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I have no idea why President Obama's speech to school children is causing such an uproar.
Do people think he is going to make communists of children through the television screen? Just what is President Obama going to speak about?
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the President will speak about "persisting and succeeding in school." The president will also "challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning." The Dept. of Education invites "students of all ages, teachers, and administrators" to watch the President's address and encourages "educators to help students get focused and inspired to begin the new academic year."
Wow, challenging kids to work hard and value the education they receive- how terrible, how non-age appropriate, how dare educators make a decision about people's children without their consent.
How ridiculous.
By pulling your kid from school or pressuring the school not to show it, you are teaching them- because your political party is not in power, you can disregard or show no respect for the President of this country.
Whether you voted for him or not, or believe in his views or not, you still need to have respect for him. I think the lack of respect for other people is one of the things that is wrong with this country today.
Could you imagine your parents not letting you hear President Reagan or President Bush's speeches to the children of this country?
It didn't happen.
In our school district the middle and high school students are watching live but you can pull your child from that classroom if you wanted to. The elementary school students will watch it tomorrow, they are taping it today to see the age-appropriateness, which I assume it is appropriate for all ages. It is not like the president is going to be dropping F-bombs, I am pretty sure it is rated G.
Instead of pulling your child from a lecture on education, how about using it as a platform to talk to your kids about the speech and what you agreed and disagreed with.
Now, wouldn't that be a novel idea?
I would love to know if you are letting your children hear Obama's speech today and why or why not.
7 years ago
Unfortunately, my little monkey got sick over the Labor Day holiday, but yes my oldest will have watched the President speak today at school.
ReplyDeleteThe way the right way is skewing Obama's speech is ridiculous. Encouraging kids to stay in school and get an education SHOULD be what every parent is telling their kid.
I think people should be more worried about the conservative. What is in it for them to keep kids from getting a college education?
I've always said, the conservative right-wing, corporate bullies want to keep you uneducated and stupid. God forbid you have a mind of our own and make your own decisions.
The higher the education, the more likely that people are moderates and/or more liberal.
My son didn't hear, only because he's 20 months old and doesn't care, anyway.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I am blown away by the controversy this has caused. I voted for Obama, and though I'm not particularly thrilled about his approach to health care reform, I don't think it's bad for the President of the United States to talk about the importance of education to our children. Regardless of party.
I was just thinking about when I was 15, 16, 17 years old, and all I was concerned about was getting out of an hour of class, anyway.
To think that the majority of teenagers are really "brainwashable" (is that a word??) anyway is laughable.
I'm Canadian, so, uh... that would be no. My thoughts from talking to my American friends is that it wasn't so much the speech as it as the fact that material was distributed to the teachers so that they could reinforce and teach whatever message the President was giving.
ReplyDeleteI don't see much problem with this... I did read the handouts and my only issue was that they seemed to be more about Obama than what he was actually saying. I think that to some that does smack of brainwashing because it suggests that you need one specific person in order for you to be successful.
When previous Presidents spoke to classes they didn't distribute teaching materials for before and after the speech to frame it. Some may say that this is smarter, some may disagree.
I wish more parents would allow their kids to hear different opinions rather than trying to shape how they hear it... but that's the reason some had a problem with the teaching material, why couldn't the kids just hear it without having it framed and shaped for them as a teaching moment... we know that when kids get older they reject those teaching moments right off the hop!
But that's just my two cents, Canadian. :)