I had the opportunity to go into Max's class today to take individual pictures for a class project they're doing. When I got there, the teacher was on "drive up circle duty" so the aide was in charge. She did the calendar with the kids. And they counted how many days of school there has been (47 btw). Then she had the kids stand to say the pledge. One child was in charge of starting it off. Half way through she stopped the kids because they weren't together and you couldn't even understand what they were saying.
And then she had them say it again. All together. She explained why it's so important that we say the pledge together. And what it means to respect the flag (I got a little emotional at this point). Then she talked about what it means to be an American. We all stand together. The kids were mesmerized. You could've heard a pin drop. Sometime during her talk the teacher came in. When the aide was finished the teacher seconded what the aide said.
I am so thankful my kids go to a school where they say the pledge. I'm thankful for teachers who love America as much as I do and aren't afraid to say it. Max's class (and school) is very ethnically diverse but that didn't deter the aide from teaching the kids a valuable lesson. About pride and respect.
It was awesome.
