Washington elementary school replaces Veterans Day with International Day for Tolerance 

A Washington state elementary school decided to replace Veterans Day celebrations with the International Day for Tolerance – and parents aren’t happy about it.  

In the past, Benjamin Rush Elementary School held Veterans Day assemblies featuring songs such as It’s a Grand Old Flag and This Land is Your Land, local media reported. But this year, it will host a “Peace Assembly” on Nov. 15 to commemorate the United Nation’s International Day for Tolerance.  

Instead of patriotic tunes, the Peace Assembly will feature various peace-themed songs such as the “Peacebuilder Pledge Song” and “Namaste.”  

“I’m extremely disappointed and yet not surprised,” one student’s father told local media. “The Veterans Assembly has been a highlight at the school, and one of the few midday assemblies that gathers a fairly large audience of parents to come hear the speakers.”  

The father, who wished to remain anonymous, blamed the school administration for moving “strongly away from pride in our traditions and American history.”  

“We should be taking the time to show our children and our community that we have brave men and women who are willing to stand up and fight for our freedom – and the peace that other places in the world can only dream of,” he added.  

Veterans Day is celebrated on Nov. 11, the day World War I ended, to honor all of America’s military servicemembers. It is estimated the U.S. has more than 18 million living veterans, most from the Vietnam and Gulf Wars.  

Although the Veterans Day assembly was canceled, a school spokesperson said students will still learn about veterans through videos, and will write thank-you notes to the local VA hospital.  

Meanwhile, other public schools in the same district honored veterans by hosting a patriotic concert and giving veterans flowers. Such assemblies are especially important as knowledge of history and civics is at all-time low in America’s public schools.  

According to recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data, just 13% of 8^th-graders are proficient in history. Only 22% meet standards in civics.