Mr. President Goes Back to School: A Controversial Issue?
by Adam BaldwinToday, President Obama delivers his speech to American students after several days of controversy due to its companion U.S. Department of Education (ED) Lesson Plan.
Count me among those who find a U.S. President delivering a speech to students–especially one encouraging them towards academic responsibility and excellence as a means to productive adult citizenship–among the more innocuous, and potentially beneficial activities of the Office.
Appreciating yesterday’s early release of President Obama’s speech and having now read it in context, I would heartily maintain that opinion, were it not for the ED’s controversial lesson plan.
FYI:
Part I, Sec. 1905 of the ED’s General Provisions: ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION states:
PROHIBITION AGAINST FEDERAL MANDATES, DIRECTION, OR CONTROL:
Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Federal Government to mandate, direct, or control a State, local educational agency, or school’s specific instructional content, academic achievement standards and assessments, curriculum, or program of instruction.
That raises some questions:
Is what the White House and ED submitted to teachers merely a suggestion for a lesson plan, or is it considered a mandated part of the curriculum?
If it is mandated at the school level, will districts potentially lose any NCLB funding if the lesson plan is not completed?
If not, can schools still mandate students to participate in the lesson plan?
If so, at what cost–in both classroom hours and subsequent elimination of otherwise state-mandated curriculum–will be the result of the ED’s lesson plan?
Is the lesson plan in any way controversial? (A rhetorical question.)
If a district unilaterally deems it uncontroversial, will the district automatically be exempting itself from any laws requiring equal time for varying viewpoints?
Are Districts legally and/or ethically required to establish and enforce standardized criteria on how teachers shall base their decision to show the speech and implement the lesson plan?
Will written consent be required from parents prior to any future screenings of the president’s address and/or participation in the lesson plan?
If teachers do show the speech and use the lesson plan, how will the teachers present them in a consistent, district-wide manner?
Obviously, controversy stems from the message, not the messenger.
Ideological and political partisanship and “cult of personality” persuasions aside, once duly elected, who the President is is not controversial in and of itself. Nevertheless, what a President says may indeed be controversial, especially when addressed to a captive audience of ideologically and politically naïve youths.
The trouble with all this arose because the materials in the ED’s lesson plan are an integral part of the president’s message, and the fact that it has already been necessarily revised (post-dissemination) proves it was in fact controversial.
That the ED and its recipient, undoubting education professionals do not seem to appreciate this distinction (and parents’ natural concerns) perhaps illustrates how the quest for intellectual conformity in public education–not to mention this particular predetermination to accept a federal government lesson plan–exemplifies a pervasive and discriminatory injustice that runs contrary to all pretense to freedom of conscience, speech and thought in modern academia.
Debates are fairly presented when opposing views are inherently present in the debate.
Therefore, congratulations and thanks, Mr. President. Your speech and its ED lesson plan have inspired ‘schoochildren’ [sic] and our body politic to further, fairly and openly address controversial subject matters and debate them in the arena of ideas.
Or, as Jonah Goldberg once profoundly wrote:
“Unity Is Overrated: What’s so bad about partisanship?”
But, if there is one thing that is certainly uncontroversial in the president’s speech today, it is his close to our Nation’s students: “God bless you, and God bless America.”
May God bless you Mr. President.
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185 Comments
For those who have read the speech, does anyone else find it ironic that he's basically going to promote conservative ideals? Hard work and responsibility, what's that about?
I agree. I think the speech is a fairly good one (too much me though). It was the lesson plan that went with it that creeped me out.
I agree for the most part with Mr. Baldwin, expect for one major point:
It is not the President's job to lecture my kids on responsibility. It is MINE.
Oh, and another thing:
WHY SHOULD MY KIDS LISTEN ABOUT HARD WORK AND TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FROM A MAN WHO HAS NEVER DONE EITHER??????
I have to agree with Aggie, it's very inappropriate for the president to assume that it's his place to tell my kid he needs to be responsible. It just sounds like more meddling by the government in affairs it has no business touching.
Adam,
you sound like a nice person. I would think that a President's speech would be pretty innocuous, if not good, if I did not have experience with political types. Political types with school children are especially dangerous. They take all kinds of liberties with the content of their speeches. They do everything from "hug" the world to "hand out unicef boxes."
Politicians of any party are nothing but tax collectors. They only differ on what they wish to spend your money on. They do not differ on how much they want to pay themselves or how much they love to listen to themselves speechify.
I say that we should end this terrible tyranny of allowing these people to directly communicate with our children, grandchildren and young relatives.
I agree totally with Mr. Baldwin. It was the accompanying lesson plan that freaked me out.
I'm old. And my parent's did NOT say, "It's not Kennedy's job to lecture my daughter on physical fitness, it's ours." Neither did I say (when Bush talked to my kids about avoiding drugs) "It's not George's job to talk to my kids about the evils of self medication. It's mine."
If someone gives your children information or an opinion that does not preclude you from either reinforcing it or telling them something else. Your children are going to hear things from people that don't agree with what you want them to believe. (Especially if your kids are in public schools.)
Well, with this statement I do concur.
Get the Federal Government out of schools and the schools out of the Federal Government.
My high school senior posted the following question on Facebook:
Anyone pumped for Obama's school spirit speech????
He posted it at 11PM on a school night, and already has 37 replies from fellow students, both pro and con.
These kids are THINKING!
Here was my comment to them…
I'm SOOO proud of you! This is a good opportunity tomorrow to analyze the concept of propaganda and rhetoric. The text of the speech was released tonight. The President uses the word "I" 56 times. He uses the word "Country" 3 times. Pay attention, everyone…..
With parental involvement, there is hope.
Yep….start with abolishing the Department of Education.
Drudge had a link to an article from the Washington Examiner this morning saying that when George H.W. Bush addressed school children Congress (Dem controlled) held hearings on it.
Look, I don't care if he sits down and talks about washing your hands, working hard and staying focused. I think it is his job to show the children in this country that he is thinking about them (now is he really thinking about them when he decided to stick them with paying off 10 trillion in debts, probably not). But I can't say that I mind him telling kids that they shouldn't aspire to be the next contestant on the "Real World".
BTW – Adam, can't wait for the new Season of "Chuck"!
The irony isn't lost on me that the POTUS is telling kids that there are no shortcuts to success given that he DID ram through a stimulus bill without anyone reading it (only to sit on his desk several days while on vacation) and TRIED to do the same with a healthcare bill before the August recess. Talk about "do as I say, not as I do."
Just curious, were you concerned when Nancy Regan did her "Just say No" campaign
Thank Adam, for the well-written article. Good questions! 'Hero of Canton', well said Jayne….(Firefly ref)
I look forward to seeing more of your writing….
Hey get back to Uncle Dan's daycare the kids are running wild
And stop feeding them all that sugar.
Maybe I'm wrong, but we have no idea what the first speech looked like–the one that wasn't included with the "Lesson Plan." It would have been quite easy to sanitize the speech and take out all the "suspect" rhetoric after there was apparent outrage.
To now say: "oh well look at how harmless this is" seems disingenuous at this late date. The new and improved version of the speech is the direct result of all the outrage, I would bet. This would be a good thing, no?
Well, speaking for myself, my father did not wish for his kids to watch it, and the school provided an alternative to watching it. I do recall there was no lesson plan attached to the speech, though.
I agree with you completely. The speech was fine, it's not a bad thing to encourage kids to study and do well in school (although kindergarteners probably didn't understand much) but the questions and lesson plan thing was just creepy.
Also, I'm very glad "Chuck" is coming back, I can hardly wait to see it!
My problem with this whole subject is the agenda that has since been removed from the Department of Education website that went along with the president's speech. "What can I do to help the president, "How does the president inspire us?????" That is beyond creepy. How about that stupid "I pledge" video. We pledge allegiance to our country, not the person. Everytime this administration gets caught, ie, whitehouse.gov and fishy e-mails, speaking to a captive audience of what Rush Limbaugh calls "skulls full of mush" and this communist thug, van jones, they have to backtrack. I would like to see the original speech the messiah was going to give. You know it was totally revamped in order for his supporters to say, "see, it's a good message to students, blah blah blah…., Well, fine. Just leave your hands off our kids. Let parents decide what is best for them. People are waking up to what is happening to our country. All I can say is God, please help us.
P.S. Adam, we miss you on the Firefly boards.
Thank you a well reasoned article. I, for one, am no fan of the agenda of this administration. But I can isolate the POTUS' address, "stay in school, work hard, be a good person", from an agenda. I just read part of the speech and fail to see a specific political agenda and along these lines, I don't see the problem. The Department of Education, directing a curriculum, yes I have a big problem with that. (In fact, my opinion is the Dept of Ed should be completely out of the business of local education, meaning elementary and high school, if not eliminated entirely) The problem is they sent out that suggested lesson plan, and tainted, despite the eventual retraction, what looks like statements that people from across the political spectrum can get behind. In short, if they hadn't asked those questions in a lesson plan, "what is the president asking of me, what can I do to help the president, etc" this should have been a non-issue, whether conservative or liberal, Rep or Dem. Those are the subtle undertones of indoctrination that I have a problem with. And that bell has been rung. Unfortunate. In the speech, the President talks of taking advantage of the eduction opportunity. The President can't take a positive advantage of an opportunity to address the students without an agenda, because of the "lesson plan" memo.
Hi Adam, your point is taken, and reasonable. We must put this speech in context to whose giving it, Barry’s innocuous speech to school kids today in my opinion is the proverbial camel’s nose under the tent, the beginning. It’s creepy, like Orwell’s 1984 creepy, and is indeed the modus operandi of a leftist dictator not a President of the USA, we’ll see. In further context and we must belabor this point, this is a guy that thinks Van Jones is okay, Reverend Wright is a misunderstood uncle, Bill Ayers has a point, so my suspicions are not just paranoia but founded in hard evidence, Barry cannot be trusted with our children, I hope I’m wrong?
If parents don't like any parts of the message, perhaps it's a good opportunity to teach the children why he is wrong on any of those points?
Hold on here! I enjoy Adam Baldwin's entertainment myself but on this I do not agree.
The basic idea that an inspirational speech is good isn't wrong but it is simply not the place of a school to provide such speeches. They are supposed to be educating our children PERIOD.
They should not be feeding children. They should not be baby-sitting children. They should not be trying to provide healthcare functions (outside of emergency first aid).
THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO SIMPLY EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN.
Putting aside the clear ideology that some put out there regarding how they want to get em while they are young and impressionable – - the schools are heard to complain that they can not even do the basic job of education. I have heard them complain that even the base Standards of Learning are too difficult. They are always crying they don't have time or resources and yet they keep doing side things like this.
No… I say get your basic job done well THEN maybe we can start looking at extra activities.
I was still in school myself then.
My issue was with the set of "materials" that came form the Dept. of Education that had the line: "Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president."
That was changed to: "Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short‐term and long‐term education goals."
Quite a difference. I think the speech as it stands is fairly innocuous, but isn't it interesting that what should have been a relative non-event, has turned into a firestorm, because of, wait for it….
Arrogance- yes that is certainly involved
Oblivious- Absolutely, but we're still not quite there yet
Out of Touch- We have a winner.
What surprises me most about this whole thing is not that people objected, that is completely appropriate, but that the the folks in D.C. are so out of touch with the real world that they weren't expecting anyone to complain. Um, Hello! Have you been paying any attention of the last month to anount of people who are seriously PO'd at Washington right now?
The answer is, of course, they're not aware and having really been paying attention. But it's this sort of business as usual, nothing to see here move along attitude that attracting a lot of people who usually don't give a damn about politics into the arena. And they are not happy with what they are seeing.
I have said before: Obama should have stressed the responsibility of the choices we make in friends and mentors. He should have "confessed" that he embraced people who expresses hate and revenge, and that it shaped his life. He didn't of course, nor will he. He should have "washed his own hands" before taking on the sanctimonious role of Preacher…..His choice of mind shapers has led us to this point in history…and sadly, he wil not or cannot(?) back down from his determination to promote his Liberation Theology. We'll see on Wednesday night just who is his puppeteeer…..or if he is just (left) winging it.
I have said before: Obama should have stressed the responsibility of the choices we make in friends and mentors. He should have "confessed" that he embraced people who expresse hate and revenge, and that it shaped his life. He didn't of course, nor will he. He should have "washed his own hands" before taking on the sanctimonious role of Preacher…..His choice of mind shapers has led us to this point in history…and sadly, he wil not or cannot(?) back down from his determination to promote his Liberation Theology. We'll see on Wednesday night just who is his puppeteeer…..or if he is just (left) winging it.
This speech is not given in good faith. The President already demonstrated this prior to the scrubbed speech.
The exact moment that the administration planned to ask kids how they could support this President was the exact moment that any speech O plans to give, regardless of content, becomes inappropriate.
He continues to violate our trust and people think nothing of it. Everything the man does is one red flag after another.
Do you really want this man who appoints people like Van Jones and Dr. Zeke "babies are not as valuable as 10-year olds" Emanual talking to our children about anything?
My daughter is not listening to the President's speech to students because, New york State, the fourth or fifth most populous state, don't start school till tomorrow. Great planning there by the White House. '
Secondly, she attends a private high school, so the faculty aren't slaves to the federal Dept. of Education.
Thirdly, she's pretty smart, and so are most of her school mates that I've met. I don't believe any of the would fall for propaganda speech, regardless of how stupid the current administration thinks they are.
And lastly, the content of today's speech has been released and its pretty bland, garden variety blab, work hard, stay in school, blah, blah, blah.
Does anyone seriously believe that was the original plan when this idea was cooked up? This is the most ideologically driven administration I've ever seen. They eat, sleep and breath propaganda. They play the MSM like a harp from hell. I have yet to see a single action that hasn't been focus group tested six ways to Sunday to maximize their political advantage. I don't doubt for a second their original plan was something like "go home tonight and ask your parents if they support our cap & tax plan, and if they so 'no' ask them why they hate the planet, and want to deny you your future." And "tell your parents to call their congressmen and demand they vote for health care reform. If they say 'no,' ask them why they hate the poor."
But then they got over confident, and started tipping their hands. I'm betting they back pedaled so fast it made the teleprompter dizzy. And the best they can salvage is "why would any one be upset at this bland stuff, the opposition must be nuts."
Perhaps the President should have been a bit more blunt in his address to the nation's kids: "Some Children Moved to Tears as Obama, in Nationally Televised School Address, Reminds Students of Their Duty to Pay Back Massive Federal Debt" http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/09/some-children...
President Obama (and candidate Obama, before the election) regularly made promises he had no intention of keeping: transparency? What's that? Fiscal responsibility? Don't make me laugh. Remember, this is the man who, during the campaign, twice looked the nation in the eye and promised a net cut in federal spending. Saying words to soothe conservatives in his education address is just more of the same.
(FWIW, I have no problem with the President addressing students. Like Adam, it was that "Dear Leader" lesson plan that bugged me.)
Which ever way the wind blows presidency. Comrade sends the message to our young people to stay in school and graduate , they'd better, he will leave them with TRILLIONS of dollars of debt. His message to voters , vote democrat and Uncle Sugar will take care of you , don't worry about the work hard part.
i'll take the closing prayer one step further: may those who are deaf, hear and may those who are blind, see.
may god bless those who seek to protect and defend a free america.
I sincerely believe this is not the speech Obama was going to give before the controversy regarding his school speech began. Yes, I do have a problem with this speech for a variety of reasons – the lesson plans being one. According to Byron York, when President Bush addressed the school children, Congressional Dems held hearings about it.
By the way, as a former public school teacher, (one year as a "permanent sub" for K-12) this is a total waste of time. Anyone who supports this speech should volunteer with a K-4th class during the speech. That way, they can help control the squirmers, observe the kids' attention span, and get an idea of what a waste of school time this is. With kids, short, sweet, and to the point gets the lesson taught.
Why Adam Baldwin, while not as giant a genius as Krauthammer, has a pretty big brain.
The education departments should be providing a broadly based curriculum that covers all core subjects (english, maths, science etc), and as long as pupils are coming away with a good basic knowledge of these subjects then that should be the extent of there involvement.
Forcing impressionable children to listen to political propoganda is fundamentally wrong, just as forced religious propoganda is.
Children are a lot smarter than people give them credit for. They can smell b/s from a mile away.
Democrats just plain suck…..
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/b...
Shortcuts to success – like going from state senator (already unearned) to President in about 4 years by way of the US Senate, without having to do anything but vote "present" in that seat?
Many of them can smell BS but not all…by a long shot…
Mr. Baldwin,
My Bodyguard – is one of my favorite films; anytime I smell a pencil eraser; the whole flick runs threw my brain. Thank you for your performance in it. A politicians desire to vote on controversial subjects is inversely proportional to the date of an election. 45 legislative Days from now we will know either way if Obama's philosophy has failed, regardless of this hitler youthesque attempt at propoganda. Hold on. Remember Churchill – "When your are in hell, keep going!"
Greg
Saul Alinsky is your answer. Don't speak outside of your audiences knowledge. He cloaks himself in conservaive sounding rhetoric so people who do not follow very closely think he's decent chap. But a serious look at his life shows him for what he really is and more and more people need to see that. Once they do, he will lose his greatest(only?) strength, his ability to give good speaches.
I think Pres. Obama reacted to the backlash, and backed down from an earlier version of the speech and clearly the earlier version of the curriculum plan "How can you help Pres. Obama?" What appeared on the White House website maybe was an editted or rewritten version to placate the backlash.
The funny part is, if Michelle Obama was giving this speech, there would probably not be a peep and she could have probably gotten away with far more leftoid indoctrination without having to water it down.
I think that's just so conservatives can't argue with those statements. I still think that it is a self-serving pretentious promo of Obama and has no business in schools. He has mentioned "I" more times than any other topic in this speech. I do have a problem with the sentence that went something like 'I am working hard on making sure you have computers and….etc.' I thought I was working hard to do that. I pay huge property taxes to make sure the the schools in my district are well equipped. Our schools and PTA's hold fundraisers as well. Obama either wants to take credit for all that, or worse, is 'working hard' to take resources from districts like mine and spread it around. While I think that all schools should have access to these resources, this is not the way to go about it.
And I also think that he is milking his 'tough childhood' because I do not think it was that tough for him.
I found the NEA's statement very interesting:
–The National Education Association denounced the speech, saying it "cannot endorse a president who spends $26,000 of taxpayers' money on a staged media event at Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington, D.C. — while cutting school lunch funds for our neediest youngsters."–
Have they said anything about the cost of Prez Obama's speech today?
I don't think he has the ability to give good speeches. I think he can only read well. The speeches are written by someone else and the teleprompter has the most important task in any of them.
I was thinking that too. But I also could see her detonating and spouting off more racist nonsense. She's got a big mouth and a dim view. Very dangerous to her husband's job approval rating.
I think the only publicity Michelle Obama is allowed to get these days will be about her wardrobe…..
Excellent point, 5 will get you 10 that it's at least double what the democrats were bitching about with Bush's speech…..
Excellent point. 5 will get you 10 that Obama's speech cost at least twice as much as what the democrats were whining about with Bush's speech.
Just heard it… just promoting what works.
Save the hardcore brainwashing for the college professors.
I find it rather odd that the First Lady has not picked a national project as of yet. Most First Ladies had a pet project by the first month after inaguration. Even Dr. Jill Biden has been tasked by Prez Obama to do outreach projects.
I wonder what the hold up is?
She HAS a national project. It's that dumb little kitchen garden she got so much praise from the liberals for – like she was actually going to WORK in it, or something.
Furthermore, when they first put this on the government's education site, they misspelled "schoolchildren". It was schoochildren", for Pete's sake.
The department of Ed's education plan? OH REALLY?
Seems to me that you guys just found something more specific to b*tch about. Prior to that, you all were all to happy to whine about Obama talking to school children. Then you realized how dumb that was, so you are attacking this now.
its okay, we've been paying attention. We can tell this is just the latest talking point. "WHATEVER".
Then we'll laugh at him.
Well said.
"Then we'll laugh at him."
Well said.
Too bad you said "talking point" towards end of your rant. If you'd started with it, key word to ignore the rest.
I think I am surprisingly "heartened" that an (terrific) actor in Hollywood would address this issue on Big Hollywood. Kudos!
> > “…that he's basically going to promote conservative ideals? Hard work and responsibility…” < <
WHAT A JOKE!
Hard work?
Conservatives support being born rich and staying rich forever, generation after generation. Conservatives want to destroy labor unions and send American jobs overseas. Conservatives want to reward greed and competition. HARD WORK MY FOOT.
Responsibility? You all hate the President and Democrat Party leaders. Why are they in power? Because they cheated. Acorn? ACLU? Elections without purging voter rolls? Did the conservative rule since 2000 cause the change in diirection? OF COURSE NOT! (The party of responsibility can’t take one drop of blame for where we are today, they just spend all day on their computers, throwing mindless insults and one-liners.)
No responsibility for going to war(s) and not knowing how to fight them to win. Growing a deficit with tax cuts at the same time that they pour billions down the Iraq rat hole. (Any regrets? Of course not, we’re the party of responsibility.)
Conservatives are big phoneys. There is not one ounce of Work Ethic or responsibility in their souls; only bitterness & hate.
You are an idiot. I feel sorry for your child. And one day, your child will look back at this and laugh at you.
Whose we?
Adam Baldwin – I KNEW you were one of us! Outstanding. I've been a fan of yours since "My Bodyguard" and hope to see more of you. A fine article too, thanks for posting it
I too, am one who sees some good things about this "lecture". Someone with Obammy's celebrity status actually coming out and encouraging kids to work hard and stay in school, is the first encouraging element of the entire Obama Experience for me. From the left, the message to school-age kids has been subliminal: do drugs, have plenty of sex, drop out of school, have no aspirations, etc… So this is somewhat encouraging.
But, we mustn't be too careless in hawking the message either. We still have a wolf in sheep's clothing to contend with.
That?? THAT is her project??
BWAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
How truly pathetic!!!!
Yeah, when I caught that blurb on the news, I was kind of perturbed. Maybe after my children get older (currently 3 and 5) and find it more vogue to not listen to Mom, I'll ask for the President to speak with them. Right now, as long as I can get them to feed their goldfish on a daily basis, the President won't have to step in and encourage social responsibility.
Project much?
(Why do we have a Federal Dept. of Education then?)
Because we have public schools.
When I was five years old I heard Martin Luther King speak about having a dream. I like millions of others were inspired by his eloquent style. It actually is a reason I am conservative. Maybe the same will happen with other children. The president, however, is no Martin Luther King or Ronald Reagan or even JFK. It was a barking speech with undertones of I’m pulling one over on everyone. If it was his intention to make it un-cool to be responsible then mission accomplished. You don’t use a speech especially grade school student to inspire them. You have to style it more like a conversation with them.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again this was about two things. It was to get the nose under the tent so that once the furor dies down he will get down to the real brainwashing. Two it was to butter up Middle America. This was an opportunity to say things that his party would never let him say in any other venue. A side note, the president warning of posting things on the internet and how they come back to haunt you is an example of Dick Morris style attempt to connect with the us common folk’s concerns. I don’t think it would have been much use to Van Jones he not only had a web presence but he left a paper and video trial a mile wide to expose his true nature.
You're right! Does anyone believe, after seeing how this President and his administration operates, that this was the ORIGINAL speech he was going to give? I bet they worked all weekend rewording this speech because of the uproar of citizens and parents. Then they try to pawn this speech off on us as the original with a "Don't you feel stupid, now" attitude. I don't trust anything this man or his pawns have to say to us.
Except that every single school district is locally owned and operated. The feds have nothing to do with it.
Hello, Adam
. Insightful words from you, as [almost!] always. I hope young Americans will feel inspired to get the best education they can; whether that's in college/university or by learning how to be a great carpenter or electrician [ono]. Countries need people who can manufacture stuff too!
I got my B.A. degree by distance learning with the Open University at a later age than usual. Got a whole lot more 'eduation' in the school of life and by raising my two children. All the best to you; your name was warmly spoken by many at Dragon Con this last weekend. Sorry your working schedule prevented you from joining the part and drinking Red Brick with the rest of us. God[dess] bless; see you at some future convention some-when. Philippa
truliberty had a great point: The original intent was, pretty transparently, for this to be a campaign speech with mandatory attendance. Yes, they backed off, but the bell cannot be un-rung.
I wasn't going to send my children to school originally when I first heard about this, even though they are only 5 and almost 7. Mostly this was because, as others have said, the lesson plan for it seemed a little creepy and besides that – why does there need to be a lesson plan? My kids' school is only showing it to 5th and 6th graders (probably the more appropriate audience for what is now the content anyway) and may show it to the younger ones "as appropriate". When I read the speech I decided that even if they heard it, it wouldn't be the end of the world, and realized that even if he was going to say stuff I disagree with, I would not shelter my children from opposing views. I would let them hear it and then talk with them about it, thereby teaching them critical thinking.
But that is my prerogative as a parent and I respect those of you who differ and didn't want their children to hear the speech at all. That is the difference b/t conservatives and liberals – by and large, we are able to agree to disagree. Liberals attack anyone that disagrees with them, no matter how little the disagreement is.
Hard work and responsibility are hardly exclusive to being a conservative or a liberal; they are pretty much the ideals of America. To polarize this speech is inanity and insulting to all Americans.
Oh yes they do. They play the old game they cooked up with the interstate system. You want the feds money, you follow their rules.
1. Give them extra federal dollars, with few strings attached.
2. They get addicted to the money, can't live with out it.
3. Start attaching more and more strings till they're virtually slaves to the feds.
Remember how they did it with the interstate. The feds can't make the states pass seat belt laws, but if the state doesn't, they can pay to maintain the highways themselves. Same thing with lowering the DWI blood alcohol level.
What I would like to see taught, besides the core subjects are civics and economics. Did any one ever wonder why they aren't required subjects anymore? Can't have students learning how government is SUPPOSED to work, and can't have them educated enough to understand what really happens with the federal budget.
I agree Ed. The problem is that most people can't see that when the Feds offer money, they fail to notice the strings attached. Once accepted, the Feds swarm in and start to change things to suit the current administration.
[...] of which is to say that I largely agree with Adam Baldwin over at Big Hollywood. Count me among those who find a U.S. President delivering [...]
An actor making an intelligent comment without ranting and drooling…what is the world coming to?
You are great on "Chuck", Adam. I'm looking forward to the new season.
Just what what flavor is that Kool-aid? Jim Jones grape? Blue state blueberry?
You'll notice I didn't check with either you or Obama as to whether you agreed with my decision. Does that tell you anything? Nope. It's morons like you that we're laughing at today, and everyday.
It's Empy Promises Pineapple!!!
Just that we can even think that means the President has a huge issue of trust with the people. We don't trust him to do the right thing. We have been made the fool too many times…
I myself am a conservative and had no problem with the president giving a speech to the school children across the nation. It was including the lesson plan that I had a problem with. Ironically back in 1991 President George H.W. Bush gave a speech to school children and the Democrat controlled Congress actually held hearings on it claiming that it was a partisan act and no president should do such a thing. They even had the General Accounting Office do an audit regarding the ethics and they came back saying it was a nonpartisan message and within ethics. But he had no "lesson plan" attached to his. Isn't it funny how the world turns?
I don't believe this was the original speech–do you?
Rootin'-tootin' Right-hatin' Raspberries
Read your Constitution. IF you had, we wouldn't been stuck with this Marxist loser.
We SHOULDN'T have a Federal Dept. of Education. Reagan tried to eliminate it, but the statist went bat-s***. The schools have been hooked on federal money, and now that give the feds power to control curriculum.
How's that No Child Left Behind working out? Wouldn't make any difference if it weren't for federal subsidy mandates. Now that the federal camel has it's nose under the tent, they can force you to get those kids to pass standardized tests in order to qualify for aid.
I'll bet you would defend the Prez talking to the kiddies if it were Bush,right? I thought so….
Her child will be grateful that he had a parent who could see through Dear Leader's platitudes and resisted the Obama Borg assimilation.
Strawman Strawberry
[...] Elementary school shows Obama “pledge” video to students Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: Mr. President Goes Back to School: A Controversial Issue? Michelle Malkin: Why parents don’t trust the Educator-in-Chief and his comrades and I repeat: [...]
[...] Your Kids Home From School Day, Avoid Obama Propaganda School Plan Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: Mr. President Goes Back to School: A Controversial Issue? Ztower: Carroll County Times unhappy with the “far right.” The Christian Science Monitor: Obama [...]
ADAM, it's whatever you get used to, like if you are raised to "go along to get along, be polite" and to accept whatever, OR taught by family to VALUE FREEDOM and how to guard it at every bend in the road. Watch for O to have follow-up sessions with the school kids. He would certainly plan to do several for the rest of his Term. Remember there were SENIORS in the audience that he mentioned in his speech, giving them the "nod" that he knew they were feeling pretty good right now, "with just one more year to go." Why highlight them? They will be VOTING AGE across the USA by the time he "runs" for office again, AND HOW BETTER TO "HELP" THE PRESIDENT THAN TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP HIM GET RE-ELECTED. That will unload them of the psychological burden he put on them today. It was very effective to use a boisterous teen audience to cheer his presence and speech. That would certainly even impress the little kids watching/listening in other schools WHO ALWAYS LIKE TO EMULATE THE BIG GUYS AND GIRLS. Sort of like the ol' audience manipulation by directors, producers, actors at a "faltering" live theater production. To get an audience to applaud, someone is stationed in the front row seats and someone in the back. The person in the back stands up and starts clapping exuberantly at the appropriate moment. People in front of the clapper automatically start clapping and might stand. The "plant" in the front stands up quickly and claps loudly which forces those behind to stand and clap. Dominos. Everybody knows that one now. So, the teen group's cheering was "encouraged" to be very loud. Likewise the audience COULD have been subdued if so guided. They are JUST KIDS, and even adults can be so manipulated. MAKE O AND ALL POLITICIANS LEAVE OUR KIDS ALONE. Heaven help the sensitive earnest children who will have nightmares feeling inadequate to save the USA and to "fulfill" their duty according to the Big President, when they don't even have an idea of what to do to save the country. WHAT AN IRRESPONSIBLE JERK HE IS. GIVE US HIS LONG FORM, HIS PASSPORT, HIS SCHOOL REGISTRATIONS AND RECORDS. WHO IS THIS MAN THAT YOU ALLOW TO DIRECT YOUR KIDS IN ANYTHING??????????
A well-written column.
Now, I'll be in my bunk.
to elect a jackass who has done little except extort money and power from business (who actually create jobs, not just promise them), and then call it "community organizing" is insulting to all americans…especially the ones who died so we can vote. After all the blood and sweat my father and his fellow servicemen did fighting against communism, our ignorant voting population then goes out and elects one president because he promises to redistribute the wealth to the lazy and envious. It's gonna take a long hard road to fight this anti-American president but this country is worth the effort.
TURN ABOUT IS FAIR PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Bush spoke to students, Democrats investigated, held hearings
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
09/08/09 7:11 AM EDT
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/b...
TURN ABOUT IS FAIR PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Bush spoke to students, Democrats investigated, held hearings
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
09/08/09 7:11 AM EDT
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/b...
Yeah, really.
Apparently, you haven't been paying attention.
http://www.ed.gov/print/admins/lead/academic/bts….
This has the revised (less offensive) September 8 "lesson plan".
If you do a little research, you can easily turn up the direct quotes of earlier versions (September 3rd, 4th, etc.) that had people mad, as reported in even the "mainstream" news sites. I read an earlier version online and, while a lot of it was innocuous, there were several parts that smelled . One specific example regarding the aforementioned letter writing exercise "helping the president" that has since been changed, was at first followed with "Teachers would collect and redistribute these letters at an appropriate later date to enable students to be accountable" has been changed to "Teachers would collect and redistribute these letters at an appropriate later date to enable students to monitor their progress."
In the original wording, just how would the teachers (most of whom are Democrat) hold the students accountable and just when is the appropriate time… a week before the grading period ends? "Johnny, you need to change your attitude about helping our president or you might fail this class".
I suspect if this were a Republican administration, you'd be whistling a different tune.
Jayne Cobb couldn't be trusted not to sell out his crewmembers.
Captain Wilkins turned traitor on his own neighbors,
Judging from this piece looks like maybe some parts were easier to act out than one might think.
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