Flag Day at Sycamore 2023
February 2023
The four of us entered the classroom anxiously or is it nervously awaiting the kids to return from the library.
Ernie was the leader of our mission. George, Gary, and I were there to add moral support. And apparently to answer some questions.
First class was wonderful. Lots of eager kids, with many questions.
Armed with false hopes of another successful interaction, we proceeded to the next classroom with 2 girls as escorts, making sure we got to the right classroom.
All I can say is, I’m glad we had the easy bunch first.
The second group didn’t appear to eager, although they did give us their attention. But something was missing. They didn’t have any questions. Very few shared much. Maybe my expectations were challenged by the previous group.
Hey, their kids, I don’t really expect them to interact… just got spoiled by the first classroom.
So I thought about this after the fact and we just might have to approach this with questions for them in the future. Like the following: Since the red color on the flag stands for courage, what does courage mean to you? Let them hopefully give some answers, but also be prepared to share what that color means to each of us that are at the presentation. The same kind of question for the white and the blue.
Might even be able to dig up a little trivia about the flag. Lots of info on the internet.
But it was a good time.
5 Responses to Flag Day at Sycamore 2023
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I agree that we need to keep the students more engaged with questions in our future presentation.
Ernie
Our first attempt went well and I applaud you for taking the project to the school.
Mary I thought we all did real well considering it was our first attempt to do what Egon had been doing for years. I do like your suggestion of having questions available for the children to respond to. I’m sure it will go smoother next year.
Yes, I agree. But I thought we nailed it in the first class. Felt a little deflated after the second class. But I think the second class is more realistic of the way kids would generally be. It reminded me of the time we agreed to read for Dr. Seuss day. So I picked my favorite one… which was Green Eggs and Ham. Used to read it to my daughter when she was little. Anyways, it went well for the first class. They were kindergarten kids. Then we went on to the 4th grade. UGH… Had to follow a great read by the 4th grade teacher. He had a great book. I guess I should have asked what the ages of who we would be reading to before I picked out my book. Was so glad when the reading was done.
1. One way to get young pupils’ attention at the beginning of U.S. flag programs is to ask them whether they would like to see what the American flag looked like on July 4, 1776, or whether they would like to see what it looked like on June 14, 1777, when the Stars and Stripes became the official U.S. flag. The former flag, called the “Grand Union Flag,” had a field of seven red stripes and six white stripes. The British Union Jack appeared in the upper-left corner (canton). It was the unofficial American flag from December 3, 1775, until June 14, 1777. (Source: “Our Flag.” Joint Committee on Printing. United States Congress. H. Doc. 100-247. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1989. p. 3, https://nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/flag/h_doc_100-247/index.htm). This technique always works for me when I give lectures before pupils because most of them would rather see what the U.S. flag looked like on July 4, 1776. They are shocked to see that the U.S. flag at that time had the British Union Jack in the canton. Afterwards, the kids have multiple questions.
2. Strong evidence shows that Continental Congressman Francis Hopkinson removed the British Union Jack from the canton of the Grand Union Flag and substituted 13 six-pointed stars for the 13 original states. (Source: “Our Flag. p. 1.) Congress’ Marine (maritime) Committee sponsored the U.S. Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777. (Source: “Our Flag.” p. 1.)
3. Scholars now credit Francis Hopkinson as the American flag’s designer. (Source: Leepson, Marc. “Flag: An American Biography.” St. Martin’s Griffin. 2005. p. 33.)
4. The Flag Manufacturers Association of America (FMAA) issued the following Tweet on February 4, 2021:
FMAA@FMAA_USA – Feb 4
#FlagFact: The designer of the American flag was Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey.
FMAA_USA.COM
5. According to the U.S. government, there is no proof that Betsy Ross made the first Stars and Stripes. The story is based on Ross family oral tradition from 1870 — nearly a century after the Revolutionary War. Although Mrs. Ross made flags for 50 years, she made flags for Pennsylvania’s navy during the Revolution. (The Pennsylvania navy’s flag [ensign] was blue with seven red stripes and six white stripes in the upper-left corner. Reproductions of the flag are available online.) Lastly, the so-called “Betsy Ross Flag,” with 13 five-pointed stars in a ring, dates from the early 1790s — not from the Revolution. (Source: “Our Flag.” p. 2.)
6. Betsy Ross was not associated with her eponymous flag until Charles H. Weisgerber painted “Birth of Our Nation’s Flag” for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Sources:
(a) Furlong, William Rea and Byron McCandless. “So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag.” Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. 1981. pp. 116 and 117.
(b) Harker, John Balderston. “Betsy Ross’s Five Pointed Star: Elizabeth Claypoole, Quaker Flag Maker — A Historical Perspective.” Melbourne Beach, FL: Canmore Press. 2005. p. 94.
Submitted by Earl P. Williams, Jr., U.S. flag historian (paleovexillologist)/lecturer