Back To School: Children, Pledge Of Allegiance Return To Classrooms
DETROIT (WWJ) - It's the moment parents have been waiting for! Children across the state will be returning to their classrooms Tuesday, marking the official end of summer vacation.
Several little ones in metro Detroit will be hopping off the bus and going to school for the first time. Others, like Avery Marshall of Sylvan Lake, will walk down familiar halls as they enter a new grade. Marshall is starting sixth grade and she couldn't be more excited.
"I finally can have a locker, I've been waiting for that," she said. "I have a rug and a whiteboard and a chandelier to hang."
But not all students share Marshall's excitement. Gary Armsby, who is starting the ninth grade at Clarkston Jr. High, said he's only looking forward to seeing his friends again.
"I'm sort of excited to go back to school because I miss all my friends but other than that I'm not too excited for the whole homework thing," he said.
Also returning this year to all public school classrooms is the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Michigan Legislature passed a law last year requiring all public schools to provide students the opportunity to recite the Pledge -- and to have American flags in all classrooms where the Pledge is recited.
When debating the issue last fall -- some lawmakers expressed concern that schools were moving away from the Pledge and children were losing their sense of patriotism. Others said they felt that requiring that it be recited was more of a local issue than one that should be mandated by the state.
As kids head back to school, parents may be wondering what they can do to help them succeed. Dearborn School Superintendent Brian Whiston said it's as simple as picking up a book.
"If we shut down the technology and the computer and everything else for an hour and just say, 'Hey, read a book of your choice and let's talk about what you're reading for a few minutes.' If parents would just do that, students would be a lot more successful in our schools across the state," he said.
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