New lessons about allegiance

After a 30-year absence, the Pledge of Allegiance returns to Scarborough High School

SCARBOROUGH — One might think that, after two decades teaching in the Chicago area, Dean Auriemma would have seen it all. But when he took the reins as principal at Scarborough High School, he arrived to something quite outside his experience.

For the first time in his career, Auriemma found himself at a school where students did not recite the Pledge of Allegiance. After asking around, the best anyone could remember, he said Monday, was that the ceremony had been abandoned “around 1982.”

And, as if that was not enough, Auriemma said, there was a relative dearth of symbols at Scarborough High School for anyone to pledge allegiance to. Apart from one flag in the gym, and a smattering of smaller versions brought in by individual teachers, the nation’s colors were not anywhere on active display.

That changed this year. Using a $500 annual grant from Bob’s Discount Furniture, Auriemma had Old Glory hung in every classroom. Two weeks ago, he re-introduced the Pledge of Allegiance as a part of school-wide announcements made every Wednesday. And, to make the experience relevant to students, Auriemma has tried to personalize the pledge by dedicating each utterance to someone they know – from former students who have served in the military, to teachers and students who have contributed to American society in some way beyond the norm.

“While our flag is a wonderful symbol, saying the pledge is only a part of recognizing the significance of what it represents,” he said. “The pledge is not just an oath to the flag, or the military. It’s about everything that goes into ‘the republic for which it stands’ and all the opportunities we have, and the small ways all of us contribute to our community.”

A dedication form distributed April 26 asks staffers, students and parents to nominate someone for a pledge dedication based on his or her public service. A photo of each honoree is then posted on a newly created service wall located in the school’s main hallway, outside of Plummer Gymnasium.

“In addition,” Auriemma said, “a personal card will be sent to the family informing them that, as a school community, we stood together and recognized their service to our nation.

“Instead of just saying the pledge, the idea is to raise thoughtful questions on what we say the pledge for, and why we even have a pledge,” explained Auriemma.

One person who “got the lesson” is American literature teacher Bruce Spang.

“For me, I’ve been a pacifist and anti-war since Vietnam,” he said. “I’m not against the military, but I’ve protested against war my whole life. So, it’s nice to see the pledge tied to all of the humanitarian services people provide, including the arts and other things. There’s more than one way to serve the country – you don’t necessarily have to be in the military to be a good citizen, or be a hero.”

One Red Storm staffer who did serve in the military is history teacher Glenn Stankiewicz, who retired as a lieutenant colonel after 20 years in the Air Force. When others place hand over heart to recite the pledge, Stankiewicz proudly salutes.

“I think this reinforces some of the things we are here for,” he said. “The United States was one of the first countries to provide free, public education. We have a lot of benefits from being citizens and I think it’s important for citizens, and students particularly, to understand where we came from – that not all this stuff just happened like magic, that people fought and sacrificed for this country.”

Both Spang and Stankiewicz report no pushback from students on standing to say the pledge.

“They’ve all been very respectful,” said Spang.

“Most of them wondered why we hadn’t done it before,” said Stankiewicz.

“I feel like the patriotism had been lost, because we haven’t said it that often after elementary school,” said senior Nick Mercer. “I don’t know why we haven’t been saying it all along.”

“I definitely feel like we should say it more,” agreed Ryan Pallotta. “People don’t understand everything that has happened just for us to be able to come to school.”

Mercer and Pallotta are both members of Scarborough’s boys lacrosse team. On April 28, their team played a benefit game with North Yarmouth Academy to raise money for the Wounded Warriors Project. Their efforts, Auriemma said, formed the basis for the first pledge dedication, made to the schools’ various veteran alumni.

“It was a great thing,” said Auriemma, “because here you had students from two schools who are normally placed in a competitive situation working together to recognize and help those who have sacrificed for their country.”

“There are only a few countries that have the privileges we have, even down to just having a stable government,” said junior Victoria Geyer. “I’m 17, so next year I’ll be able to vote and have a say in what’s happening, so I think it’s really important to think about how one person can make a difference.”

Geyer said she remembers controversy about “the whole ‘under God’ thing” in the second grade and how, by the time she got to middle school, the pledge, when it was said, was largely ignored by students more intent with finishing their homework.

The dedications, she said, echoing Mercer and Pallotta, bring the idea of what allegiance to America means down from an esoteric concept to concrete examples of the little things each person can do to preserve democracy, or at least civility.

“Anyone can change someone’s life for good or bad in just seconds,” said Geyer.

“There’s a lot of good and bad, triumph and tragedy, in the history of our country, and every day all around us, that we should all take a moment to stop and think about,” Auriemma said. “As we continue to develop our civics curriculum, I look forward to extending and honoring the many forms of service that contribute to our community that our flag is a symbol of.”

“I don’t believe patriotism is exclusive to the military,” said Stankiewicz, “but I’m not apologetic about being patriotic at all. This has been a good learning process for everyone, I think.”

And what’s next?

“Well, saying the pledge every day would be nice,” said Stankiewicz, with a smile, “but we’ll start with one day a week.”