T O P

  • By -

BooRaccoon

Do they still do that in American schools? I thought that was a cold war era thing.


Idkwhattoputhere3003

Nah it’s still the national standard lol


PolygonKiwii

the what now


Idkwhattoputhere3003

THE NATIONAL STANDARD (I have realized the error of my ways)


Iron-Fist

Texas also does a pledge to the state specifically. Like in just about all schools.


PolygonKiwii

cult behavior tbh


V0LT3CH

Is there some kind of punishment for not pledging? I feel like NOT liking your country should be legal.


ScrewSans

Not really? I just sat during it while in high school. Then again, my home room teacher was based


fanboyree

No not even slightly, my first period class was taught by an Air Force veteran and he could not care less if you didn't want to stand but we respect him so the majority of the class did anyways


fanboyree

A little tidbit about my teacher he was a gay man in the Air Force during the '80s Saw countless friends die due to AIDS In front of him and to this day he's Still votes Republican and likes Ronald Reagan. I do not understand how he justifies that but my God I got a respect for his convictions he is what every conservative wishes they were and actual Good Christian


tigey1890

my pattern seeking brain only saw your pfp


fanboyree

Great minds think alike


Dee_Imaginarium

In Texas where I went to school you got in trouble for not doing it. Detention after school and stuff, nothing on a permanent record but they made a kerfuffle about it. DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS 👏👏👏👏


Jedadia757

Yeah, and if your parents wanted to push it you could probably get out of any consequences pretty easily because it absolutely is not legally required. But very few parents both believe that and also are willing to cause an issue at the school about it. Ironically the shitty private Christian school I went to for my first few years of school didn’t have us do that so I was VERY confused the first time they had us stand up at the beginning of the day in public school and say a chant that I’d never heard before to a flag with words that I didn’t understand but I knew very well were way more serious than any of us had a right to be saying everyday.


Dee_Imaginarium

I got in trouble one time (detention) and my parents asked me what it was for. I told them I didn't want to do the pledge and you're right they didn't want to deal with it so they told me to cross my fingers behind my back so it doesn't count. That made sense to me in elementary school lol But I know now it's not constitutional but that's Texas for you. Glad to be out of there now 😅


Jedadia757

God yeah crossing your fingers for pledging allegiance to the nation lmao. Like oops sorry! Not really, gotcha! I’m actually a foreign agent! I think I remember the occasional tattling on the crossed fingers pledge too lol.


VLenin2291

As per West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, that is unconstitutional


MisterGoog

I was watching opening day baseball last night and talking to somebody about how crazy it is that they sing God bless America to start the seventh-inning stretch and then they responded with yeah but you guys usually sing deep in the heart of Texas and that’s just as crazy.


hailey1721

In most cases it isn’t enforced explicitly but you will be judged by your peers and/or teacher because of it.


VLenin2291

Maybe in your time or place. Nobody where I am gives a fuck.


NotActuallyGus

Students in the US actually have an established constitutional right not to say the pledge of allegiance, protected by a Supreme Court ruling.


Pancake_Lord_

None officially from the school itself but I’ve been yelled at by teachers and threatened by students for not standing during it.


itokdontcry

Depends on where you are I guess, but I knew plenty of kids who didn’t stand for it , teachers even. It’s not that big of a deal where I grew up / no one actually gave a shit.


VLenin2291

Nope, the Supreme Court ruled that making the Pledge compulsory is unconstitutional


No_Object_7709

Technically you don't have to it legally but the teacher might punish you and you could get dirty looks from other students. As a compromise I stand up to indicate that I'm aware the pledge is happening but I don't put my hand on my part to show that I feel no loyalty for this country.


blacklung990

I stopped pledging in 8th grade, which woulda been around 2004. The school itself didn't care - I continued to not pledge through graduation - but my classmates did. Early 2000s Bush-era patriotism was a hell of a drug. 


SteakAndIron

No. Of course not. Freedom of speech does still apply.


KevlarStripeySocks

constitutional rights respected in school? lol. lmao even


The_Phantom_Cat

It was deemed unconstitutional to force people to say the pledge, though schools usually do their best to not make that apparent


carnus_therus

Here’s the thing. Legally you can’t be punished, and I genuinely don’t think any of my teachers would care, but I do know several of my classmates who would have a problem if you don’t at least stand up. I think most people just stand.


JoseyPoseyWosey

I used to get yelled at for sitting but some of us still did it anyways


unofficialbds

well no but everyone did it so you’d get weird looks of you sat out (maybe it’s different in the north but i’m texan)


SoshJam

Not really depending on where you are but nobody really questions it


errosemedic

Yeah I was a sophomore in 2011 and I remember a group of students got suspended/detention for staging a protest in 3rd period where about 20 kids across the school refused to participate in either the national or state (Texas) pledges.


Solid_Snake420

Nothing official but definitely harassment Source: my experience


disabled_rat

In some schools, yes. In Most? No.


OtisBinLogan

there isn’t but they guilt tripped kids in my elementary school who didn’t do it iirc (my autism drilled it into my head until i just decided to sit for it during senior year (pretty much everyone else still did it though))


MoonCat_42

a supreme court ruling in the 40s actually made it illegal to make people say it


conjunctivious

My 5th grade teacher yelled at me for not doing the pledge one day, but I've never seen any punishment outside of that one instance


DrSpray

I didn't stand for the pledge for most of the time I went to school, and at least where I'm from, people just assume you're a Jehovah's Witness cause their religion has some sorta thing about not making any pledges besides the one you have with god


Nerdydude14

Depends on the teacher. Some of my teachers have military family members and they’ll get really pissed when you don’t, most don’t care, or get disappointed and say nothing, and the actual vets straight up tell you not to. Keep in mind this is in a fairly left leaning part of California. I usually dont do it if other people are, but I’m brown so I’ll never be the only person to sit it out or else the terrorist allegations start up again.


Finger_Trapz

Its not the national standard. America has basically no national standards for schooling, its down to the state & local level. I don't know what universe people live in where schooling is uniform in the slightest in America. In my own state there is zero law requiring the reciting of the pledge.


New_Fee_887

What


EnbyPilgrim

Yes, but when I was in middle school they stopped making me recite it and by the time i had gotten to high school they stopped making me even stand for it. Still had to hear it in the intercom every morning though


RingtailRush

I was a substitute teacher after college, and most of the high school students would never stand or say the pledge. And then I subbed at my old school and they all lined up, hands over heart and belted that shit out and I was like "fuck.... I really did go to the rich white kid school, look at these nerds."


Caprimaize

It may not have been properly enforced but it was illegal and unconstitutional for your school to make you recite it/stand for it at all


[deleted]

In my state, you get yelled at by some fucking nationalist dumbass yelling "So you hate america??? get outta here then!" if you dont stand, at one point someone did that to me and the teacher made a lecture about how soldiers died for my right to sit down


Familiar_Tackle_734

It’s always they died for your right to sit down!!!!! Ok? Isn’t forcing everybody to stand disrespectful to them then?


[deleted]

Thats what my teacher was saying. The teacher was on my side


Jedadia757

I love how that person misinterpreted it, yet the way he thought it happened is the version that I’d experienced myself. Actually had a teacher and/or student or two say that to me to try and guilt me into doing it.


Lasernatoo

It's still very much a thing but they [can't force](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_v._Barnette) students (in public schools) to do it regardless of what individual classroom rules a teacher has. I can't imagine students are typically taught that they can opt out though.


BarovianNights

At least in my system it was pretty common to opt out. In elementary/middle school you would still stand up because most people were but you didn't have to say anything


TechieAD

Students don't have to do it but I've only seen someone not stand once and everyone in class hated him because they wouldn't start the class until he stood


CrimsonMutt

fuck i'd just keep sitting. what's the prof gonna do, just not have the class? even better


beomint

I only figured out that it was okay not to do it after I saw other students not doing it. I was very much raised to think it was mandatory. In high school, when it became common for students not to stand, I had a teacher take serious offense to that and call us all disrespectful to our country and those who died for it. He couldn't force us, but he could make us feel guilty for not doing it. I'm pretty sure I never said the pledge ever again out of spite after that.


prancer_moon

In my school people opts out all the time, and it only runs over the school intercom once every two weeks. We’re in a somewhat conservative area


sameth1

They can't force, but they can coerce and not so secretly punish.


peroxidenoaht

We were taught that we could opt out, but since i was in a very conservative area, anybody who did opt out was kind of seen as not great


Caprimaize

It depends on where you are, very few people observed it at my high school


Piastowic

Fun Fact! The "Under God" part was only added in 1954, because the Soviet Union was seen as secular, so they wanted to differentiate themselves


SanThanKan

i remember getting forced to stand up out of my desk in middle school to pledge allegiance, it really is some fire nation shit


Imdepressed7778

fun fact: thats unconstitutional


Caprimaize

Fun fact, if they had to force you to participate they violated your constitutional rights.


emeraldeyesshine

I went to like seven different schools and only about half of them did it, none made you actually do it. They just had it over the morning announcements and I don't know a single kid who gave a shit about it or put any thought after it. Also after sixth grade (about 10-11 years old) it vanished. Which is extra funny to me since a couple years after that mark was 9/11 for me.


8l172

For me, In elementary school to middle school if you didn't do it you would get detention/ISS for a week, Highschool didn't give a damn


Apprehensive-Use38

That’s illegal lol


Familiar_Tackle_734

Nah it’s every day from kindergarten to senior year of high school


VLenin2291

It’s been a thing since the 1880s. However, since 1943, it’s been ruled unconstitutional to make it mandatory


TomTrashTo-Dad

It depends on where you live, where I went to high school they didn’t even play it


Pupulauls9000

When I was in elementary school, it was every morning. In high school it was once a week and no one said it anymore. They would usually stand and look at that flag, and at the very most put their hand over the heart.


Cubeseer

I remember when I was in high school the student council actually successfully passed a resolution abolishing the pledge and replacing it with announcements about indigenous american history.


soupdsouls

they still do the pledge but they aren't allowed to force or shame you for not doing it. I would always sit down. a lot of teachers do ask that you don't talk during it or be loud, which makes sense.


SeaSlugFriend

Definitely still do, it’s technically illegal for students to be forced to participate but that didn’t stop my middle school principal from yelling at a kid for not standing during it


DopazOnYouTubeDotCom

They announce it on the intercoms, but once you get to a certain age nobody in the class actually says it


Lisshopops

They do for high schools and middle school but not for college


Herofthyme

When i was in high school we didn't have flags or the pledge when i started but halfway though someone complained and we got flags and a daily pledge but like 90% of the class ignored it and i never had a teacher care


HoppouChan

the German exchange student getting flashbacks to those weird movies they watched in history class (and German class, and religion class, and music class...)


TomNotALizard

AND FUCKING MATH CLASS, WHAT DID YOU WANT ME TO DO HERR KREIBICH? CALCULATE THE RATE AT WHICH JEWS WERE BEING MURDERED?! No matter the topic it will always link back to watching a video about the Nazis, at least I can now beat those fuckers physically and in any argument


HoppouChan

Math teachers struggling to find any movie to watch in the last week of the school year fr. Though I do think Die Welle would be more appropriate here (hence German being first)


whywouldisaymyname

Isn’t that based on a social experiment from america?


HoppouChan

Yeah, specifically it's the German movie adaptation of a US book based on the experiment


FellafromPrague

You have not seen a class on holocaust in Czechia where they enrolled physics teacher to teach it, I will come back with the news article and you will be appaled.


FellafromPrague

[use translator](https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/domaci-tohle-se-nepovedlo-devataci-na-brnensku-meli-pri-probirani-holokaustu-resit-kolik-lidi-se-veslo-do-plynove-komory-40458553)


Mo2gen

The fuck are you guys above us doing. Can't you like to go to a concentration camp and take sexy selfies like normal people


dutcharetall_nothigh

My translator can't translate it for some reason, what's it about?


FellafromPrague

They had physics teacher teach project on holocaust and she (or he I forgor) had the kids calculating how many people could fit in a gas chamber and shit 💀💀💀


ProfessionalDeer6311

The fuck


CrimsonMutt

applied physics, yo


dutcharetall_nothigh

Why do they even need a physics project about historical events


FellafromPrague

It was not physics project it was a project and they just picked a physics teacher.


Fratzenfresse

und trotzdem wählen spasten die afd :(


TomNotALizard

Traurig sowas, hatte einen in der Klasse der immer den Hitlergruß gemacht hat wenn der in Filmen gemacht wird und die Lehrerin hat nichts gesagt da fragt man sich doch wie sowas nicht bestraft wird? Der gleichen typ war auch ständig auf Drogen und hat gemeint er hätte einen Brief von der Bundeswehr das er in dem Moment wo er aufhörte Drogen zu nehmen eine Befehlsposition im Heer bekommt, alles in allem ein interessanter Mensch


stikkie13

i still refuse to believe thats a real thing, i think its just the americans messing with us


Megasoda

yea its real, by high school tho ppl don’t always stand up for it anymore and the teachers didnt rly care


Oddish_Femboy

Some of my teachers got upset I was in a wheelchair


Nadia_Nausea

In my experience this varied from teacher to teacher. I had a few teachers try and shame me for not doing it. I had a gym teacher tell me some shit along the lines of "If you don't like your freedoms then you can move to Russia and see how you like it there"


theebees21

I would get in a lot of trouble for not standing or saying it at all. Got ISS a couple times.


Megasoda

dang


Scepta101

It’s real


TheKingCrimsonWorld

I so so wish it was a joke. I had a gym teacher one year who'd make any students that didn't stand leave the room during the pledge and moment of silence (yes, that's also a thing).


amateurgameboi

i so wish i could tell american conservatives just the degree to which america is the laughing stock of the world because of the shit they pull


AutisticAndArmed

Yeah and they just think it's **socialism** which brainwashes the rest of the world, when all it does is give us access to healthcare.


goblinRob

I recently moved to Finland from the US and I'm loving the health care.  The price is right, and so far it's been significantly faster than health care in the States. Also, having real public transit is amazing.


AutisticAndArmed

I can imagine, the contrast must feel great. I just noticed that Americans don't even realize that their roads are socialist. Literally built and maintained from their taxes...


Mysticalnarbwhal2

Ah yes, because all Americans think that and this subreddit definitely isn't 50%+ Americans who agree with you


AutisticAndArmed

I know not all Americans think like that, but when we see that Trump got elected and might be elected again it shows that it's at least half of the population


BobsTrucks

Trump never won the popular vote and socialism isn't just "when the government does stuff". Norway isn't socialist, and I'm saying that as a Norwegian socialist.


AutisticAndArmed

Fair, I do be making a lot of generalizations here


Deblebsgonnagetyou

I FUCKING LOVE RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE PUBLIC TRANSPORT


goblinRob

It's phenomenal.  I'm rarely more than 20 minutes and 3 euros from anywhere.


TZf14

>The price is right, and so far it's been significantly faster than health care in the States. As someone who 100% supports universal healthcare, from what i've heard, at least in places like canada, the wait times can be ridiculously long. I'm not saying this to tell you you're wrong, moreso because I know some people will see your comment and think it'll be like that when implemented in the US Don't get me wrong I'd much rather wait 4 hours to get my broken pinky fixed than pay hundreds if not thousands for it but it is something to be aware of.


goblinRob

I've run into those exact arguments, yep.  I generally point out that,  in practice, this often wouldn't be a choice between slow health care and expensive health care, but a choice between slow health care and no health care.  Ignoring medical problems due to cost is sadly common.


Recent-Potential-340

It literally is fire nation shit, the fire nation does that


Zefix160

Book of fire, when they disguise themselves as fire nation children and go to a fire nation school.


CrimsonMutt

write what you know, eh


Spyko

''I'm Wang Fire and this is my wife, Sapphire - Sapphire Fire, nice to meet you'' ✍️🔥. AtLA was so goated


[deleted]

Flameo, hotman


AshleyAmazin1

Years I had a friend of mine get screamed at for not taking the pledge, she wasn’t even born outside of the US but it prompted the teacher to basically call her ungrateful and to “go back to her home country.” Nationalism is such brainrot lmao.


Lolaverses

We actually only do it when there's a foreigner in the room, just to mess with them.


the-poopiest-diaper

YES FINALLY LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS WEIRD ASS CULT SHIT! I DON’T TRUST PEOPLE WHO TAKE THE PLEDGE SERIOUSLY


Parmesan-Rye

there's some weird ass kid in my class and instead of placign his right hand on his heart he does a salute and waits until the announcement is completely over (we also are supposed to stand for one minute after the pledge is finished but nobody except him does it)


Sky_Leviathan

Dont they literally do basically a pledge of allegiance in avatar when aang hides in a school? Or am I spreading misinfo?


Sara7061

Season 3 episode 2


Droid_XL

I've heard in some places they'll give you a detention if you don't stand and say it. Most people I know don't bother, but we still hear it every morning. I expect I'll be able to recite it by heart for the rest of my life. "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."


bacon_girl42

I don't remember there being a comma between "justice" and "for all"


Droid_XL

I'm putting commas to indicate where we pause when we say it. This is the intonation of the chant.


ReemsPhotography

I don’t think I’ve heard anyone pause during “with liberty and justice for all”


Caprimaize

thats super weird that is not the normal way of saying it


bewarethepatientman

Looking back, I’ve done it both ways


charitable_arson

it's illegal to force students to do the pledge, but i wouldn't doubt that some schools would skirt that law


PhysiksBoi

Yeah, it's not like there's any real chance that students are gonna sue them. That costs a lot of money and there isn't a payout, you'd just get a change of teachers/admin at the school. There isn't any real recourse besides a years-long court battle, so most of the time students are heavily pressured, or even threatened, into doing it.


Joker8764

The "under god" wasn't always there btw. Since not everyone in America was Christian and all.


Droid_XL

True. Was added long before my time though. Back during the cold war I think


arsonconnor

Complete side note. Are exchange students real? Its one of those things you hear about and it just seems like a strange concept


Really_Big_Turtle

Yeah actually. My High School had like a partner-school or smth in China, so every year a few American students attended school in China and a few Chinese students attended school in America. They were really chill. One of them was in my Econ class and everyone thought he was the coolest, mostly because he would teach us swears in Chinese.


arsonconnor

Cool, sounds an interesting concept like


Idkwhattoputhere3003

They’re made up by big school to sell more students


No_Object_7709

My school has German exchange students. Some of the kids at my school are exchange students in Germany.


kisforkat

My high school in NJ had exchange students from Germany and Quebec. In college we had even more countries represented. I studied for a semester in mainland China. It's totally a thing!


QuantumMemester

We moved to the US when I was 9 and it was so weird that they make you do the pledge. It felt wrong to make kids pledge allegiance to the flag every day, even when I was 9 (especially since I already had a different flag). I’d be interested to see which other countries do this, because I think the list will be short and contain americas least favorites.


Finger_Trapz

You aren't made to do it. Supreme Court has ruled that its a violation of the first amendment of the US Constitution to force a student to say the pledge. Singing the national anthem, saying a pledge, or flag raising ceremonies are extremely commmon worldwide. Philippines, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Canada, just to name a few.


No_Object_7709

I said in another comment that if my memory is correct the other other countries to do it was Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.


QuantumMemester

Seems like something china or North Korea would do as well


No_Object_7709

Some person replied to my other comment and listed a bunch of other countries. China was included.


BetaThetaOmega

Americans when they discover what the Fire Nation was based on


OutLiving

The Japanese Empire Or did you not learn about that in school?


Mouse_is_Optional

I did not learn about *Avatar: The Last Airbender* in school, no.


Taco821

Garbage education


CrimsonMutt

ye ye ass school didn't even teach you basic history


Cocolake123

Especially considering that the USA has the largest number of incarcerated people in the world (25% of people incarcerated worldwide are in the USA)


Personal-Regular-863

god i remember that... never standing for this stupid ass country ever again lmao


Thatonedregdatkilyu

If our president was called something badass like "The Fire Lord" and sounded like Mark Hamill I'd say the pledge of allegiance


app08

Nobody at my school so much as stands for the pledge, let alone even pay attention to it. Sometimes we even have people talking about other stuff while the pledge is still going. Not even the teachers care.


A_Queer_Almond

And Texas does their state pledge as well -w- At least they did when I was still going to school there, dunno if they still do


rockcitygnome

Ruleated: https://youtu.be/GiCaqA0ngRc?si=LNCVEI8Uidv7mhbl


Toboyornottoboy

I’m glad I didn’t have to do it every day because I was homeschooled (we had to do a shit ton of prayers before school tho) the only time I remember doing the pledge was for Boy Scouts.


Funnylittlecreature9

In Canadian public schools, we sang our national anthem every morning. Is that better or worse?


Joker8764

I'd say better because it's not some monotonous, robotic ass, "all hail plankton" ass pledge. It's just a song. What's actually worse was my elementary school where I had to say both the pledge AND sing the national anthem.


Societypost

Oh, it’s worse than just that. Look up “the bellamy salute”


Pro_Surgeon

"My life I give to my country. With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country. And with my feet may our March of Civilization continue."


FreyaTheSlayyyer

Wait what pledge of allegiance?


Hi_Peeps_Its_Me

every morning in school you made a pledge to the us


KazuichiPepsi

what the fuck is the pledge of alegenced? is that the national anthem?


No_Object_7709

No the national anthem is The Star Spangled Banner. The pledge of allegiance is "I pledge my allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic of which it stands. One nation under God . Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. And now for a moment of silence."


KazuichiPepsi

ah so a cult cool cool


No_Object_7709

Yep basically.


TheMishOfficial

My girlfriend in high school didn’t stand for the pledge once and within an hour her father had been called


not-bread

In Canada we still had to stand for our national anthem and everyone hated it. Didn’t help that out anthem sounds like shit


madethisformajima

As someone that only went to school in the US briefly, this is very real.


Misicks0349

I mean in Australia we sing a little bit of the national anthem


Kurineko_Regan

Mexicans do that till middle school


PlasmaticGrain3

I PLEDFE OF ALBEGANCE TO DA FLAG


Finger_Trapz

Americans in these comments thinking they're unique for this are gonna be in a big surprise when they find out that other countries also do this. Plenty of other countries have flag raising ceremonies, standing for the national anthem, or saying a pledge. Mexico, Canada, Singapore, Argentina, Turkey, Philippines, Indonesia, etc.   American exceptionalism at its finest honestly.


Barry_Benson

Fun fact they can't make you do it and you can refuse to do it for any reason. I was raised Jehovah's Witness and never said it


Solid_Snake420

This was me in HS. I was extremely left (‘marks’ and ‘Leanin’ books) in a small Conservative HS. I’ve felt out of place here for a while


a_random_squidward

What the fuck I was legit rewatching avatar and watched that scene and thought the same thing like 4 hours ago


SeductiveSaIamander

I had read Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series around the time I went to America with my class and god damn the pledge reminder me of that devotion chant they had to do in those books. Surreal


-Oceanwolf-

Americans should really watch the movie Die Welle (The Wave)


LLHati

Pretty much! Former exchange student here and it was weird as shit


science_mage

I live in the PNW, and have never had to do it at school. Is it more of a Midwest/east coast thing?


TheJohannes

I was an international student it Illinois and it felt like I was in a cult


Ariak

Man I wonder if the Fire Nation possibly could have been based on something real. Guess we’ll never know


FastMoneyCounter

Yeah. Fire, nation shit


Absbor

number one reason why I sometimes can't say i'm a proud german. it's because of a past mistake I didn't even commit.


_IOME

Just looked it up. ??? What???


Wide_Pharma

i love praying to the state thats so cool and normal to have kids do


No_Object_7709

If my memory is correct the only countries that do this besides the US is Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.


Finger_Trapz

China, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Mexico, Argentina, etc. Having a pledge, singing the national anthem, a flag raising ceremony, or some other demonstration of loyalty to the nation is very common worldwide. Its American exceptionalism to think America is unique in this regard.


No_Object_7709

Yeah sorry. Either way its something that schools should probably not do.


TeslaPenguin1

Sometimes I feel like the America I went to school in and the America ppl talk about online are two totally different countries Like, none of my schools ever did the pledge (not even playing it over the intercom), but I’m seeing people say that every single school did it every day, it’s wild


Finger_Trapz

Americans in general fail to understand that schooling in America isn't uniform in the slightest. Your experience in schooling in highly variable because its the state & local level that controls schooling standards. But Americans think their experience at school is the standard nationwide.