Kailey Allen, age 9, gives a brief history of the Pledge of Allegiance on their CD recording, then her classmates in Christine Koukles’s Highly Capable fourth-grade class at Lister Elementary School recite the original Pledge of Allegiance—written in 1892 by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy, according to Wikipedia.
Kirby and Company at AM 570 KVI Talk Radio selected this recording to air on the radio about 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 17, as part of Pledge Friday Class of the Week contest. Koukles nominated her class for the contest by sending in a CD of her class reciting the original Pledge of Allegiance.
AM 570 KVI’s Pledge Friday Class of the Week is a 12-week program that allows the community to recognize the schools, teachers and students who know the importance of teaching children about the heritage of the United States and the significance of liberty and justice for all by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Koukles said, “I have a really great group of kids who do so well if you just guide them. I had them research the history of the Pledge of Allegiance online. I wanted to keep the patriotic theme going in conjunction with the Voting is Cool program and the upcoming elections.”
About 11 a.m. on Friday, Camille Birk, KVI’s promotions coordinator, and a morning show host from KVI will visit Koukles’ class to present a personalized plaque from Trophies2Go and a framed Pledge of Allegiance from Museum Quality Framing. The students will also get goodie bags and food treats.
“It’s a lot of fun and a great way to acknowledge the students and teacher for their efforts,” said Birk.
Kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers can enter their class’s recording in the Pledge Friday Class of the Week by submitting an mp3 online at KVI.com or sending a CD to: Attn: KVI Promotions, Pledge Friday, 140 4th Ave. N, Suite 340, Seattle, WA 98109. Check the KVI Web site at www.kvi.com/contests/contests or contact Camille Birk at 206.404.3052 for more information.
Background:
Three references for historical information:
According to Wikipedia, the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), a Baptist minister. The original "Pledge of Allegiance" was published in the Sept. 8 issue of a popular children's magazine as part of the National Public School Celebration of Columbus Day, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. The original pledge read, "I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
However, controversy continues over whether the author was Francis Bellamy who worked on a magazine for young people that published the pledge or James Upham who worked for the publishing firm that produced the magazine. The pledge was published anonymously in the magazine and was not copyrighted, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
After a proclamation by President Benjamin Harrison, the pledge was first used in public schools on Oct. 12, 1892, during Columbus Day observances. Bellamy thought that the pledge itself and the involvement of children across the country would be a fine show of national solidarity.
The words “my flag” from the original pledge were replaced with “the flag of the United States” in 1923. The words “of America” were added after “United States” in 1924. The U.S. Congress formally included the pledge in the U.S. Flag Code on June 22, 1942. The official name of The Pledge of Allegiance was adopted in 1945, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The last change in language came on Flag Day 1954 when Congress passed a law which added the words “under God” after “one nation.”