000.

Well, we definitely did it in elementary school, but I’m pretty sure we didn’t do it in middle or high school. So, 5th grade.

Don’t know if there was an “opt out” or not. I honestly didn’t ever think to do so. And I don’t recall any of my classmates doing so, either.

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