Many of our readers grew up reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school.
They have fond memories of that morning ritual, saying those precious words with hand over heart. And they believe children today would benefit from doing the same.
Folks across the country share the same memories. And maybe that's why the story of a sixth-grader at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Fla., being arrested, we are told, for refusing to stand for the pledge made headlines across the country and is stirring a storm on social media.
Some are outraged and say the child's First Amendment rights were violated. Others say the whippersnapper should show proper respect for the flag and got what he deserved.
But there is more to the story.
Earlier this month, a sixth-grader at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Fla., refused to stand for the pledge. He told the substitute teacher in charge of the class he viewed the U.S. flag as a symbol of racism against African-Americans.
The teacher apparently didn't much care for that answer. However, Florida law-and a U.S. Supreme Court decision-allows students to opt out from the pledge and the National Anthem for whatever reason. The substitute didn't know that. The situation escalated. School administrators and the campus police got involved. The student reportedly became upset-he is 11, after all-and refused to leave the classroom. When he did leave to be taken to the office, he became more upset.
So he was not arrested for refusing to stand for the flag as many headlines would indicate. He was arrested for disrupting a school function and resisting an officer without violence.
But it should never have come to that. The substitute-who the district said will no longer be employed at the school-and school officials mishandled the whole situation. They were dealing with a child who, like it or not, had the right not to stand. And they blew it.
The best thing the district can do is drop the charges. And train their staff and substitutes better.
Even then, we suspect they will see the student and his family in court.