Wow.

In the name of educating students about a foreign culture, a teacher in McAllen, Tex., required students in her intermediate Spanish class to memorize and individually recite the Mexican national anthem and pledge of allegiance — but one student objected, catching the attention of the school district and The Blaze, which reported the story this morning.

Fifteen-year-old Brenda Brinsdon refused to complete the assignment and, instead, complained to the teacher, principal and, eventually, with the help of her father, William, the school district superintendent. The response of the teacher? Reyna Santos explained that she grew up in Mexico and loved the country. The response of the principal? Yvette Cavazo told Brinsdon it was part of the curriculum and she should participate. The response of the school district superintendent? School district spokesman Mark May told The Blaze the assignment was no different than memorizing a poem or a passage of Shakespeare.

Oh yes, memorizing a passage from Hamlet is almost exactly like making children memorize and individually recite the Mexican pledge of allegiance. Somehow.

The worst part? The assignment came during “Freedom Week” in memory of the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The assignment day itself was actually Constitution Day, which happens to share a day with Mexico’s Independence Day. So obviously the school prioritized Mexican independence.

Said Brinsdon’s father: “Our kids don’t even know the [American] national anthem and here we are … teaching them to memorize and perform the national anthem for Mexico. I just think it’s so backwards.”

He also objected to May’s characterization of the assignment as just another memorization exercise, saying that that cheapens the notion of a pledge. “You‘re taking their allegiance and their oath from Mexico and cheapening it just as a grade or words [that] don’t mean anything,” he said.

Yep. Not only is it inappropriate to have American schoolchildren pledging allegiance to a foreign country, but by saying it’s no different than a poem you’re degrading the meaning of that pledge. Insulting both to this country and Mexico. A rare feat.