Watch Live: Congressional Hearing on IRS Scandal

Live BlazeCast at 2pm ET: All the fireworks from the IRS Hearing!

Education

Blaze Exclusive: TX High School Students Made to Recite Mexican National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance

Oct. 17, 2011 8:56am Madeleine Morgenstern

Students in a Texas public high school were made to stand up and recite the Mexican national anthem and Mexican pledge of allegiance as part of a Spanish class assignment, but the school district maintains there was nothing wrong with the lesson.

It happened last month in an intermediate Spanish class at Achieve Early College High School in McAllen, Texas — a city located about 10 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Wearing red, white and green, students had to memorize the Mexican anthem and pledge and stand up and recite them in individually in front of the class.

That didn’t go over well with sophomore Brenda Brinsdon. The 15-year-old sat down and refused to participate. She also caught it all on video:

“I just thought it was out of hand, I didn’t think it was right,” she told The Blaze. “Reciting pledges to Mexico and being loyal to it has nothing to do with learning Spanish.”

She said she was particularly offended because the presentations in teacher Reyna Santos’s class took place during “Freedom Week,” the week after the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and on U.S. Constitution Day — the same day as Mexico’s Independence Day.

“Why are we doing their independence when it’s Freedom Week and it’s also Constitution Day?” Brinsdon said.

Brinsdon said she complained to the school principal, Yvette Cavazo, who told her it was part of the curriculum and that she should participate. Her father, William, also got involved, calling the school district superintendent to complain.

When Brenda made clear she would not stand up and recite the pledge, she was given an alternative assignment: an essay on the history of the Mexican revolution.

Meanwhile, other students continued with their presentations, which took place over the course of several days.

When Brinsdon talked to Santos — a first-year teacher at Achieve — about her new assignment, the teacher told her she grew up in Mexico.

“She told me that she loved Mexico,” Brinsdon said.

School district spokesman Mark May defended the presentations, saying it’s a state requirement for upper-level language classes to teach about foreign culture.

According to the state’s Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, students are expected to gain “knowledge and understanding” of other cultures and use the language to demonstrate understanding of different practices and perspectives. There are no specific requirements about learning to recite pledges or anthems.

May said it’s up to the teacher how to interpret and teach the standards.

“It wasn’t required to pledge loyalty and renounce the U.S., they were simply spreading the culture of another country,” May told The Blaze. “In my mind it’s no different from memorizing a poem or memorizing a passage from Shakespeare.”

William Brinsdon took issue with that notion, saying if that’s the case it cheapens the pledge.

“You’re taking their allegiance and their oath from Mexico and cheapening it just as a grade or words don’t mean anything,” he said.

May reiterated that the lesson was all done within the context of meeting the state requirements, and that the school did its duty providing Brenda with an alternative assignment when she objected.

“The students came away with a better understanding of the culture, heritage and customs of a neighboring country where Spanish is the primary language,” he said.

May added that the lesson was “well received” by other students and parents.

“There’s always going to be people that always feel a little bit differently,” May said.

William Brinsdon is still having a hard time fathoming the idea of reciting foreign pledges and anthems in a U.S. public school in the first place.

“Our kids don’t even know the [American] national anthem and here we are…teaching them to memorize and perform the national anthem for Mexico,” he said. “I just think it’s so backwards.”

The Blaze’s Jonathon M. Seidl contributed to this report.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (1154)

enduro
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:35am
sounds like the final death nail in Rick Perry

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
___
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:35am
I’m sure the teacher and school system had some other reasons why she forced this but I
see this as part of the plan to rapidly blur and remove of the borders between the nations.
Daniel’s 10 toes Prophecy (splitting of the world into 10 regions) is about to happen.
Mexico, USA and Canada will likely be one of the regions with a regional currency.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
sprdthewrd
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:35am
FIRST we make sure they know it in English and then ONLY because it is a Spanish Class , it may be recited in Spanish.

ENGLISH Needs to be the OFFICIAL language of the United States.

This country has gone from melting pot to stew pot very quickly !!!

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.

Prometo lealtad a la Bandera
de los Estados Unidos de América,
y la República de que se encuentra:
una nación bajo Dios indivisible,
Con libertad y justicia para todos.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- The Giver
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:09pm
  As an American born in Cuba, I have to say that I agree with you that English HAS to be the official language of the U.S. for official business. The left knows that a people CANNOT prosper if they don’t know the language of the country they are living in. Keep ‘em dumb and they will remain poor, uneducated, and of course… stay Democrats! They didn’t want slaves to read. They don’t really want all these people learning English. But it is disguised as compassion. It doesn’t mean you can’t speak other languages too.
  
  Report this comment
- BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 11:02pm
  I so wish people would stop reciting (or writing as if you were reciting) our amazing and meaningful pledge of allegiance in Spanish. There is absolutely NO reason to do so. The best way an immigrant can show his or her loyalty to their new country is to assimilate to ITS culture and learn its language fluently! Thus, there is no need to learn it in Spanish just as there is no need for American’s to learn the Mexican National Anthem, or pledge. This is not a cultural diversity class. Its a language course. Surely there must be other things these students could recite in the Spanish language.
  
  Report this comment
TheLeftMadeMeRight
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:33am
What I want to know is; Do they recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States in this class/school? Or has that been removed too?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
John Pershing
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:33am
Nice pants. If she farts, she’ll blow her shoes off.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- TheLeftMadeMeRight
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:35am
  Hey you better go back to the window, you might miss your school bus…
  
  Report this comment
- AmericanStrega
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 10:46am
  Hey John Pershing; I actually scrolled up to the picture to see for myself and HAH! I just about fell off my chair laughing. Good one.
  
  Report this comment
tbeachhead
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:32am
I teach French. If I don’t teach the French National Anthem, La Marseillaise, the students miss a powerful chance to compare the bloodletting of the French Progressives’ Reign of Terror, and their disregard for human life with the ideals of the American Revolution, and their ability to withstand the night.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- getmeoutofcalifornia
  Posted on October 18, 2011 at 12:07am
  I think it’s a great idea to give the students the chance to learn about the violence of the French Revolution by teaching them the French anthem. However, teaching about another country’s anthem and comparing it to ours is one thing, but to require the students to sing the anthem or recite a pledge as if it were their own is something else entirely. And people who don’t think this is any big deal don’t understand the meaning of a pledge.
  
  Report this comment
Mrtoohappy
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:32am
People are forgetting something. In most of our schools and sporting events kids aren’t aloud to say the American national anthem. I bet if a kid in that school got up and said the our national anthen they would be removed.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
AZ_Dennis
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:30am
I will NEVER vote for any democrat ever again.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- TheLeftMadeMeRight
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:37am
  And you might never get the chance ever again….
  
  Report this comment
RichNGadsden
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:30am
This is amazing that a teacher can force students to do such when many schools will not require students to recite the American Pledge of Allegiance or sing the National Anthem. I can see a teacher reading either or both for a history lesson, but what is the history of Mexico? Constantly corrupt national and local governments that will not allow entrepreneurial growth and development so they can employ their own people. The poor are basically treated as serfs. If the Mexicans in this country had any real balls they would return home and take over their own country and attempt to stop the major corruption. That would be great and then they could stop complaining that this country is not doing what it can to take care of them. There is no other country in the world that allows such a invasion especially with a political party embracing it.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Gvolans
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:30am
How about teaching the culture of Spain rather than Mexico in a Spanish class?

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- RichNGadsden
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:44am
  Because the illegal Mexicans in this country do not speak Spanish. The class would really screw them up. Their slang filled guttural version of Spanish is far worse then the divide between British English, and American English. Back in ’81 while working a security detail for CAT ’81 in Grafenwohr, Germany, a couple of us had to go to Vilseck to provide security for the Spanish General of the Army. He was visiting Germany for two reasons. 1. he had received death threats inside Spain. 2. He was to be briefed on the M60A3 tank for a potential purchase. The M1 was coming online for the U.S. at the time and it’s school was being located at Vilseck. The poor TexMex Staff Sergeant tasked to do the briefing in Spanish was thoroughly flustered and although he had time to study more Spanish before the task, he just could not break away from speaking mostly in his Mexican Spanish. You could easily observe the disdain on the General’s face as well. As far as I know to this date, Spain did not purchase any M60A3s during that time frame.
  
  Report this comment
Rick in Iowa
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:30am
This cannot be rationalized in any way… not this time. If I was a parent of a student at this school I’d be in the principal’s office TODAY.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
abbygirl1994
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:29am
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Glenn.. I thought TX was a great place.. this sounds ominuos??

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- gwssacredcause
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:48am
  I wonder which side this teacher would have fought on had she live during the time of the Battle of Alamo? I think the Mexican Americans in this nation would take offence to this especially the ones in Texas.
  
  Report this comment
JediPatriot
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:29am
The Oath of Allegiance to the United States

The following is the text of the Oath of Allegiance:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
that I will support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;
that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;
that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and
that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
Peace

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- JediPatriot
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:32am
  Losing your citizenship
  
  For a natural-born citizen, losing your citizenship is actually quite difficult. The law prohibits the taking of your citizenship against your will, but there are certain actions a citizen can take which are assumed to be a free-will decision that constitutes a voluntary renunciation of the citizenship.
  
  Moving to another country for an extended period of time does not constitute an act that presumes renunciation. Neither does taking a routine-level job with a foreign government. This stand is quite different from U.S. policy of the past, where even being naturalized in another nation could be seen as renunciation. The sections of the law that pertained to losing ones nationality for many of these cases was found at 8 USC 1482 and related sections.
  
  The U.S. Code does, however, see some acts as creating the possibility of a loss of nationality. When you lose your U.S. nationality, you are no longer under the protection or jurisdiction of the United States. When the United States considers you to no longer be of U.S. nationality, it in effect considers you to no longer be a citizen. Note that these are things you can do that may force you to lose your citizenship. The law also says that these acts must be voluntary and with the intent of losing U.S. citizenship. The ways to lose citizenship are detailed in 8 USC 1481:
  
  Becoming naturalized in another country
  Swearing an oath of allegiance to another country
  And more…….
  
  Report this comment
- RichNGadsden
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 10:00am
  I am not so sure of that unless laws have changed since I saw this happen while stationed overseas. While working in Wildflecken, Germany we had the wives of two fellow servicemen were required to return to the states and spend at least six months in country or suffer the threat of loosing their citizenship. Both were natural born American women and the most overt action they committed was to have their husbands extend their tours in Germany more than once. I must admit that was the only time that I ever heard of that happening during my nine years in Europe.
  
  Report this comment
- JediPatriot
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 4:18pm
  @ RichNGadsden – This is current.
  Peace
  
  Report this comment
Mary Just
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:28am
Further proof that Americans are total cowards void of any dignity or self respect

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- John Pershing
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:35am
  Mary Just – exposed herself as an America-hating liberal.
  
  Report this comment
GodsDotr
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:28am
I took a Spanish class in high school; we never recited the Mexican pledge and I was still able to learn Espanol.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- getmeoutofcalifornia
  Posted on October 18, 2011 at 12:26am
  How long ago was that? I took Spanish in college about 25 years ago and we didn’t have to learn the Mexican pledge or the culture either. In fact, the professor told us that he was teaching Castilian Spanish not the Spanish the Mexicans speak, which has been modified over the years and also includes words from the various languages spoken by the indigenous peoples.
  
  I’m sure it would be different now, however. I live in a part of California that is heavily populated by Mexicans, both legal and illegal. In my particular city, depending on what part of town you live in determines how much “Spanish” is spoken in the classroom. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they are taught the Mexican pledge.
  
  Report this comment
mdlwoods
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:28am
Honor to Brenda who knew it was wrong! Way to stand up for your Country, Brenda! We need a whole lot more kids like you!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
gwssacredcause
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:27am
Miss Brinsdon’s teacher Ms. Santos said she loved Mexico, if she thinks it is so great she should live there and maybe even effect some good changes if she is a upstanding American. A few decades ago America was at the top of literacy, now it is 65th in the world. Among recent high school graduates 700,00 could not read their own high school diplomias. Teachers like this are part of the problem not part of the solution. I wonder how Governor Rick Perry stands on this situtation.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Lovemyusfreedom
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:26am
I cannot believe that there are some who do not believe the teachers union would be involved in this. They have been dumbing our students for years. Take a look at your child’s history book, and it is right there in print, or is it? They do not want kids to feel bad, so lets give them an A for trying, whether they are right or wrong. They are grooming our children to be followers, not leaders. I cannot be the only parent that sees so many kids that are so uncontrollable in my life. The disrespect that show to each other, and to adults and authority. The youth of today have become brain dead, and only want whats good for them, and them only. ADD my AZZ!!! Paddle that rear end, and they will settle down. But no, lets just give them drugs. The teachers, and our government have been taking parental rights away for years, and too many parents sit back and allow it to happen. CONFORM! or go to jail. How many parents have been arrested for spanking THEIR child. As for me, my kids do, and always will respect their elders, and authority. I spanked their butt’s when needed, and you can bet they know their history. I will limit what they see on T.V., and what music they listen to. I have 3 kids on their own, 2 at home. All are well educated, and my oldest is in the military, 28 year old Staff Sargent, who served in Afganistan, and Iraq. The stories he has told me about some he has served with, will send a chill down your spine. Many, are nothing more than mindless drones. LOCK & LOA

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
johninlongmont
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:26am
well this just sounds like it fits right in with Rick Perry’s stance of how to treat illegal aliens displayed during the Republican debates

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Gashouse Gorilla
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:25am
WTF?!? Looks like it’s time for a TEA Party demonstration against this school. The teacher and her superiors need to be fired.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
ReggieRay1
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:24am
Get a rope

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
TXVET48
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:24am
I wonder why the teacher didn’t make the students recite the American pledge and the American anthem in Spanish. That would have satisfied all the requirements.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- getmeoutofcalifornia
  Posted on October 18, 2011 at 12:31am
  Supposedly, the idea was that by learning the culture, the language would come easier. And to learn the culture they had to learn the pledge and anthem. I don’t believe it. As others have said, it’s about indoctrinating students against American culture and to be more accepting and tolerant of other cultures. That way, when it comes time to merge the countries into the North American Union there will be less uproar. And they might just have a point. How many students objected to this indoctrination? One.
  
  Report this comment
Miyegombo Bayartsogt
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:23am
Outrageous! These American kids shouldn’t be reciting the Mexican pledge. No, like all good Americans they should start the day with the Obama song, “Mmmmmmm, mmmmmmm, mmmmmm! Barack Hussian Obama, mmmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmm.”

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Mary Just
  Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:32am
  This is just a side effect when cowardly citizens let 40 million illegals invade their country. Most likely it is to late to save the country. I hope you like living in a Quasi Mexican state.
  
  Report this comment
mdlwoods
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:23am
This is insane! I would hope that the people in McAllen would stand up against this but, and I know this is not “politically correct” but McAllen is a south Texas town, large (if not the majority) Hispanic population. I am sure this will be brushed under the rug, until the next opportunity to pledge allegiance to Mexico arises. I just don’t understand why there is a large Hispanic population who want to keep allegiance to Mexico, the sh—t hole of Central America, and bash the United States which has provided for them and their ancestors for many years. I know this is only a portion of the Hispanic population because I know Hispanic Americans who love THIS country and who understand the problems in Mexico and would never want to return there and would never pledge allegiance to Mexico.

Wake up, McAllen! Go pay a visit to the school board!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- getmeoutofcalifornia
  Posted on October 18, 2011 at 12:44am
  There are, indeed, Mexicans who love this country. Or should I say, Americans of Mexican heritage. My sister-in-law is a 2nd generation American of Mexican heritage. Her family is legal and loyal to the USA.
  
  However, there are vast numbers of Mexicans, mostly illegal, but not all, who hate us because they claim we stole their lands. Their goal is to take it back through immigration. What they are forgetting is that the USA bought the land that is now California, Arizona, New Mexico and part of Utah from Mexico as one of the terms of the treaty to end the Mexican War. Another term of the treaty was forgiveness of the debt Mexico owed to the US. This is not taught in our history classes anymore, however. I took a California History class a few years back and nowhere was it mentioned how the US obtained California; just that it was “won” during the war. The only way I know this is because I pulled my son out of middle school because he was being bullied by the Hispanic kids, and home-schooled him. The curriculum I used taught true American History, not this revised version they are teaching today.
  
  Report this comment
kickagrandma
Posted on October 17, 2011 at 9:23am
Get her fat butt back to mexico where she belongs.

No way, josé! Not in my country, huevona.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.