How to handle daily morning flag salutes when you disagree
Teachers who feel conflicted about the pledge experience physical sickness and discomfort during the morning routine. This forces them into compromises like standing silently while the PA system plays, preventing them from comfortably participating in a daily practice they fundamentally reject.
Overview
People affected3 accounts across 1 forum
Workarounds found6 items attempted
Community agreement120 total upvotes
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
6 items+ Contribute
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1standing silently without saying the wordsDid this help you?
- 2remaining seated if completely aloneDid this help you?
- 3claiming a religious objection to sit it outDid this help you?
- 4using the time to take attendanceDid this help you?
- 5refusing to participate in icebreakersDid this help you?
- 6banning icebreakers entirely from professional development sessionsDid this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
r/Teachers3 people · September 2026
“The truth is I would not and do not recite the pledge if I am alone.”source ↗
duggatron57 · r/Teachers · 91 upvotes
Where this came up
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