The History Of Flag Day

Flag Day

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.

Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.

Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.

In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.

Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

When and How to Display the U.S. Flag

The United States Flag Code stipulates that as the symbol of a living country, the flag is considered in itself a living thing and should be properly displayed and cared for. The code outlines the proper ways to display the American flag.

• Raise the flag briskly. Lower it ceremoniously.
• Never allow the flag to touch the ground or floor.
• Do not fly the flag in bad weather, unless it is an all-weather flag.
• The flag can only be flown at night if properly illuminated. Otherwise, it should only be flown from sunrise to sunset.
• The flag should always be allowed to fall free.
• The flag should never be used to carry, store, or deliver anything.
• Never fly the flag upside down except to signal an emergency.

Ceremonial

• When hung over a sidewalk on a rope extending from a building, the stars are always away from the building.
• When the flag is hung over a street running east to west, the stars are always toward the north. When the flag is hung over a street running north to south, the stars are always toward the east.
• When a group of flags is being displayed, the U.S. flag should be at the center and at the highest point. The only exception is when the flag of another nation is being flown—national flags should be of the same size and fly at the same height.
• When covering a casket, the stars should be at the head and over the left shoulder. The flag should never touch the ground or be lowered into the grave.

Inside

• When on a speaker's podium, the flag should be either above and behind the speaker, or to the speaker's right as he faces the audience.
• When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union (blue field) should be uppermost and to the flag's right, that is, the observer's left.
• In a window, or suspended above a corridor, the flag should hang with the union on the viewer's left.

Government

• The flag should be flown daily at the main administration building of public institutions.
• Polling places should display a flag on election days.
• School buildings should display a flag when school is in session.
• Flags should fly at half-staff on the deaths of certain government officials.
• When the flag is displayed against a wall with another flag from crossed staffs, the U.S. flag should be on the right (facing the audience) and its staff should be on top of the other flag's.

Parades

• When the flag is carried in procession with other flags, it should be either on the right of the line of flags, or in front of the center of the line.
• On floats, the flag should be displayed on a staff.
• The flag should not be draped over a car, train, or boat. When displayed with a car, the flag's staff should be attached to the right fender, or the chassis.
• The flag should be held upright and should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental, state, or organizational flags may be dipped.

Decorative

• The flag should never be used as clothing, bedding, or drapery. Red, white, and blue bunting may be used as decoration instead, with the blue on top, white in the middle, and red below.
• The flag should never be part of a uniform, but a flag patch or lapel pin can be part of a police or other uniform.
• The flag should not be used to cover a statue or monument.
• The flag should not be used to cover a ceiling.
• Advertising banners should not be hung from the same staff as a flag.
• The flag should not appear on napkins, boxes, or other disposable items, nor should it be embroidered on cushions, handkerchiefs, or similar objects.

Flag Maintenance

• The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.
• Care should be taken not to let the flag get torn, dirty, or damaged.
• The flag should never have placed upon it, nor attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing.

When to Fly the Flag

The flag can be displayed on all days, but in particular it should be flown on:

New Year's Day, January 1 Inauguration Day, January 20 Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, third Monday in January Lincoln's Birthday, February 12 Washington's Birthday, third Monday in February Easter Sunday (variable) Mother's Day, second Sunday in May Armed Forces Day, third Saturday in May Memorial Day (half-staff until noon*), the last Monday in May Flag Day, June 14

Independence Day, July 4 Labor Day, first Monday in September Constitution Day, September 17 Columbus Day, second Monday in October Navy Day, October 27 Veterans Day, November 11 Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday in November Christmas Day, December 25 Other days as may be proclaimed by the President of the United States The birthdays of States (date of admission) State holidays

---

*On Memorial Day, the flag should be hung at half-staff until noon, when it should be raised to the top of the staff.

Pledge of Allegiance

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

The pledge should be said while standing at attention and facing the flag with right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag and render the military salute.

The same behavior applies during the raising or lowering of the flag, or when it passes on parade.

Flag Day - June 14th

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the first flag act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." Education World celebrates Flag Day by visiting a few great Web sites devoted to the U.S. flag.

Did you know that a schoolteacher started the idea of an annual holiday honoring the American flag? In 1885, Wisconsin teacher Bernard J. Cigrand arranged for his students to observe June 14 -- the 108th anniversary of the congressional act establishing the first national flag -- as the "flag birthday."

Homeschooling a Return to Normalcy

by jesset
"Your child needs to be in school, he needs to know how the real world works", so says my mother-in-law, I couldn't have asked for a better platform to argue my point from.

"You think school is a reflection of the real world?", well, a very distorted view of the real world, I give her that much. Where else do you have an atmosphere where every emotion is amplified, where the raging hormones of teenagers will dictate the hierarchy of popularity and social acceptability in said school. Adults control school administration, children control the social strata in a school. What's the saying?, place a child with thirty fools and you'll soon have thirty one fools.

As a teacher you would like to be accorded the respect that your position entitles you to, as many have found out, respect cannot be demanded, rather, it has to be cajoled out of students, you have to hit the campaign trail to up your "likeability" rating so you can have a better rapport with your students. Gone are the days of unquestioning obedience and ernest study, because the students know that their falling grades reflect poorly on the teachers performance not their own - still wondering how someone can get through 12 grades and not know how to read?

Numerous school shootings that have occurred around the country is the other argument I raise, the response is, "That couldn't happen here, the odds are too great". As far as I'm concerned the "odds" are not a consideration, it happened more than once and even one time is too many. The safety of my son is paramount, so survival shouldn't be part of the curriculum.

Homeschooled children interact with children of similar age, older sibilings/cousins, adults and are exposed to a wide range of maturity and as they say the early years in a child's life are the formative ones, where they soak up everything like a sponge, why would you want to stunt their emotional growth? Studies have shown these children are more self confident, mature and better able to adjust to unfamiliar situations (sounds like real life to me). Whereas if they were only with children their own age emotional growth would stagnate and be at the whim or, more accurately, mercy of adolescent vagaries.

"Thank goodness it's the start of the school year, I needed a break from the kids", I ask them if they're glad to have their state approved babysitter back - I get alot of odd looks when I ask that question. They ask, "What babysitter", I say, "You know the one you pay school taxes for, the one that watches your kids 6 1/2 to 7 hours a day, the one that feeds them and plays with them - dodgeball remember?". "You know the place where we picked up all of our bad habits and, where soon, your kids will be picking up those same habits".

That was the argument that finally cracked the fragile shell of fantasy land; I could make all kinds of arguements for homeschooling and against public schools and be met with a brick wall of denial, but, mentioning the memories of public school and letting those unbidden images come to mind was enough to get grudging acknowledgement that I could possibly, maybe, have a point - I bet that must have hurt to say.

A well adjusted, self-confident child or a child adjusted by peer pressure and popularity, the former you'll have complete control over the latter left up to fate. I don't like leaving things up to fate - of course, I am the naive one.

About the Author

Husband and father, one time itinerate merchant and story gatherer, that has settled down to live the simple life and recount some of the experiences that have led me here. Author and Admin. at homestead articles
.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

Students Taught by Mom Achieve at High Levels

Here is the second part to the other post. You will notice it includes not only the section about homeschoolers outperforming traditional schools, but there is also sections on working from the office and home while homeschooling your child; socializing your child (a huge misconception to the non-homeschoolers); the child's choice of schooling and then the cost of homeschooling. Both of these articles from Park Cities helps others to know that we homeschoolers are not weird, that we are normal people just like them. :-P

Issue Date: May 4, 2007, Posted On: 5/4/2007

Students Taught by Mom Achieve at High Levels
Study claims children educated at home outperform those in traditional schools

By Karen Eubank
Special Contributor

Staff photo: Allison Slomowitz
Vanessa Trevino made the transition from being educated at home to classes at SMU.
The most recent and comprehensive study of American homeschooling, done by Dr. Lawrence Rudner of the University of Maryland in 1999, concluded, “In every subject and every grade level of the tests, homeschooled students scored significantly higher than their public and private school counterparts.

“Overall, test scores for homeschoolers fell between the 75th and 85th percentiles. Public school students scored at the 50th percentile, and private school students scores ranged from the 65th to the 75th percentile,” it said Universities around the country, including Harvard, New York University, Purdue, and the University of Texas are welcoming homeschooled students.

Southern Methodist University even has a dedicated admissions counselor in place for homeschoolers, Sarah Spooner.

Spooner urges homeschooled students, as well as those from traditional educational backgrounds, to get in touch with colleges they are interested in during their junior year of high school.

“Get to know your admissions counselor; they are your advocate. Don’t wait until the last minute,” she advised.

SMU typically receives 20 to 30 applications a year from homeschooled students.

Vanessa Trevino is in her first year as a dance major at SMU. She was homeschooled her entire life and said she had no trouble being admitted.

“I just sent in my application and had my dance auditions,” she said. Transitioning into a classroom environment was not a problem, and she loves living on campus.

“Homeschoolers are very bright students and are doing really well,” Spooner said. “I don’t know of one school that would not want a homeschooler.”

HOMESCHOOL AT THE OFFICE
Families have found clever ways of educating kids at home without giving up their jobs.

There have been cases where employers allow older children to come to work with Mom or Dad and “office” down the hall.

The parent checks on progress during coffee breaks and is able to have lunch with their child. Parents have worked out flexible schedules, changed shifts, and hired tutors and nannies to work with kids to enable them to fulfill work obligations and school at home.

Cecile Evans works full time as an analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas. She also manages to educate her son at home.

“We rise at 6 a.m., study until 10, then I go to work from 10:30 to 7:30 [p.m.]. My son works on the lessons and projects that we covered that morning,” she said.

Evans’ son was struggling in ninth grade at a private school. Last October, she found out he was reading at a fifth-grade level. Evans took him out of school, had him tested, found out his learning style, and went to work.

Within four months, she said, he was reading at an eighth-grade level. While she focused on reading, her husband worked on math.

SOCIALIZING YOUR HOMESCHOOLER
The comment that seems to elicit the biggest laugh from homeschooling parents is asking them about the “socialization issue.”

The Fraser Institute, a Canadian independent research and educational organization, reports “The average homeschooled student is regularly involved in 5.2 social activities outside the home.”

David McCullough, a professional artist with a show at the MAC, made a lifestyle choice to homeschool his four sons.

“They all played sports and played with neighborhood kids. If anything, they were more socialized, and in a more sensitive way to the different socioeconomic levels in our neighborhood,” he said.

THE CHILD’S CHOICE
Homeschooled children head back to public and private schools for many reasons. High school is often a time when they want to try out the traditional experience.

Vela Tomba has three daughters. Her oldest is now a sophomore at NYU.

“She had a very successful homeschool career and was offered scholarships to several universities,” Tomba said.

Her youngest daughter ended her homeschooling in eighth grade.

“She did not miss a beat transitioning into a traditional school setting,” Tomba said.

COST OF HOMESCHOOL
You can homeschool with a library card. There are homeschool stores that carry both new and used curriculum, most of which can also be ordered from the Internet. Most families spend an average of $200 per child in the elementary years, and that can double in the high school years.

Some Parents Opt for School in the Kitchen

The following came from my state associations e-newsletter. Since it was about some "local" families, I wanted to post it to my homeschool blog instead of my educational issues blog. The next week’s article will examine the issue of the proper socialiation of homeschooled children, as well as their prospects for higher education, according to their website. BTW, Park Cities is over in the Dallas area.

Issue Date: April 27, 2007, Posted On: 4/27/2007

Some Parents Opt for School in the Kitchen
Locals bypass private, public choices to educate their children at home
This is the first in a two-part series examining the experiences of local residents with homeschooling.

By Karen Eubank
Special Contributor

What do a plastic surgeon, a talk show host, a veterinarian, an artist, and the maitre d’ at The French Room have in common? They have all chosen to homeschool their children.

The face of homeschooling has changed dramatically in the past 10 years.

According to the National Home Education Research Institute, in 2002 almost 2 million students of all ages were being homeschooled. This is a 500 percent increase from the 1990-91 school year.

Tim Lambert of The Texas Home School Coalition reports that about 300,000 children are educated at home in Texas and cites research from NHERI showing a national growth rate of 15-20 percent per year.

Why are the homeschooling ranks growing at such a rapid pace?

The Fraser Institute, a Canadian independent research and educational organization, has published some of the most recent information on homeschooling. In the report “Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream” by Patrick Basham, findings indicate, “the principal stimulus [for homeschooling] is dissatisfaction with public education.”

WHO’S DOING IT?
Park Cities resident Amy Pruitt and her husband, Bryan, a plastic surgeon, are in their ninth year of educating their five children at home. They had three main reasons for homeschooling: academic excellence, instilling their own spiritual values, and efficiency.

“We can accomplish more at home, in less time, and we feel we can offer academic excellence that will surpass what a private school can offer,” Pruitt said.

She customizes a curriculum for each child and in doing so maximizes their individual potential.

“No one loves our kids more than we do, and I felt I had the dedication, commitment, and discipline to educate them at home,” she said.

Homeschooling has allowed the Pruitt family the flexibility to travel and educate along the way. They have had American history lessons brought to life on trips to Washington, D.C., and Boston, and the family headed to France for the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

New York, Philadelphia, Rome, and Florence are on the agenda this year.

BECOMING A QUALIFIED TEACHER/PARENT
Even parents who long to teach their children at home often doubt their ability. Parents don’t have to be teachers, college graduates, or even high school graduates to homeschool their children.

The Fraser Institute’s research shows, “having at least one parent who is a certified teacher has no significant effect on the achievement levels of homeschooled students.”

The children of parents who never completed high school still scored 55 percentile points higher than public school students from families with similar educational backgrounds.

Parents don’t have to take on calculus, either. There are tutors, co-op classes, online courses — something to fit every need and level. Most families take advantage of co-op classes at some point in the homeschooling years.

“Co-op classes are not designed to take the place of parents educating the children at home, but to provide enhancement opportunities in the overall education of the student,” according to the Richardson Home School Teaching Co-op registration packet.

The class descriptions read like a syllabus from the best private school. Latin, Government and Justice, Introductory Logic, and Multimedia Art are included in the extensive catalog.

Most of the teachers hold degrees in their fields, and the classes are run in an organized manner, meeting one or two times a week. Students get to select one class or several and experience a classroom situation.

“Before children are school-age, most parents have taught them to walk, talk, and count. They’ve already ‘homeschooled’ their children. It doesn’t take someone with a teaching background to be a homeschool parent. It just takes someone who is willing to work at it, learn along the way, and who loves their children,” said Cindy Eckhoff, a mother of four who has homeschooled for 14 years.

Are we done yet?

It's getting closer to the end of May. Almost all of my sons outside classes are done. He has one more theater/chorus class tomorrow and then the presentation on Friday, then he is all done. I will be glad though. I won't have to drive him all over the place (but I'll still have to drive my grown daughter to wherever she needs to go...sigh!). Now he can spend all his time on finishing up his studies. I guess the extras that I had planned can be done once he finishes all his regular book work. It's no big deal. He'll still be learning something even if it's not done in coordination with his textbooks. I wish he would do things a little more systematic, but he just isn't that type of kid. He does learn and he is smart. Maybe he's not Mr. Genius, but he is a smart kid. And he's turned into a normal kid. Something I never thought I'd see. It must be the blonde hair. lol! Anyway, his learning style is not what I had planned but if it fits him and it works, then I'm okay with that. You see, he doesn't like me to "interfere". He is quite happy doing all his work on his own without me "butting in". He's at an age now where he really doesn't need my help anyway and if he does have a question he comes and asks me or he looks it up. I plan on giving him the exit test for the Texas TAKS test once he finishes all his textbook work. Although he's only in 9th grade, if he does well on the TAKS test, then I'll know that he is up to standard according to the Texas Education Agency which I could care less about anyway, but it's one way to judge how well your child is doing. I do plan on taking what find out from this test and using it to plan my next years curriculum. Any gaps that I find will be filled and any subjects that he knows well enough, I can skip over. I'm trying to get him to think outside the box when it comes to outside activities (a professional baseball game, a visit to a gardening site, motor cross racing, etc.) so I need to start thinking outside the box when it comes to his curriculum (which in turn would get him to thinking outside the box too!). I need to be a little more forceful when it comes to getting him to do things that he doesn't want to do. I really feel that by doing stuff that may not interest you, can help you to learn about those things and also develop a little respect for the people who do those things for a living. For example, gardening and landscaping. You add math and science to the mix along with physical education. You develop a respect for the people who do this sort of thing for a living. It could also lead to a love of doing this sort of thing for yourself. Education is where you find it. You can get most of your education from books but you need to experience some of that education personally by doing things. Book learning is good and a person needs it, but if you only learn from a book, how can you experience life too?