7.3 Seconds of Silence

The girls are growing up in such a different world than I did. Case in point, they have a closed-circuit television station inside the school. Goes by the call letters KPAW. If I paid better attention I could tell you what that stands for. K-Parents Are Winners? K-Penalize All Wallabees? Anyway.

Each student gets a turn being on television as part of the morning announcements. Older students present their projects on erosion, lobsters, and Liechtenstein. Younger students get to lead the school in the Pledge of Allegiance, Texas Pledge of Allegience, and Minute of Silence. Yes, this is Texas. It's not enough to pledge our undying support to the US, we have to also pledge total loyalty to the state. I used to have to recite the Texas pledge at board meetings when I worked at a county agency. I actively avoided memorizing the Texas pledge (the girls already know it), and generally recited some variation of the following: "Texas, Texas, ooooh Texas. You are so great. We love you. Texas"

And, although it's NOT about prayer (wink, wink!), every school child has to spend a minute in silent contemplation at the beginning of each day. Kindergartner's minute of silence: "I wonder if we are going to learn about bugs today. Rachel likes bugs. I hope Rachel plays with me on the playground today. We could play on the swings. Yesterday we played on the swings and I went really high! I want to do that again. Rachel could push me. Oh, the pledge is starting."

Abby was the pledge / prayer leader a few weeks back on KPAW. This child cannot sit still for 20 seconds, let alone a full minute. In silence. The KPAW signal did not reach my TiVo, but I cannot imagine her standing quietly for any length of time.

This minute of silence infuriates me. But I actually wish that it had been imposed when I was in school. I think about so many things I would have done to protest the idiocy of this, many that would have likely got me into trouble. In high school I was sent to the Principal's office multiple times for protest (once for a petition drive, and once for a counter-rally during a pep rally that the Assistant Principal said could have "started a riot"). But when I think about sending a note to school assailing the minute of silence and exempting my daughters, I realize how it would be mis-directed anger. So I remain silent. For more than a minute.