People on both sides of the debate about intelligent design theory -- which posits that certain aspects of life on Earth can't be explained by the combination of random mutation and natural selection because they are "irreducibly complex" -- implicitly acknowledge the problems created by a coercively funded, one-size-fits-all approach to education.
A senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, which promotes intelligent design theory, told The New York Times, "We oppose any effort to require students to learn about intelligent design because we feel that it politicizes what should be a scientific debate." One of the parents who is challenging Dover's decision to inform students about the intelligent design controversy regretted that "there's no way to have a winner here" because "the community has already lost, period, by becoming so divided."
In addition to avoiding the sort of clashes that have torn apart communities such as Dover, the separation of school and state could, paradoxically, foster more rigorous and open discussion of controversial issues in the classroom. I like the idea of incorporating intelligent design into the science curriculum as a way of teaching critical thinking, but I think the treatment should go beyond Dover's lawyer-vetted, four-paragraph statement to include a serious examination of the theory's claims and the rejoinders from its critics.
More generally, I'd like to see a high school curriculum centered around real controversies, not just in science but in history, law, economics and other fields of study. If enough parents felt the same way, a free market in education would offer that approach as one option among many. In a government-dominated education market, by contrast, we get mass- produced curricula and textbooks that are notoriously dull because they're aimed at preparing students for standardized tests without offending anyone's sensibilities.
As for the Pledge of Allegiance, it strikes me as idolatrous, with or without the mention of God. But I might be willing to live with it if I could find a school where the excitement came from intellectual engagement instead of political combat.