What Carlmont students and staff think about patriotism at school

While still technically meeting the requirements put forth by the State of California, Carlmont is lenient in requiring students to perform acts of patriotism, as the school makes no attempt to compel students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. 

Molli Shields, a junior, and Ruya Yaman, a senior, agree that the school’s decision to omit the pledge from daily proceedings is not a mistake.

“Having [the Pledge of Allegiance] enforced and especially in educational programs, it gives off the impression that patriotism and one’s education as an American citizen are inherently combined, and they go with each other… I think that’s not a necessary impression to be giving off because they’re two separate things,” Yaman said. 

Shields also voiced that in addition to it not being necessary for American students’ education, some may feel uncomfortable with being compelled to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

“I’m glad we don’t have to say the Pledge of Allegiance because I know plenty of people who, for religious reasons, background reasons, or just their own status in the country don’t enjoy saying the pledge,” Shields said. “I feel that patriotism [in schools] shouldn’t be required, one because the whole [basis to the] founding of America is that everybody’s going to be different, there’s diversity, and everybody’s gonna have their own ideas.”

One way students consistently get involved in patriotism outside of the classroom is in the singing of the National Anthem at large events like football games and assemblies, which Carlmont does participate in.

Shields was one of the students to sing the anthem. However, she questioned why she was made to sing the National Anthem rather than a different song.

“[I did ask], is the National Anthem [a] required song, or can I sing another song like Lift Every Voice and Sing? Because we sing that in choir, and it was a really powerful song and I really enjoyed singing it. The fact that it’s required to sing the National Anthem makes me feel a bit less patriotic,” Shields said.

Neither Shields nor Yaman feel strongly about having a clear sense of daily patriotism within school, and Stone feels very similar.

“I don’t think school is a place where we need to focus on those patriotic duties. Every day is sort of a contrived patriotic exercise that feels very antiquated to me and really unnecessary,” Stone said.

Many students were also not aware that there is a requirement for a daily patriotic exercise in all schools across California.

“I have no problems with the level of patriotism at Carlmont. Teachers usually talk about America in a factual way without giving their own opinions,” said Zachary Leeb, a senior at Carlmont.

None of the students spoken to for this article were aware that they were invited to a daily flag-raising ceremony at 6:30 a.m. for Carlmont to fulfill California law.

One consensus, however, echoed throughout every interview conducted for this article: daily patriotic exercises, especially the Pledge of Allegiance, are not necessary to improve patriotism in American Schools and can sometimes detract from the overall learning environment of a school.