Students get failing grades for not leading the Pledge of Allegiance "properly"

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When the Pledge of Allegiance is read at West High School, Derek Giardina leaves two words out: “under God.”
It is a personal choice for the 17-year-old junior, who says he is uncomfortable with a religious proclamation within the oath of fealty to America. However, his personal views came into conflict with the school recently.
Derek Giardina is part of Shauna Baker’s speech and debate class this quarter. Students in the class are charged with the responsibility to read the daily announcements, and the pledge, over the loudspeaker to everyone at the school. Reading the announcements is a graded assignment.
In early October, the third time he had read the announcements, the Wolf Pack junior omitted “under God” and was marked down for doing so.
“I’m failing because of it,” Derek Giardina said in an interview Oct. 28.
He didn’t find out that Baker had given him a poor grade for the assignment until his mother, Tammy Giardina, went online to look at her son’s grades two weeks later. Tammy Giardina immediately emailed Baker.
“He will not be allowed to do the bulletin unless he does the Pledge of Allegiance properly,” she said Baker wrote to her in response.
Derek Giardina said that after his mother’s email exchange, the teacher spoke to him privately.
“She had told me, if we don’t say the pledge properly, we’ll get suspended and kicked out of the class,” he said.

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“When you’re leading the pledge, you’re representing the school,” Strube said in an interview Monday . “I would say it’s not appropriate to leave it out when you are leading it for 2,000 people.”
Strube said that student privacy laws prevented him from speaking directly about Derek Giardina’s case, but in general, if students feel uncomfortable saying “under God,” they can get an alternate assignment.
“I’ve spoken to Shauna Baker about this, and she gives students that option up front. It’s not done after the fact,” Strube said. “When you accept that assignment, you are accepting to read the pledge how it is written.”
Derek Giardina admitted that Baker offered him another assignment when she spoke with him privately, but he rejected the alternative.
“I felt like she wouldn’t grade me properly,” he said, adding that reading the announcements was a more objective way to earn a good grade.

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