Quote :

"Obama will travel to Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. on Sept. 8 and deliver an address that will be aired on C-Span and the White House web site, whitehouse.gov. The White House says the message is intended to stimulate a discussion about persisting and succeeding in school. In a recent letter to school principals, Education Secretary Arne Duncan provided more details, stating, "The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.""

But...

Quote :

"Sounds pretty innocuous. But the Education Department's decision to distribute lesson plans to accompany the address and essentially require students to watch the speech is sparking an outcry from commentators and officials on the political right, who accuse the president of staging a political rally disguised as a civics lesson. Particularly out front is Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, who has condemned the administration for using taxpayer money to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda." "As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology," Greer said in a statement. [b]"The idea that schoolchildren across our nation will be forced to watch the president justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other president, is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power."[b]"

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/balance_of_power/2009/09/education-speech-or-leftwing-c.html

The people against this are clueless on a number of levels.

1. Surprise! The gov't makes lesson plans on various subjects to help teachers teach. This is nothing new, and it's not a waste of money.

2. Obama's not going to talk about anything but education. There's no indoctrination going on beyond "do well in school."

3. No teacher's being forced to do anything. Publishing a lesson plan does not mean anyone's required to actually follow it.

4. "Taxpayer dollars rawr rawr rawr." What crap. Follow the link to a .pdf of the lesson plans. It took an intern two hours to make them-- tops.

5. "while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power." Really? By giving a pep-talk to students? Really

9/2/2009 3:57:58 PM

Surprise! Republicans are fucking insane.

9/2/2009 4:19:05 PM

Is he the president or a motivational speaker?

"What is President Obama inspiring you to do?"

"What is President Obama challenging you to do?"

Hardly indoctrinating, but quite nauseating.

9/2/2009 4:22:58 PM

i'd say motivational speaker is a pretty traditional role for president. presidents have been doing it since the beginning. the good ones at least.

9/2/2009 4:25:23 PM

Obama is an excellent speaker. He can sway people with his oratory. Thus, Republicans don't want him speaking.

9/2/2009 4:26:05 PM

Oh I didn't mean that there was something wrong with it, he's a great motivational speaker. I'd just like for him to be a good president first.

9/2/2009 4:26:53 PM

SIT UP STRAIGHT AND PAY ATTENTION IN THE BACK

9/2/2009 4:31:00 PM

^^

9/2/2009 4:38:34 PM

So you guys are just here to chime in w/ "I dont like Obama"?

[Edited on September 2, 2009 at 4:50 PM. Reason : stud]

9/2/2009 4:39:51 PM

PS-- I may show the speech to my non-honors classes. Partially to spite the crazy guy from the article.

9/2/2009 8:18:40 PM

Since when is it a bad thing for a president to talk to the people?

You are seriously screwed in the head if, as a parent, you don't want your child exposed to the President of the United States.

[Edited on September 2, 2009 at 8:48 PM. Reason : ]

9/2/2009 8:47:43 PM

Quote :

""What is President Obama inspiring you to do?" "

Vote in the midterms. hahah


Seriously, this is such a bs question. I dont object to this overall, but that is clearly pandering.


Imagine if bush had kids write to themselves how the war in iraq has made them safer... can you imagine the shitstorm. lol

9/2/2009 10:02:41 PM

Haha. Wakefield HS in Arlington is a dump. That's all I have to add to this discussion.

9/2/2009 10:23:44 PM

How many HS kids do they think will care about this or bother to/be allowed to watch it?

9/2/2009 10:44:31 PM

So, this assignment suggests that teachers should have their students:

Quote :

"write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the President. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make the children accountable to their goals”."

This goes far beyond a silly motivator-in-chief happy speech. It's subtle, yes, but you all know perfectly well that they are trying as hard as they can to weasel their way into the minds of these kids.

I tutor a middle-school girl most evenings during the week, and it is downright scary to see the liberal messiah-worship drummed into her day in and day out through various assignments. But they walk the rhetorical line just fine enough to escape charges of open political indoctrination. But it's real.

I can't wait for one kid to write "The best way I can help the President is to send him back to Chicago when I'm old enough to vote. In the meantime, I can help the President best by preserving the country he lives in by working against every item on his agenda." And watch the F's and the lawsuits flow....

[Edited on September 2, 2009 at 10:46 PM. Reason : a]

9/2/2009 10:46:31 PM

^ the document linked doesn't say anything about writing letters to themselves about "how to help the president." The article seems to be wrong on that (evil LIEberal meda!!!!!!!!!).

I don't see how the president telling kids to have personal responsibility, and to work hard is a bad thing. Particularly the black students in poor areas that this will reach.

This is almost the exact thing I always hear Republicans talk about in fact... he's not legislating that they be personally responsible, he's merely telling them that they should be.

This is so awesome though, because it shows so clearly how delusional so many on the right are about their positions.
OMG PEOPLE SETTING GOALS FOR THEMSELVES IS SO HORRIBLE!@!!! WHAT IS THAT NAZI COMMUNIST THINKING?!@>!>!>!!???

9/2/2009 11:00:33 PM

9/2/2009 11:03:28 PM

oh noes

9/2/2009 11:07:25 PM

Quote :

"I tutor a middle-school girl most evenings during the week, and it is downright scary to see the liberal messiah-worship drummed into her day in and day out through various assignments. But they walk the rhetorical line just fine enough to escape charges of open political indoctrination. But it's real."

PRE-ALGEBRA IS A TOOL OF THE SOCIALIST LIBERAL ELITE

9/2/2009 11:47:21 PM

are they teaching her that black people are equal to white people or that money should be abolished?

9/3/2009 12:42:47 AM

^^It is when the assignments revolve around maximizing the area of your garden with a given length of animal-friendly fencing around it, so you can grow the greatest number of organic vegetables to sell at your local farmer's market.

Or when, in the example for converting unit measurements, it specifies that the coffee is 16 oz. of fair trade Indonesian coffee.

Or when my student has to ignore her math homework so she can make a video for science class to explain one action she is taking to stop global warming.

The examples are endless.

Doesn't matter where you come from, the overall tone of the education and assignments given are 100% slanted toward collectivist, hippie-thinking. You may think that's good. Fine. But don't deny it's true.

I haven't seen one problem, despite ample opportunity, describing how you may need to maximize profit given certain cost and revenue functions....or any other skill that might actually be useful. It's not taught for the other courses, either. I've tutored through all of them.

Quote :

"^ the document linked doesn't say anything about writing letters to themselves about "how to help the president." The article seems to be wrong on that (evil LIEberal meda!!!!!!!!!)."

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10582301/President-Obama%E2%80%99s-Address-to-Students-Across-America-September-8-2009

Last section, under "Extension of the Speech."

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 1:54 AM. Reason : s]

9/3/2009 1:49:16 AM

figured this was about him addressing congress in the next few days. idk about yall but i'm tired of this guy always making speeches on tv. hes like too in your face

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 2:19 AM. Reason : .]

9/3/2009 2:19:15 AM

How many of the people saying something along the lines of, "I don't mind him speaking as long as he's a good president first" were up in arms when 9/11 caught George W. Bush reading to grade-schoolers?

9/3/2009 2:50:28 AM

I feel like I'm in some sort of bizarro world when I keep nodding my head in agreement to everything GrumpyGOP posts. Is he the last sane one of you left?

9/3/2009 8:28:34 AM

^^ and ^ Oh, for Christ's sake. Yeah, it's exactly the same thing.[/sarcasm]

9/3/2009 8:45:40 AM

pwnt.

9/3/2009 8:50:20 AM

^^^^^^ That must be an older revision or something, because this is the version hosted on the gov. education website: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf

Quote :

"It is when the assignments revolve around maximizing the area of your garden with a given length of animal-friendly fencing around it, so you can grow the greatest number of organic vegetables to sell at your local farmer's market. Or when, in the example for converting unit measurements, it specifies that the coffee is 16 oz. of fair trade Indonesian coffee. Or when my student has to ignore her math homework so she can make a video for science class to explain one action she is taking to stop global warming. The examples are endless. Doesn't matter where you come from, the overall tone of the education and assignments given are 100% slanted toward collectivist, hippie-thinking. You may think that's good. Fine. But don't deny it's true."

Organic vegetable, fair trade coffee, and global warming have nothing to do with collectivist hippie stuff. These are mainstream concepts accepted and promoted by people on the right and left.

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 9:03 AM. Reason : ]

9/3/2009 9:01:52 AM

Quote :

"Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important? "

Talk about a rigged question... Who says what they say actually is important?

As for the rest of the "lesson plan," in a vacuum, it all sounds quite scary... What can I do to help the president? What is he challenging me to think about? Can we do what he wants us to do? Yes, out of context, these sounds pretty damned scary. If you disagree, then I don't know what to say...

But, the added context of the actual speech may make these questions quite innocuous. Given that he hasn't made the speech, yet, it may be too soon to pass judgment.

9/3/2009 9:10:39 AM

Well it looks like they white house is rethinking this.

Quote :

"were up in arms when 9/11 caught George W. Bush reading to grade-schoolers?"

Can you honestly not see the difference?

9/3/2009 10:53:34 AM

I cannot believe that people would have a problem with Obama visiting a classroom. That visit could be huge to some kids. I have observed a number of children for whom President Obama is a superhero. It's not knee-jerk admiration like we've seen with presidents past. Obama has tremendous potential to influence the nation's youth. It feels different (and thus a bit uncomfortable) to have that kind of president with that kind of celebrity, but so what? If he can afford to take a few hours out of his day every once in a while to speak to some children, then he should definitely do it. I am concerned with the idea that anybody would have a problem with Obama visiting a classroom...every president before him has done it, so what's the problem now? What's the difference between Obama and every president before him? Hmmmmmm...



The topic of indoctrination in schools should be kept entirely separate from any conversation about Obama speaking at a school. He will not be indoctrinating your children!



Schools have always, always, always been used to indoctrinate, indoctrinate, indoctrinate. It's a monumental institution when it comes to socializing children and crafting their worldviews. That's why some parents choose to homeschool or opt for private schools that better mirror their values. You're kidding yourself if you think schools have somehow gotten worse in regards to indoctrination. And it looks like people are upset that things have changed from Sally taking home-ec/Booby taking shop to DeShawn playing Romeo/LGBA meeting Thursdays in the cafeteria...

On the topic of global warming...you don't have to believe in it to realize we need to get out ahead when it comes to breakthroughs in fuel-efficient technologies. I don't necessarily believe we needed to go to the moon, but we invested billions in science education to beat the Russians to it. Look at global warming that way if it makes you feel better. Global warming, whether you buy it or not, presents a huge opportunity for us to be the mother fucking best again, and we're gonna have to teach the fuck out of some global warming to our kids if we wanna stay on top. This movement includes teaching some Mickey Mouse shit about recycling in elementary but it should also entail some serious hard science being pushed by middle school and then throughout high school...unfortunately, the money for the second part may not be there.

9/3/2009 10:54:18 AM

I was taught about global warming in school throughout the 90s, before anyone knew who Al Gore was. That's just mainstream science, which is what schools generally teach.

9/3/2009 11:08:23 AM

I hear they teach evolution, too!

9/3/2009 11:29:18 AM

Quote :

"I cannot believe that people would have a problem with Obama visiting a classroom. "

I cannot believe that that is your understanding of what people are upset about.

9/3/2009 11:31:12 AM

^^^Some people don't think it's mainstream science. That's why I offered another reason for why it should be taught.

Your insistence that all these things are mainstream and that's why they should be taught is both lazy and purposefully obtuse. Schools generally represent the mainstream, and it's important to call out the loons who insist the schools are out of control with their radical agenda...but there's a lot more that goes into why we teach things than just "it's mainstream so deal with it, people." Schools are hopefully a bit more thoughtful than that.

^The lesson plan that goes along with the speech? With the questions that are necessarily going to be harmless?

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 11:45 AM. Reason : ?]

9/3/2009 11:42:56 AM

Quote :

"I cannot believe that that is your understanding of what people are upset about."

We cannot believe that anything he said will be taken out of context.


Obama: "Don't bring guns to school" (HE IS VIOLATING OUR 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS! )

Obama: "Take care of the environment." (TYPICAL PUSHING CAP/TRADE LIBERAL TREE HUGGER AGENDA! )

Obama: "Remember to treat everyone equally." (THIS IS A CHRISTIAN NATION HOW DARE HE PUSH A HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA )

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 11:46 AM. Reason : ]

9/3/2009 11:45:46 AM

Quote :

"It is when the assignments revolve around maximizing the area of your garden with a given length of animal-friendly fencing around it, so you can grow the greatest number of organic vegetables to sell at your local farmer's market."

Because it's a lot more uplifting to use that as an example than telling them to maximize the size of a foreign prison with a given amount of barbed-wire fencing so we could hold the greatest number of suspected terrorists.

That would be the non-"collectivist, hippie-thinking" alternative, right?

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 11:48 AM. Reason : .]

9/3/2009 11:47:15 AM

Maybe they should ask Math questions about installing Dictators and extracting Oil from icy tundras.

9/3/2009 11:51:50 AM

God, read my previous posts on this.

And I take it your definition of equality changes with topics. Like most libs i know. I hope that isnt the case.

9/3/2009 12:06:24 PM

Read your post, eyedrb...

Let's see...joke about getting kids to vote in the midterms. Accusations that an extremely innocuous question is BS and pandering. Comparing that innocuous question to a loaded pretend Bush question. And finally, some conjecture about how the liberals would be outraged if that pretend Bush question were asked.

How can you possibly object to "What is President Obama inspiring you to do?" as a question? Where's the pandering? How is it BS? "He's inspiring me to set goals for myself, to work hard, to value my education, to get a good job, to take responsibility for my future, etc..."

What is it that you guys are so afraid of? Be specific. Let it all out.

9/3/2009 12:16:38 PM

And it could even be negative. For example, eyedrb might write that President Obama is inspiring him to vote Republican in 2012. This sounds like a good idea for a thread.

This is literally the entire instructions:

• What resonated with you from President Obama’s speech? What lines/phrases do you remember?
• Who is President Obama addressing? How do you know? Describe his audience.
• We heard President Obama mention the importance of personal responsibility. In your life, who exemplifies this kind of personal responsibility? How? Give examples.
• How are we as individuals and as a class similar? Different?
• Suppose President Obama were to give another speech about being educationally successful. Who could he speak to next? Who should be his next audience? Why? What would he say?
• What are the three most important words in the speech? Rank them. What title would you give this speech? What’s the thesis?
• What is President Obama inspiring you to do? What is he challenging you to do?
• What do you believe are the challenges of your generation?
• How can you be a part of addressing these challenges?

[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 12:25 PM. Reason : ]

9/3/2009 12:24:45 PM

EDITORIAL: Beaming Obama into your kid's headThe president expands his cult into the classroom

Quote :

"President Obama's planned address to America's schoolchildren on Sept. 8 is generating a firestorm of controversy from concerned parents who think he should mind his own business and stay away from their children. It's easy to see why. According to an Aug. 26 letter from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to school principals, the president wants to 'challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning.' He also will call for 'shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible.' If the speech was simply limited to this kind of feel-good rhetoric, it would be harmless enough. But there is more to this noontime event than simply interrupting lunch. The Obama administration has recommended a series of activities before, during and after the speech intended to drill home the president's messages. Given that the teachers' unions are some of Mr. Obama's most ardent supporters, we expect that the supporting activities will have the feel of pro-Obama pep rallies. In a move suggestive of the Pyongyang public school system, the U.S. Department of Education recommended that before the speech students collectively brainstorm questions like, 'Why does President Obama want to speak with us today? How will he inspire us?' Classrooms are to be festooned with 'notable quotes excerpted (and posted in large print on board) from President Obama's speeches about education,' presumably alongside benevolent-looking images of the dear leader. One of our favorite notable quotes was from a Sept. 9, 2008, speech in which Mr. Obama said that his administration would reform education 'without mortgaging our children's future on an even larger amount of debt.' This is a particularly salient passage in light of the fact this president is recklessly running up the national debt to unsustainable heights that our children (and their children and grandchildren) will have to pay for the rest of their lives. Class, talk among yourselves. During the speech, students are to engage in a busy-work nightmare, writing down key concepts from the speech, trying to capture direct quotations, and afterward matching them up to key words 'to increase retention and deepen their understanding of an important aspect of the speech.' This is troubling in light of Mr. Obama's history of radical activism in schools. This week, Stanley Kurtz of the Ethics and Public Policy Center revealed details of Mr. Obama's tenure as chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge in the 1990s, where he forged a close partnership with self-described small 'c' communist Bill Ayers. Under Mr. Obama's leadership, the group funneled $100 million to left-wing activists to promote a radical political agenda under the guise of education reform. Radicals always have viewed children as wards of the state to be shaped into shock troops to advance their revolutionary agendas. It is an idea of ancient provenance. Plato said that 'children must attend school, whether their parents like it or not; for they belong to the state more than to their parents.' Every radical leader of the 20th century put indoctrinating children at the top of his agenda. So when someone with Mr. Obama's background reaches directly into every school in America, parents are rightly concerned. The planned speech reinforces the lurking creepiness factor around the cult of personality being erected for this president. The White House is billing the speech as 'historic,' and perhaps they even believe it. But there is no reason for this federal intrusion into family and community affairs. It's not the president's job to be a surrogate parent, teacher or principal for America's children. He would better serve our kids by not bankrupting the country they will inherit."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/03/beaming-obama-into-your-kids-head/

9/3/2009 1:32:04 PM

What a bunch of assholes for trying to get children inspired to make their country a better place.

9/3/2009 1:35:45 PM

I just read the piece by Stanley Kurtz regarding where Annenberg money went.

What a load of crap. It depends entirely on the assumption that activist = radical = BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY

9/3/2009 1:39:38 PM

i got out of math class once because I told my teacher I was going to watch Bush speak.

she was happy with me.

9/3/2009 2:06:01 PM

All the health care threads are filled with people screaming about how Obama's plan is diametrically opposed to the good, conservative concepts of "hard work" and "personal responsibility."

And when Obama goes to talk to schools about "hard work" and "personal responsibility," you all call him a Socialist version of Goebbels out to propagandize the children.

Do you really think he's going to use this opportunity to tell the kiddies all about policy? What the fuck would be the point of that? Even if he manages to get kids to listen to him talk about those things -- and he can't -- high schoolers don't vote. Of the minority that will be able to vote in the midterms, approximately 18 of them will. No, not 18%. 18 total.

My guess is he's not going to tell these kids about pretty much what he said he's going to talk about, none of which should be objectionable to anybody not presently in need of a lobotomy.

Quote :

"Oh, for Christ's sake. Yeah, it's exactly the same thing."

My comment was more in response to those people saying that Obama was just being a "motivational speaker" and, therefore, not doing his job and wasting taxpayer dollars.

Personally I prefer a motivational speaker talking to people all over the country to a President reading "Goodnight, Moon" or some shit to a bunch of kids who should be able to fucking read already. Neither of them are likely to accomplish much in the way of improving education, but one is more likely to help than the other.

9/3/2009 5:20:21 PM

Quote :

"How can you possibly object to "What is President Obama inspiring you to do?" as a question?"

Very simple: it all depends on what Obama is talking about.

Quote :

"He's inspiring me to set goals for myself, to work hard, to value my education, to get a good job, to take responsibility for my future, etc..."

If that's what he actually says, then great. And, if that's all that he says, then great.

I'll again point out that there is a massively loaded question in there, and that is completely independent of what Obama says. That question is "Why is it important that we listen to what the President has to say." This question is implying that the President, whoever he is, always has some nugget of importance to impart. This simply isn't the case. The proper way to ask the question is in two parts: "Is it important to listen to what our elected officials have to say? Why or why not?"

My take is that it will probably be nothing more than inspiration to do well in school. And if that's all it is, then I don't give a shit. As someone else pointed out, Obama is an inspiration to a lot of underprivileged youth. If he can inspire them to break the cycle they are in, more power to him.

9/3/2009 6:39:47 PM

Sarasota, Florida is not exactly a highly advanced reader's paradise. Just saying.

9/3/2009 6:52:30 PM

Quote :

"The White House has said the speech will stress the importance of education and hard work in school, both to the individual and to the nation. The message is not partisan, nor compulsory, officials said. “This isn’t a policy speech,” Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said. “It’s designed to encourage kids to stay in school. The choice on whether to show the speech to students is entirely in the hands of each school. This is absolutely voluntary.”"

- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/us/04school.html

Quote :

"The Republican Party chairman in Florida, Jim Greer, said he “was appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology.” And Chris Stigall, a Kansas City talk show host, said, “I’m not letting my next-door neighbor talk to my kid alone; I’m sure as hell not letting Barack Obama talk to him alone.”"

Haha, so he’s appalled that tax payer dollars are going to someone who those tax payers elected, and whose salary, house, food, and entire life are paid for by tax payers? Wow.

Quote :

"Some Houston parents, however, said telling children they should not hear out the president of the United States, even if their parents dislike his policies, sends the wrong message — that one should not listen to someone with whom you disagree. “It’s difficult for me to understand how listening to the president, the commander in chief, the chief citizen of this country, is damaging to the youth of today,” said Phyllis Griffin Epps, an analyst for the city who has two children in public school."

Apparently Bush number 1 did something similar in 1991: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/04/us/financing-for-a-bush-speech-is-attacked.html?scp=1&sq=alice%20deal%20and%20bush&st=cse

9/3/2009 8:06:29 PM

Quote :

"Apparently Bush number 1 did something similar in 1991: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/04/us/financing-for-a-bush-speech-is-attacked.html?scp=1&sq=alice%20deal%20and%20bush&st=cse"

And, according to the very same article, it was the Democrats bitching and moaning about how this was a cheaply contrived political stunt.

My how partisanship is a wonderful thing!

9/3/2009 8:12:57 PM

^ true

but…

Quote :

"The classroom was as well lighted as a television studio, and the cameras zoomed in on students and their teacher, Cynthia Mostoller, as Mr. Bush made a pitch for his education program."

It remains to be seen, but Obama is not really pitching anything, from what they are saying.

9/3/2009 8:16:41 PM