UPDATE: Text of speech here.
The Department of Education has issued some guidelines for teachers to use in relation to the speech. You can read it all here.
If this is your basic "school is important and stay off drugs" speech, fine. If this is liberal indoctrination of young minds about health care, the environment, or who knows what else, it's highly inappropriate and parents should be given the chance to opt out.
Of course, nobody may know until the speech is actually delivered. We'll see if the White House releases it early.
And, of course, the obvious question needs to be asked: How would the National Education Association and other teacher's unions have reacted if George W. Bush had asked to make a speech to the nation's schoolchildren?
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9 comments:
It would seem that he merely wishes to inspire them to work hard in school. That's nice. But let's not forget: as the President, and representative of the Executive Branch of the US government, how is ANY of this HIS business? It certainly isn't under his constitutional jurisdiction!
If children need to be inspired to work hard in school, it should come from those who know and love them: parents, teachers, and their local community. American children should NOT be encouraged to find inspiration and purpose by working hard in school because "Our Supreme Leader, the President of the United States", says so!
Rather, they need to be taught that WE, THE PEOPLE, are the bosses of all branches of government, including the American President, and HE serves US, not the other way around!
One suggested activity in the teacher handout is to have students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president."
Excuse Me?? As American citizens, it is our job to hold government accountable, NOT to to fall in line behind his "inspiring" agenda and "help" him achieve his goals!
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a dangerous precedent, and it sends our kids the wrong message about the role of the president and our government in their lives.
Right on Rachel. Just read the recent Hillsdale College newsletter and it talked about how our leaders are slowly giving away the sovereignty of our nation by kowtowing to international organizations.
We need to go back to the beginning; back to the Constitution of the United States of America.
That should be the new conservative platform.
I guess I don't see why this is a big deal. I don't see anything in the study prep that points the students in an ideological direction. In fact, if I had kids, I would probably instruct them to do the same thing, regardless of the political party the President would be in.
I think President Obama has the good judgement to make this kind of speech and say what is appropriate for students.
He was smart enough to win the election and he's smart enough
to know what to say to students,
both in terms of content and his
strategic timing.
Oh, BTW, its about the whole world
now, not just the USA. Conservatives should keep religion out of education, but they don't
so they are the ones who are non-Constitutional I think
Paul
Winning an election is one thing. Going against the the basic precepts of our country is another.
The most dangerous thing you can do is trust any person in power. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" and very few people are questioning Obama. I would rather my child (kindergarten) learn how to be a good citizen from me than have someone else teach him. And if you think the government can do a better job than you then you are ignorant. I AM A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!
Watch Glenn Beck at 2 eastern (I know, Fox News, but give it a try. Beck is an independent and hated Bush too)
Appointing Marxists and Communists as his advisers and ignoring the will of the people (health care reform) is not a noble leader. Fortunately, we can vote him and the rest of Congress (57% of Americans are for this) very soon.
BTW: I am NOT a Republican or Democrat! I have a degree in history and I do my research.
Let's take this country back to its roots...NO MORE BIG GOVERNMENT.
Bush was smart enough to get elected...
So if A = C , and B = C ...
"Conservatives should keep religion out of education, but they don't so they are the ones who are non-Constitutional I think."
Paul, then you don't know the Constitution as well as you think you do.
The entire Department of Education (along with several other federal agencies that have been created along the way) is unconstitutional.
Our constitution does not grant the federal government the right to fund, regulate, control or otherwise stick its nose in education AT ALL.
The Federal Government has only 17 specific responsibilities placed under its jurisdiction in the constitution. Everything it does and all powers it tries to exert outside of those 17 duties is UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
Per the 10th Amendment, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Education is the jurisdiction of the PEOPLE and the STATES, NOT the federal government!
That means control of education rightfully belongs to parents, teachers, school boards and states - PERIOD! If they want their kids to learn intelligent design or even use the Bible as a textbook, that's their own damn business! The Federal government has NO right to interfere!
Obama and the rest of his Big Government cronies don't care about the constitutional restrictions of their office (and neither have most of our presidents since Woodrow Wilson).
It's time to get back to our constitution, before all our liberties are lost!
(If a ) Nightingale (could sing like you)
We need to go back to the beginning; back to the Constitution of the United States of America.
If I was going back, I'd go back 2000 years. I'd take John over Madison, Jefferson, and hamilton.
Obama is the Wizard of Oz, and when you pull back the curtain, what you see is
Bill Ayers.
This school speech has Bill Ayers and Chairman Mao (the Weathermen's special hero) written all over it.
This is Communist China Lite. (It has to be "lite" cause the conservatives have all the guns.)
(Thank God!)
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