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Thursday, October 12, 2006
Man raises issue; school raises flag
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To him, it was a glaring omission.
Donald F. Zwick noticed it every time he drove by Hopkins Elementary School on Dickens Road. Old Glory was nowhere to be seen.
“I can say without a doubt that it has been a long time since the flag has been raised on the flagpole,” Zwick told me in an e-mail. “I got upset about that.”
On Oct. 5, Zwick visited the school to find out why. No one in the office seemed to know who was on first.
Or second.
“My mission was unfilled,” Zwick wrote in an e-mail. “As of today, Oct. 10, the flag has still not been raised.”
What’s the big deal, you ask. After all, it’s just a piece of cloth. A prized symbol, yes. But just that — a symbol. Besides, there’s plenty of ways to honor this country, to show that you appreciate its foundation — faults and all.
For Zwick, a retired arson investigator who lives in Lilburn, this one’s a no-brainer. U.S. public schools ought to display the U.S. flag. No debate.
“Why shouldn’t they?” he asked.
This has nothing to do with blind patriotism. You know the sort. The kind that compels people not to question the actions of a U.S. president just because he’s commander in chief. And on a lighter note, the kind that leads fans of conservative talk radio to call the hosts “great Americans.” Please.
“I’m an ‘in-betweener,’ ” Zwick, 78, told me. “Between World War II and Korea. I am of the generation that always saluted the flag and revered the flag. I don’t see enough flags.”
Where flags fly on campuses has been an issue in some states. This July, state lawmakers in Arizona passed a bill that requires classrooms in public schools, community colleges and universities to display U.S. flags. The state of Florida adopted a similar law two years ago.
When I called to see where Georgia stands on this issue, Dana Tofig, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education, directed me to two state codes. One requires public school superintendents to display an American flag — or an appropriate representation of one — in their offices. As for what individual school campuses do or don’t do, well, it’s a local issue.
But Louise Radloff, the school board member, said there is no issue. Campus flags are “a given,” she said.
The absence of Old Glory at Hopkins made Zwick wonder about a deeper issue — the historical and patriotic literacy of Gwinnett kids. If no one cares enough to raise the flag, how much class time is devoted to dissecting and debating what it represents?
“I don’t think the children are being advised or taught what it means,” he said. “It’s not getting the attention it deserves.”
Pagie Ryals, the principal at Hopkins Elementary, declined comment. Sloan Roach, the district spokeswoman, said the school had flown flagless because of a communication breakdown that had since been resolved.
My telephone rang about noon Wednesday. It was Zwick, who’d just cruised by Hopkins Elementary. A U.S. flag had been run up the flagpole.
Zwick said the flag looked to be shiny and new; nothing like the tattered one he’d seen stashed in the office just last Thursday.
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Old Glory flies like new
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To him, it was a glaring omission.
Donald F. Zwick noticed it everytime he drove by Hopkins Elementary School on Dickens Road. Old Glory was nowhere to be seen.
“I can say without a doubt that it has been a long time since the flag has been raised on the flagpole,” Zwick told me in an e-mail. “I got upset about that.”
On Oct. 5, Zwick visited the school to find out why. No one in the office seemed to know who was on first.
Or second.
“My mission was unfilled,” Zwick wrote in an e-mail. “As of today, Oct. 10, the flag has still not been raised.”
What’s the bid deal, you ask. After all, it’s just a piece of cloth. A prized symbol, yes. But just that — a symbol. Besides, there’s plenty of ways to honor this country, to show that you appreciate its foundation — faults and all.
For Zwick, a retired arson investigator who lives in Lilburn, this one’s a no-brainer. U.S. public schools ought to display the U.S. flag. No debate.
“Why shouldn’t they?” he asked.
This has nothing to do with blind patriotism. You know the sort. The kind that compels people to not question the actions of a U.S. president just because he’s commander in chief. And on a lighter note, the kind that leads fans of conservative talk radio to call the hosts “great Americans.” Please.
“I’m an ‘in-betweener,’ ” Zwick, 78, told me. “Between World War II and Korea. I am of the generation that always saluted the flag and revered the flag. I don’t see enough flags.”
Where flags fly on campuses has been an issue in some states. This July, state lawmakers in Arizona passed a bill that requires classrooms in public schools, community colleges and universities to display U.S. flags. The state of Florida adopted a similar law two years ago.
When I called to see where Georgia stands on this issue, Dana Tofig, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education, directed me to two state codes. One requires public school superintendents to display an American flag — or an appropriate representation of one — in their offices. As for what individual school campuses do or don’t do, well, it’s a local issue.
But Louise Radloff, the school board member, said there is no issue. Campus flags are “a given,” she said.
The absence of Old Glory at Hopkins made Zwick wonder about a deeper issue — the historic and patriotic literacy of Gwinnett kids. If no one cares enough to raise the flag, how much class time is devoted to dissecting and debating what it represents?
“I don’t think the children are being advised or taught what it means,” he said. “It’s not getting the attention it deserves.”
Pagie Ryals, the principal at Hopkins Elementary, declined comment. Sloan Roach, the district spokeswoman, said the school had flown flagless due to a communication breakdown that had since been resolved.
My telephone rang around noon Wednesday. It was Zwick, who’d just cruised by Hopkins Elementary. A U.S. flag had been run up the flagpole.
Zwick said the flag appeared to be shiny and new, nothing like the tattered one he’d seen stashed in the office just last Thursday.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875. Or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
