Arizona passes recitation law -- Declaration of Independence

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Oatka

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Good for Arizona!
http://www.arizonarepublic.com/arizona/articles/0418independence.html

Arizona passes recitation law

By Chris Moeser
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 18, 2000

We hold the truths to be self-evident, now Arizona primary schoolers will have to commit them to memory.

Gov. Jane Hull on Monday signed a bill requiring fourth- through sixth-graders to recite the same passage from the Declaration of Independence each day.

Arizona becomes the first state in the nation to pass such a law.

Senate Bill 1216 requires students to recite the following:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . . "

Conservative family-values groups praised the bill, which also requires the state Board of Education to come up with a handbook of guidelines for teachers to teach morals, ethics and hate issues.

"This is a huge victory for future generations of children in Arizona," Len Munsil of the Center for Arizona Policy said. "An understanding of the core values of the United States is critical to preserving freedom . . . "

But critics wonder whether reciting will do any good at all.

"This business of repeating things by rote doesn't do much for me," said Sen. Ed Cirillo, R-Sun City West. "These things should be taught in civics class."

The bill initially would have required kids to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the Declaration of Independence passage. But the provision was stripped because of legal concerns over the phrase "under God."

Reach the reporter at Chris.Moeser@ArizonaRepublic.com or (602) 444-8069.

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The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
 
thats a good start, there is nothing wrong with reciting that and teaching it in civics class as they get to it in there education process......I wish they would have included the bill of rights and the Pledge of allegiance........if the aclu wanted to go to court over the phrase about GOD,....then we should be willing to go that distance....but it is a good start...fubsy.
 
Can't bitch here. They just made it mandatory to recite part of the Tyranny Response Team's mission statement. All they need at the end is "TRT! TRT! We will not disarm!"
wink.gif


That somebody else (a bit brighter and quicker
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) came up with it first matters not a whit to me.

& I do think that it should be moreso taught (& beat into their li'l mush-heads till it sinks in) in civics classes rather than by rote.
 
I wonder if the brighter students, while reciting that section of the Declaration, will appreciate the irony of being forced to speak the words about "all men created equal... unalienable rights.... life, liberty, ...". Being forced, against the supposed liberty they're reciting, to do so in an institution that most of them don't want to go but if they attempt to avoid going the state will track them down, rip them from their families, and physically force them to go.

For those who wonder why so many of the American public are mere sheep, consider the fact that we teach "liberty" in a place they're forced to go to against their will. After "liberty = being forced" was taught to them, why is anyone surprised that "safety = banning guns" is so easy for them to believe?
 
I have to go with the dissenters here. My recollection is of growing up in a parochial school which required us to wear uniforms and, in the same breath, put up slogans like "dare to be different" above the chalk board. I always had a problem with that picture.

This is not unlike the pledge of allegiance/flag desecration issue. What well-meaning patriots sometimes forget is that such stuff is a form of secular idolatry. If we were forced to genuflect, everyone would immediately see the parallel. But salute, oh, that's ok to compel in a free society.

Why not just tell the kids to live the revolution. Freedom will get them where they need to go.
 
Where will we teach liberty, if not both in school and at home? Where will they learn to read the Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights? They are forced to go to school? Come now, raise hands everybody who WANTED to go to school as a youngster! Let's see now, uh, ah, anybody out there got their hands up?

If you truly want a nation of sheep, don't teach the children anything! If you want to protect and defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights, insist that our children go to schools where they are taught, first and formost, to THINK!

On a personal note, I went to school at a time when:

A. We had to recite the Pledge.
B. We were taught to think.
c. We were whupped for skipping school.
d. We were handed a booklet containing the Constitution, B of R, D of I, and the Gettysberg Address.

Now look at me, a sheep who's a gun toten 2nd Amendment believer, prepared to defend my Constitutional rights against anyone's attempt to infringe on them! Sheep? Hey, wanna join MY herd?

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When guns are outlawed, I will be an outlaw.
 
Ask a child who has to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance every day what the third line is.

She'll have to say the whole thing up to that point to tell you. Ask the kids what it means. Last summer my kids constantly whined and moaned about the Pledge. Every week I'd get a new group, and they'd whine the first day. The second day, one would invariably say "Why do we have to do this?"

I always told them they didn't. I explained that if they refused to say it, then they were refusing to pledge that they would be loyal to the United States, but it was their choice. All I required was that they stand respectfully with hats off. I took a little flak the first week 'cause I made the mistake of using this with the smart-ass 12 year old boys (it was a bigger mistake not to just whack those 12 year olds with boat oars for the first week to set the tone...
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) but after that my kids all said the pledge and they did a pretty good job of sounding like they meant it.
 
I believe that the recitation law is a good one. I wish it was the Pledge of Allegiance and the D of I. Heck, maybe even the Gettysburg Address and a few other things, but I'll hold back a bit.

Now, why, you ask?

I was teaching a history class in the early 90's of 10,11, and 12th grades. (Very interesting BTW; it just isn't for me). I decided one day to give extra points on a test that seemed to be giving them a hard time.
"10 points for writing the words to the P of A".
Out of 90 students, I got 4.

Next test:
"20 points for the first verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner".(Keep in mind they hear this on every game day)!
Out of 90 students, I allowed 1.

Kids need some of the repetition so that later in life when words actually begin to mean something, then they will be able to recall the words!
DAMMIT! (Sorry, but I feel strongly about this).

Long ago, Red Skelton made a record of the Pledge of Allegiance that can bring tears to the eyes of grown, hard men that feel the words. I still feel that way, not only with the P of A, but the Star-Spangled Banner, the B of R, etc.
If you younger folks have never heard of Red Skelton or heard the words like he did it, I should be able to find a copy of it and will gladly email or post it as you wish.
 
I didn't feel like I was forced to go to school. There were teachers, and some of the teaching that I felt then (and now) were pretty stupid, and some good along with it. I loved vacations and summer, but I was usually ready to go back to school. Some of the fundamental things I learned layed a foundation for what I would go back and learn in more depth later on, by my own choice. To think that a child is prepared to make decisions on these matters really seems to be the problem with the way many kids are raised these days. The US is a community of sorts with a common (thinning) thread being the documents that set the legal precedents for existence here. One should no sooner sit at a game of chess without some knowledge of the rules, than grow to adulthood in a country without knowing its history or customs. Individuality is a great thing, to be encouraged. Selfishness is something else entirely.
I'm all for the recitation law. When the kids get old enough they can decide not to if that is their wish.
 
TMoney,

Red Skelton was my all-time favorite entertainer. Never a SINGLE cuss-word in his career. On his show, he always ended with, "Good night, and may God bless."

I'd LOVE to get a copy of his "reading" of the pledge. My email addy is in my profile.

And if you have a way to get that record into a WAV file, I'd LOVE a copy of that!

Thanks!

(EDIT
smile.gif
Oh, I forgot to say that I expect the ACLU to file suit against this as quick as they can get the ink dry on the complaint.


[This message has been edited by Dennis Olson (edited April 19, 2000).]
 
Off Topic - Red Skelton was a great gentleman too. I saw him once in Macy's in New York, graciously giving autographs to pushy New Yawkers. The guy was BIG too. Stood head and shoulders above the crowd (in more ways than one).

Every time I hear of Texas, I think of his great saloon skit, when somebody bursts through the bat wings, looking for "Deadeye Dick" (or some such).

"Watch it stranger", Red snarls, "you're talking about the finest man in Texas. That's him, lying on the floor".
 
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