american flag

caution: there is a distinct possibility some folks will misinterpret this as unpatriotic. probably the same idiots who fly flags in the rain and at night or off their truck antennas and who have those stupid bumper stickers saying "these colors don't run" splashed over a flag coated with truck exhaust.

in the new york city public schools there are american flags in the classrooms and each day with the morning announcements someone recites the pledge, generally in an uncomprehending monotone. students in the classrooms stand up, put hands over hearts and mutter words they've never once thought about. there are the occasional students who don't. children whose religion forbids pledging loyalty to an object, children who are not citizens, children who are tired, the rare few whose parents have told them nobody can make them stand up and talk to a flag. it seems like an odd thing to set aside time daily for children to make a promise they don't have a clue how to keep. perhaps it would be helpful to explain to the children what they're saying, what they're pledging, if it's expected to be meaningful and really anything beyond the thirty second interruption to the instructional day it currently is.

in some classes the children who don't stand are pounced on by teachers and other staff who scream, "show some respect!" generally this screaming is done in the middle of and far louder than the pledge droning on behind it. effective.

there is no flag in my classroom. this is not deliberate. there is no filter or faceplate on the window unit air conditioner in there either. only one of the six windows opens. there is no shut off for the radiator. there are six ancient, broken computers. there is no lock or latch on the door so when the radiator is blasting in february and we have the single openable window open so we don't suffocate, the door swings open and bangs shut of its own accord. there is no flag.

i do not require my students to say the pledge. i do require them to sit quietly for the few seconds the intercom buzzes with the less than heartfelt daily promise. i have also discussed the pledge with my students. i have explained that if the words are meaningful, they should stand up and say them, but if not, it is best they sit quietly and allow others their bit of connection to whatever it is a 14 year old connects to at 8.45 while looking at a flag. most sit quietly. several stand and pledge allegiance to a corner of the room where a flag might be if we had one. which brings us to the next problem. there is no flag in my classroom. it seems the height of vulgarity to slap up one of those dollar flags made in china if we're supposed to take this seriously. how can anyone pledge anything to something so poorly made?

so i asked if the children would feel better about this whole pledge thing if i made a flag? i do not want to make a flag. i have managed four years in this room just fine without one. i'd be much happier without the announcements and the pledge interrupting the last few minutes i have to trick these kids into learning something. but i ask anyway.
yes.
fine. okay. good. i'll make a flag. a child raises a hand. yes?
do you mean you're going to knit one?
yes.
really?
yes. okay. quiet. pause. back to class. fifteen minutes later a hand goes up.
miss?
yes.
are you going to knit all fifty stars?
crap. hadn't thought of that. i must be talking about knitting too much in class if this boy knows knitting fifty stars is harder than the stripes. i'll figure something out, i tell him.

so i am now at the place where i need to add stars. i need to figure something out. i've been very careful so far and i'm surprised how much i like this almost-flag. it is very soft and the colors are quite striking together. already it is prettier than flags in other classrooms. that blue really does look like the night sky, ready for constellations. one of the many websites with flag history mentioned that for quite some time there was no specific way to display the parts of the flag. for a while there were fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. evidently each flagmaker put stars wherever until 1912. it wasn't until 1959 that the current arrangement was made official by executive order of president eisenhower. i am doing my best to abide by his order. nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

the first attempt at stars involved a tragic counting mishap. yes, there were fifty stars and yes, they were in the right rows, but they were all scooted staffward and had to be ripped out. the second application of stars worked better. some stars still need to be pulled straight, but they're on and where they're supposed to be.

it will never make sense to me to require the pledge in school. it's like trying to force people to tell you they love you. if you have to force them, it's not really love. but teenagers are adept at whispering lies about love. they don't seem to mind. and i guess if they have to look at it every day maybe once in a while they'll think about real love and real dedication and real promises. what else would drive someone to make something as absurd as a handknit wool flag?