I'm pretty sure you only think that because you're a socialist.

Yeah, I'm a socialist capitalist.

I currently teach middle school, but when I was at a HS 4 years ago, we said it there, too.

Speaking of teaching...gotta go do that now!

I went to high school in the People's Republic of Cambridge, so there was no pledging allegiance to anything.

(sorry)

You weren't the only one to go there.

I wasn't even required to stand. I don't recall anyone, teachers or students, having an issue. I feel like even saying, "Ok, you don't have to say it, but you will stand with everyone else," is still...I don't know.

As I recall we did the pledge only when either we were in the same classroom all day, or had a morning assembly. That ceased to be the case in middle school (or junior high as they called it there) and high school.

I don't know if they do the pledge at the kid's schools, probably. On a tangent, when I've seen the middle school and high school here it feels so strange to me to have everything in one building. My middle school had 4-5 buildings and my high school had, I think, 9 buildings and a few trailers for overflow. It feels weird to walk into a high school where everything is all under a single roof.

I had to say the Pledge of Allegiance in grade school, but not in high school. Some organizations (4-H is the one I remember) started meetings with the Pledge. I don't remember anyone refusing to say it.

When I was in 5th or 6th grade, the teacher pointed out that there was no comma before "under God," and she wouldn't let us pause before those words. Got kind of funny at 4-H meetings, where some people would pause and some wouldn't.

From my current perspective, I can see a purpose of a first-thing-in-the-morning ritual at schools. But when you say the Pledge of Allegiance -- or anything else -- 180 days a year for years on end (and when you're 5 or 6, a year is forever!), it can become a bunch of words devoid of meaning as opposed to a heartfelt statement of belief. If you want to instill patriotic feelings, I'd think there would be more productive means.

And the tune "To Anacreon in Heaven" was used for "The Star Spangled Banner."

We definitely said the pledge through 8th grade, and maybe we sang too, but that I don't remember.

I know we said it during our first period in middle school, meaning we said it in French class, which was sort of odd.

I can't remember if I ever had issues about it, my mom might have thought it was odd, but she was a big believer in respecting oaths. One of the main reasons she didn't become an American was she couldn't swear an oath she couldn't commit to all out.