# Did you recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479 "2005-10-29T18:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/1 "2005-10-29T18:39:15Z")
I ask because I did not (except for maybe three times in fourth grade). It seems like it is/was a fairly widespread practice to recite it every day. My (public) high school did not, so far as I can recall, even have flags in the classrooms. So: did you recite the pledge in school? If so: how often, and in what grades? If so or if not: was your school public/private/parochial, and in what state? Me: no, except maybe three times in fourth grade; private (K-8) and public (9-12); suburban Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/2 "2005-10-29T18:49:57Z")
Yes. Public school K-4, OK Public school 4-12, NY ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/3 "2005-10-29T18:51:06Z")
I remember reciting the pledge daily at two public elementary schools in Ohio (grades 1-6) in the 1970s. If I recited it in junior high or high school, it was much rarer and I’ve forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/4 "2005-10-29T18:51:26Z")
Er… forgot some questions. How often: at the beginning of every day. Don’t remember if we had flags in the classrooms or not. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/5 "2005-10-29T19:02:48Z")
Every day, every school I was in starting with first grade. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/6 "2005-10-29T19:08:42Z")
Only when the teacher felt like it/remembered. I went to a private Christian school as well, but they never emphasized the pledge. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/7 "2005-10-29T19:31:43Z")
Every day until high school. We also had to sing a song. Most years it was “My Country Tis of Thee” but at one school they changed the song every once in a while, making us sing things like “15 Miles on the Erie Canal” or “America the Beautiful”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/8 "2005-10-29T19:43:01Z")
Parochial school, Redondo Beach, CA, 1965-1970. Yes, assembled with the rest of the school in front of the flagpole outside the Principal’s office, before entering the building and our classrooms. Catholic High School, Torrance, CA, 1970-1974. Not even once. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Dusty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/9 "2005-10-29T19:55:23Z")
Yes and no. Yes for kindergarten through third grade (although it optional, one could not participate) and no for beyond. All public schools, all in central or western Maine. When it was done, it was at the beginning of the day. Most rooms had flags in them, but not all. Some of the flags were very, very old and I’m sure Hawaii felt ignored. Others were very, very small and appeared to have brought by the teacher’s themselves. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/10 "2005-10-29T20:43:35Z")
We recited the Pledge every morning in grades 1-6 (followed by “My Country 'Tis of Thee”), which was from 1965-1971. I don’t remember any such recitations beyond 6th grade, except for a few ceremonies and the like. I went to public school in West Virginia. FWIW, the public school in Glen Burnie, Maryland (grades 6-8) that I volunteer at once a month currently recites the pledge every morning. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/11 "2005-10-29T20:52:49Z")
Yes for 1 - 6th grade as far as I remember. Maybe later too. Flags were common and in many classrooms. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/12 "2005-10-29T21:12:07Z")
Yes. We’d have to recite the Pledge first thing in the morning each day. I went to a public school in Northern NJ in the early to mid 80’s. Following the recitation of the Pledge, we had to sing “My Country 'Tis of Thee” We stopped doing both in '84 (4th grade), IIRC. We had flags in the classrooms. We’d have to stand up, face the flag, and place our right hand over our hearts when we recited the Pledge. Also seem to recall every classroom having that famously unfinished portrait of George Washington. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/13 "2005-10-29T21:33:08Z")
Yes, but it made so little impression on me I cannot say which years, and which parts of the country (my family moved several times). ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/14 "2005-10-29T21:34:51Z")
No, for rather obvious reasons. 😉 The whole class did stand to attention for the national anthem, though–public secondary school, grades 10 to 12. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/15 "2005-10-29T22:28:08Z")
Not in elementary school (I went to a rather non-traditional private school), and in (public) middle school we generally forgot, but in high school we had to stand and recite it every morning in homeroom. I never said it except sometimes in 10th grade, because my homeroom teacher made us take turns starting it off. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/16 "2005-10-29T23:01:34Z")
Yes, up until somewhere in middle school. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/17 "2005-10-29T23:09:53Z")
Public school- Bakersfield, CA (k-12). Everyday in the morning. Woo! I’m pledging like a mother fuck! (…sorry) ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/18 "2005-10-30T00:32:18Z")
We certainly recited it every morning in first, second and third grades. That was in 1948 - 1952. I don’t remember doing the Pledge after that, maybe because we went to the second floor and started moving between rooms in fourth grade. That was before the “under God” language was inserted – as a consequence that little bow to The Almighty has always felt out of place. However, we did recite the Lord’s Prayer (trespassers edition) and the Twenty-third Psalm with some regularity until Jr. High School. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/19 "2005-10-30T00:39:04Z")
New Berlin, WI. Every Monday. And nary a serial killer among us. Nor a child molester. Read into it what you will. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479/20 "2005-10-30T01:33:40Z")
Saratoga, California. Every morning from 1953 to 1961, K-8, followed often by “My Country Tis of Thee” or “America The Beautiful.” Had the hard transition to fitting “under God” into the flow of “one nation indivisable.” Can’t remember how often it was recited in high school, but regularly. When I substitute taught Jr. High in 1970-71 it was an every morning thing still. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-recite-the-pledge-of-allegiance-in-school/328479.md?page=2)