TX High School Students Made to Recite Mexican National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance

Education Blaze Exclusive: TX High School Students Made to Recite Mexican National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance

• Posted on October 17, 2011 at 8:56am by Madeleine Morgenstern

• [EXCERPT.]

Students in a Texas public high school were MADE to stand up and recite the Mexican national anthem and Mexican pledge of allegiance as part of a Spanish class assignment, but the school district maintains there was nothing wrong with the lesson. It happened last month in an intermediate Spanish class at Achieve Early College High School in McAllen, Texas — a city located about 10 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

(Related: Listen to Glenn Beck interview the father of the girl who refused to recite the pledge)

Wearing red, white and green, students had to memorize the Mexican anthem and pledge and stand up and recite them in individually in front of the class. That didn’t go over well with sophomore Brenda Brinsdon. The 15-year-old sat down and refused to participate. She also caught it all on video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC3xejOJyrI&feature=player_embedded

“I just thought it was out of hand, I didn’t think it was right,” she told The Blaze. “Reciting pledges to Mexico and being loyal to it has nothing to do with learning Spanish.”

She said she was particularly offended because the presentations in teacher Reyna Santos’s class took place during “Freedom Week,” the week after the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and on U.S. Constitution Day — the same day as Mexico’s Independence Day.

“Why are we doing their independence when it‘s Freedom Week and it’s also Constitution Day?” Brinsdon said.

Brinsdon said she complained to the school principal, Yvette Cavazo, who told her it was part of the curriculum and that she should participate. Her father, William, also got involved, calling the school district superintendent to complain.

When Brenda made clear she would not stand up and recite the pledge, she was given an alternative assignment: an essay on the history of the Mexican revolution. Meanwhile, other students continued with their presentations, which took place over the course of several days.

When Brinsdon talked to Santos — a first-year teacher at Achieve — about her new assignment, the teacher told her she grew up in Mexico. “She told me that she loved Mexico,” Brinsdon said.

School district spokesman Mark May defended the presentations, saying it’s a state requirement for upper-level language classes to teach about foreign culture.

According to the state’s Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, students are expected to gain “knowledge and understanding” of other cultures and use the language to demonstrate understanding of different practices and perspectives. There are no specific requirements about learning to recite pledges or anthems. May said it’s up to the teacher how to interpret and teach the standards.

“It wasn’t required to pledge loyalty and renounce the U.S., they were simply spreading the culture of another country,” May told The Blaze. “In my mind it’s no different from memorizing a poem or memorizing a passage from Shakespeare.”

William Brinsdon took issue with that notion, saying if that’s the case it cheapens the pledge. “You‘re taking their allegiance and their oath from Mexico and cheapening it just as a grade or words don’t mean anything,” he said.
==================================================================
COMPLETE ARTICLE:
www.theblaze.com/stories/blaze-exclusive-tx-high-school-students-made-to-recite-mexican-national-anthem-pledge-of-allegiance/?mid=5069

October 18, 2011 at 3:43 pm

Sponsor Ads

• Ad Space Available - Rent it Now!

Report this Page

Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

Share on APSense

Comments

Dennis R.   KB Gold CEO, 3D Affiliate Lets use the below link and FLOOD them with protests! http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact There are many ways to teach Spanish, Russian or any language without involving pledges, alliegance or anthems. Treason is too much but it’s close to it. Take your kid out of the school. Call the state boarad of education and call Rich Perry office and demand that this type of crap be stopped now and to stop the flow of all state money to that school. Follow this link: http://mws.mcallenisd.net/feedback/ There is various contact info there. To send an email, follow this link: http://mws.mcallenisd.net/feedback/web_feedback/web_comments.html Cut and paste this and send it out to everyone on your email list, let’s put a stop to this now. Oct 18th 2011 15:09