ABSTRACT
In the last part of the twentieth century, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in American schools was a bit like the ‘daily act of worship’ in English schools – fading into obscurity except in certain districts. But in the aftermath of the events of September 11 2001, there was a flurry of legislative activity at state and local levels, insisting that public schools should inculcate patriotism in their students. The requirement that children recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of every school day was adopted widely. At high school level it is also common to require a ‘daily act of patriotic observance’, which schools are entitled to interpret for themselves. One interpretation is requiring the pledge; others include having a patriotic poem read over the school-wide announcement system, and a daily playing of versions of the national anthem over the announcement system.
