This issue that Gordon Brown’s got a bee in his bonnet about regarding strengthening our national identity is definitely something that needs to be addressed, but having our children swear allegiance to the Queen every morning? I think not!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-royal – although I await with baited breath to see if the royals have the sense to put William on the throne whilst his gran is still alive to guide him – but I thought the idea was to have civic pride, to show a sense of belonging to one nation. That being the case, shouldn’t the children be learning how to serve, protect and bring honour to their birth land? This makes sense to me. The average UK home is lacking in a sense of unity, in civic pride; you need look no further than the recent statement that certain members of our Armed Forces weren’t recommended to wear their uniform in public for evidence of this!
In the United States school children pledge their allegiance not to their country's president, but rather their flag – and America has to be one of the most patriotic, flag waving countries in the world. The American people may not always bring honour their flag, and occasionally heap a pile of disgrace onto what it stands for, but overall it’s a symbol of a country that most Americans love and respect. They bow to it, sign with it, even run national treaure hunts around it! A national flag is a very simple symbol of a country and it’s something that any school could incorporate into their daily activities whilst teaching their students about what it means to be British and how as a nation we need to act in order to preserve the democratic rights we have. There’s huge potential here for a subject that could take very little time but if taken in age appropriate stages could create informed school leavers who have basic understanding of the UK and how its judicial and political systems work. School leavers who know how their country works, and how they can make a difference to it.
Pledge allegiance by all means, but just make sure it’s a pledge of loyalty and duty to the country, and not a monarch who doesn’t rule the country!
Finally we have had progress with the website.Well I've totally finished the vet insurance pages