Editorial

The tenth anniversary of September 11 brought a wave of well-deserved patriotism to Diamond Bar High School; the method the school has chosen to show its devotion, however, is questionable. Leading the school in the Pledge of Allegiance will not increase patriotism; rather it will take away the pledges value as a salute to the country. At some point between the time students enter elementary school and graduate high school, they are taught that pledging their allegiance to a flag in front of their classmates is the best way to show their love for their country. Students are rarely explained the significance of the pledge, nor is the option to not recite it made clear, and even though a student may be given the choice to refrain from pledging, social expectancies to recite the pledge will always be in place. R e c e n t l y, D B H S h a s established a weekly recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance prior to the reading of the Bullsheet. Although it is not mandatory, the expectation and obligatory feeling to recite the pledge are still prevalent in the majority of classrooms. Saying the Pledge of Allegiance so frequently takes away its value and meaning. Although students are not forced to recite the pledge in class, they will not be able to refrain from saying it

Eye of the Editors

in a social environment where the students feel obligated to stand by their classmates and risk criticism from their peers. Requiring students to recite the pledge is brainwashing them because by teaching children the Pledge of Allegiance at such a young age, it becomes a routine, which children do not think twice about before reciting. In the 1943 Supreme Court case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the Supreme Court ruled that requiring the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools was a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Although the administration is by no means forcing students to recite the pledge, there is an unspoken social expectancy that will keep many students pledging along with the rest of their classmates simply because the pledge is occurring. Even if students realize that the recitation is brainwashing the students, they will continue to feel obligated by these social pressures to recite it. This expectancy takes the freedom of speech from students and should no longer occur in schools. Particularly for lower grade levels, such as kindergarten and first grade, the pledge should not be required as children can barely pronounce the words they are repeating, let alone understand their meaning.

Editorial
Many younger students do not understand that they have a choice regarding the recitation, and by leading them in the repetition of the same lines day after day, not only are they forced to believe in something they may not understand, but the pledge is also turned into a duty rather than a vow. Reciting the pledge on a daily basis would be more appropriate if its absolute meaning was taught to students at an appropriate age, so that children could make an educated decision from the beginning as to whether or not they want to recite it. However, to ingrain in them at such a young age words that they have no comprehension of is inherently wrong. While some individuals may feel that the poem is a patriotic display of loyalty, it is ridiculous to impose this recital on students. Not only is it a misconstrued view of patriotism, but it is also an intrusion on the natural rights of the students. Allowing schools to create an environment that suggests the requirement of a weekly oath is an inappropriate display of loyalty and dedication to the country. Such an environment has no place in a classroom because the ideas and expectations of the pledge are forced upon students without conveying to them that what they are repeating is a reflection of their personal views.

THE BULLS EYE

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

I think we should say the pledge because we shouldnt lose our patriotism just because were in high school. Joseph Bachman, Sophomore

I believe our school should recite the Pledge of Allegiance because it shows pride for our country. Natalie Toldi, Senior

I believe that the Pledge of Allegiance should be recited not as an everyday activity, but as an actual pledge to our country. Eric Moffitt, Freshman

Eye of the Editors discusses local issues that are relevant to Diamond Bar High School students. Statements and opinions expressed in the article herein are strictly those of the editors of The Bulls Eye. The view of the editors does not necessarily reflect that of the entire staff.

Pro: Thank Goodness Its Thursday?

in achievement tests. There have students will not only be provided been no negative effects toward with more time to improve on the academic performance academics, but will be provided The Irene-Wakonda school among students, and the school with more time for extracurricular district in South Dakota recently district has divided the school activities. established a new four-day hours so that students are able The four day week will school week. The Republican- to cover all of the necessary undoubtedly lessen South led Legislature of South Dakota m a t e r i a l . T h e d i s t r i c t h a s Dakotas economical problems cut school budgets by nearly chosen to do so by allowing By making Friday t h e s t a t e t o seven percent in order to fill a by shortening $127 million budget gap, making l u n c h h o u r s close the $127 the new start of the million budget it necessary for school districts a n d a d d i n g to improvise. South Dakotas 30 minutes to gap. District plan to save money is a great e a c h s c h o o l weekend, money would Superintendent example that should be followed day in order to Larry Johnke be saved by cutting stated that the by Walnut Valley Unified School c o m p e n s a t e District.The 300 students in f o r t h e l a c k Irene-Wakonda back on expenses. school district this rural school district are of class time. not the only ones receiving an Deuel, another is able to save extra day off from school. Other district in South $50,000 with this school districts in the United Dakota, has been using this alteration. With the continuous States are taking advantage of shortened schedule for four use of this improvised schedule, the economical benefits. This years, and its superintendent the school district will be able plan also provides students with reported a decrease in failing to provide South Dakota with a extra time for tutoring or other students because of the extra substantial amount of savings. activities. time available for tutoring and Meanwhile, the Deuel school Students from this district teacher training. If more school district reported that shortening are benefiting from this change districts in the country decide the week has saved as much as and have continued to succeed to shorten the school week, $100,000. This change in the Claire Huang Asst. A&E Editor school schedule has not only been used in South Dakota, but has also been considered in other states. The Palm Beach County School District in Florida may use the four-day week schedule as well, and has noted the large amount of savings that would result from cutting down on various expenses that would be used on Fridays. This concept of a shortened and improved schedule should not be ignored. Nearly one fourth of the schools in South Dakota has already adapted this system. By making Friday the new start of the weekend, money would be saved by cutting back on travel expenses, supplies, and electricity. Change is necessary for improvement. Rather than continuing to support the traditional five-day school week, WVUSD should shorten the school week to accommodate our budget crisis and provide students with more time for academic improvement.

Political parties are like handcuffing two bad drivers to the steering wheel and having Americans as the passengers. Richard Mule S hwddSeeJb atal rsg? o o i tv os culy ein iut O i teea apfrta? Qi? r s hr n p o ht L u a M f i t ar oft
The Editorial Board invites The Bulls Eye readers to submit original commentary based on current events. All submitted work should be in accordance with the Editorial Policy in the staff box. Selected entries will be published in a subsequent issue of The Bulls Eye.

Out of the Box

Editors-in-Chief Ashley Ahn Jennifer Wang News Editor Jennifer Wang Asst. News Editors Prisca Kim Holly Liu Editorial Editor Marcel Boubion Editorial Cartoonist Nicole Ongpoy Asst. Editorial Editors Colene Eng Justin Park Feature Theme Editors Ruby Hwang Laura Moffitt

THE BULLS EYE STAFF

Asst. Feature Editor Angie Zhang Asst. Sports Editors Winston Cho Rachel Halpert Photo Editor Diana Romero Asst. Photo Editors Stephanie Cota Xing Yen Quek Business Managers Michelle Lee Christine Song Asst. Business Manager Jenna Chay Staff Writers Emily Hwang Gloria Kim Vivian Tang Interim Advisor Daniel Roubian

Diamond Bar High School 21400 E. Pathfinder Rd. Diamond Bar, CA 91765

Con: Thank Goodness Its Thursday?

On average, parents work students, parents should not be five days a week, and it is burdened with an extra expense. impractical for schools to expect Paying for childcare services Recently, the Irene-Wakonda parents to take every Friday off to is too difficult for parents to do School District of South Dakota care for their children. In addition, without reasonable assistance. The four-day school week adopted a four-day school week. the option of leaving children This trend is not to be mistaken for home alone is ineffective since does not only create conflicts for new. Many school districts have doing so for 12-year olds is illegal parents but also damages the quality of student already adopted this four-day in most areas, week in place of the traditional and those that The four-day school education. Longer school days five-day week. These school are older than districts mistakenly believe that twelve may not week creates conflicts mean students will have trouble by adding more hours to school be independent for parents and concentrating, days and cutting out a school e n o u g h t o which will day, they will save a significant t a k e c a r e o f amount of money, while still t h e m s e l v e s . damages the quality of negatively affect their performance. maintaining the quality of the M o s t o f t h e American education system. It school districts student education. A l s o , m a n y s t u d e n t s is plausible that money can be that are adopting saved with this new schedule, the four-day school week are participate in extracurricular however, this singular benefit situated in rural areas where activities after school; however, will not be able to make up for not many childcare facilities because this plan does not the stress that it will create for are available. The few that are, accommodate the students with parents nor the reduced quality however, cannot accommodate after school activities, students of student education. A plan t h e s u d d e n i n f l u x o f t h e that do participate will find that for a shortened week would be thousands of students that need their days end later. Extending devastating for the education of somewhere to go. In the event the school day eliminates robs the Walnut Valley Unified School that more childcare facilities students of valuable time needed become available for these to rest. District. Holly Liu Asst. News Editor American students are already considered to be behind many other international students, and by shortening instructional time, these students are being put at a further disadvantage. Every year, students in the U.S. spend about a month less in school than students in South Korea, which has the worlds highest high school graduation rate. Instead of downgrading our education system, the U.S. should continue to improve our education under the examples of other successful countries. Four-day school weeks, while appealing at first, cause p r o b l e m s fo r p a r e n ts a n d students alike. The benefit of saving money is only seen by the government and has no place interfering with education. Five-day school weeks should continue to be implemented in schools in order to accommodate the needs of parents and secure the academic success of students.

Asst. Feature Theme Editor Hanna Yi A & E Editor Austin Kong Asst. A & E Editors Sarah Cho Claire Huang Feature Editors Ashley Ahn Lea Chang

Editorial Policy The Bulls Eye is a public forum that welcomes the views of our readers. Letters to the Editor will be accepted only if they are signed. The author may, however, request anonymity. The staff reserves the right to edit letters without changing content. Forward letters to The Bulls Eye, Room 250.