The Battle Over Teaching Patriotism In Public Schools Rages On
As our new book “Patriotic Education in a Global Age” demonstrates, such debates are longstanding in American history. Posting schoolhouse flags Seventy-five years ago, at the height of America’s involvement in World War II, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that guaranteed public school students’ right to refuse to stand in patriotic salute. Barnette’s origins go back to the late 19th century when patriotic societies such as the Grand Army of the Republic – a Civil War veterans’ organization – and the Woman’s Relief Corps – the organization’s women’s auxiliary – launched a campaign to place a flag in every public school classroom....