Obama to make unprecedented address to all public school students

[VERO1]

Jefferson County is showing the speech. My son, a seventh grader will not be seeing it. Worse than that he watchs OReily and Beck with us also! Heck he even asks questions about what he hears. Little radical!

[Guest cowboy20th]

Well Obama has ruined my education for the semester. All my professors do all day is talk about Hitler and say, "sound familiar."

[strickj]

Are you guys effing kidding me?

I've seen some tin foil hattety here before,but common!

I dont like the douche nozzle anymore then anybody else here,but to say he's taking over is a little

Its like Mike said:

I am still not convinced this is such a terrible thing as far the original news story reads.

What network is showing this? Or is it piped directly closed circuit into public schools? Parochial school students getting shut out?

Some needs to remove the tinfoil hat and 'splain to me what is so bad here. And I am a tinfoiler hatter first class, but I am not feeling it here.

[gregintenn]

My wife asked our superintendant about this today, and he knew nothing of it. I hope it stays that way.

[Guest Swamprunner]

Got a robo-call from the school district today, sayin' that it WILL NOT be shown to the students. Seems that every time obama tries something, he steps in

[Wingshooter]

I heard that Bradley Co. will preview it first before showing it. Obama, you have been ! Personally, I just wish they wouldn't show it at all.

I agree with what some of you have said. If he just wants to encourage hard work and education, then ok. The problem is, I don't trust him or his motives. It's not so much my kids that I worry about with this speech because I am raising them different than what Obama stands for. I can expose Obama's Socialistic tactics to my kids. What concerns me is the millions of other kids that will remember this speech as "truth" well into their grown-up lives. Tinfoil or not, this man is the likes of Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers. I'd prefer he stay out of the kids' heads.

I'll be calling my kids' schools on Tuesday morning to get clarification on what they are planning to do. I may just take my two squirrel hunting...

[gregintenn]

I read the text of the speech tonight, and it seems pretty harmless....pointless, but harmless. I'd prefer my child enjoy a recess during this waste of time, or perhaps, even LEARN SOMETHING!

[nb forrest]

On election day my kids came home singing the praises of Obama. They have never heard any of that in my house. This tells me that the teachers impart their political veiws on their students which is not right IMHO. I have no problem with the president telling my kids to stay in school and say no drugs but the suggested curriculum before, during and after the speech is what bothers me. They are to young to be bothered by politics and it is not the schools job to teach political ideals, it is my job. If God can not be in the schools than the great O should'nt be in schools either. Maybe my tin foil hat is on to tight but I don't trust him or the schools.

[Daniel]

I find it funny that people think its their job to teach their political ideas to their kids. Same thing with their religon. Why not let the kids think it through themselves and come to their own conclusions?

[Guest SUNTZU]

I find it funny that people think its their job to teach their political ideas to their kids. Same thing with their religon. Why not let the kids think it through themselves and come to their own conclusions?

Because the textbooks, teachers, and college professors are biased for the most part. That's one of the reasons we're in this predicament.

[Guest clsutton21]

I find it funny that people think its their job to teach their political ideas to their kids. Same thing with their religon. Why not let the kids think it through themselves and come to their own conclusions?

+1

[Guest clsutton21]

And if you haven't read the text for the speech tomorrow: Media Resources Prepared School Remarks

I think it's one of the better speeches I've read. I really liked it.

Edited September 8, 2009 by clsutton21

[nb forrest]

I find it funny that people think its their job to teach their political ideas to their kids. Same thing with their religon. Why not let the kids think it through themselves and come to their own conclusions?

If you are refering to my post, my two youngest children were the ones I was refering to. They are 5 and 7 so I don't think they are up to speed on all the political issues so I think it is my job to inform them. My 14 year old supports Obama and that is her choice. I do not think it is a school teachers place to tell my 5 and 7 year old which presidental canidate is the best. That was my point.

[Guest SUNTZU]

If you are refering to my post, my two youngest children were the ones I was refering to. They are 5 and 7 so I don't think they are up to speed on all the political issues so I think it is my job to inform them. My 14 year old supports Obama and that is her choice. I do not think it is a school teachers place to tell my 5 and 7 year old which presidental canidate is the best. That was my point.

That was the point of my reply as well. If a parent doesn't teach their kids, or at least show them both sides, then the school system will generally show them ONE side, as well as MTV and all the other fun kid's shows that tell you Big Gov is Go(o)d.

[strickj]

Its not entirely the school teachers that implanted Obama in kids heads,but tv,music,the internet,their friends,etc.

Just because you don't talk about it doesn't mean they don't learn from other places.

Its just like sex,so unless you deprive your kids all things that we love,and they have in their lives,they will find it.

Edit: And lets face it here folks,Obama is the "it celebrity" of today,right up there with 50 Cent,and Britney Spears,and that didn't come from school teachers,but from.....gasp.....kids...imagine that!

Edited September 8, 2009 by strickj

[Guest Phantom6]

And if you haven't read the text for the speech tomorrow: Media Resources Prepared School Remarks

I think it's one of the better speeches I've read. I really liked it.

If that's all he says then I certainly have no problem with the speach itself. What I would have a greater problem with is the left leaning teachers that will be teaching their ideas beyond that which Obama discussed in the speech.

On top of all of that,

“The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the President.”

Who was it that said that? Why it was then House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO) when President George H. W. Bush spoke to students from Deal Junior High School (not the nation, just one school) in Washington, D.C. in '91. Of course back then, President G. H. W. Bush's speach wasn't accompanied by a lesson plan distributed to all of the teachers which encouraged the kiddies to determine just what it was that they could do to "help" President Obama. The Department of Education is not only "producing paid political advertising for the President" but they are providing talking points to go right along with it (somthing that did not occur in '91). Sounds like the upcoming admin's teaching experience is more of a lesson of political double standards.

[Daniel]

I find it pretty funny that you guys keep saying that teachers lean to the left. My wife is an elementary school teacher. She votes conservative every time. She is not alone. I have met alot of the other teachers. I dont know but maybe one that would be a democrat.

[Guest clsutton21]

I find it pretty funny that you guys keep saying that teachers lean to the left. My wife is an elementary school teacher. She votes conservative every time. She is not alone. I have met alot of the other teachers. I dont know but maybe one that would be a democrat.

It's okay, some people only think how the media tells them.

[Guest Muttling]

As a teacher, I can tell you that we are pretty well split down the middle liberal and conservative with a number of strongly opinionated on both sides.

As for Obama's speech, I agree with the previous poster who asked why it hasn't been done previously. God forbid a sitting president want to tell our school children to stay in school and work hard for our country. It just goes to show that no matter what a Liberal president tries to do there will be Neo Conservatives gripe about it. Don't get me wrong, the exact same holds true for Neo Liberals so don't feel unique or singled out.

[Wingshooter]

What does Obama know about working hard to accomplish something? All he did was use his race, party affiliation and a teleprompter to take advantage of the situation. He wasn't even a good senator.

I know the planned text of this speech seems pretty harmless, but are they still planning on having students do this worksheet crap???

The Pre K-6 Word Document

PreK-6 Menu of Classroom Activities: President Obama’s Address to Students Across America

Produced by Teaching Ambassador Fellows, U.S. Department of Education

September 8, 2009

Before the Speech:

Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama and motivate students by asking the following questions:

Who is the President of the United States?

What do you think it takes to be President?

To whom do you think the President is going to be speaking?

Why do you think he wants to speak to you?

What do you think he will say to you?

Teachers can ask students to imagine being the President delivering a speech to all of the students in the United States. What would you tell students? What can students do to help in our schools? Teachers can chart ideas about what they would say.

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?

During the Speech:

As the President speaks, teachers can ask students to write down key ideas or phrases that are important or personally meaningful. Students could use a note-taking graphic organizer such as a Cluster Web, or students could record their thoughts on sticky notes. Younger children can draw pictures and write as appropriate. As students listen to the speech, they could think about the following:

What is the President trying to tell me?

What is the President asking me to do?

What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?

Students can record important parts of the speech where the President is asking them to do something. Students might think about: What specific job is he asking me to do? Is he asking anything of anyone else? Teachers? Principals? Parents? The American people?

Students can record any questions they have while he is speaking and then discuss them after the speech. Younger children may need to dictate their questions.

After the Speech:

Teachers could ask students to share the ideas they recorded, exchange sticky notes or stick notes on a butcher paper poster in the classroom to discuss main ideas from the speech, i.e. citizenship, personal responsibility, civic duty.

Students could discuss their responses to the following questions:

What do you think the President wants us to do?

Does the speech make you want to do anything?

Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?

What would you like to tell the President?

Teachers could encourage students to participate in the Department of Education’s “I Am What I Learn†video contest.† On September 8th the Department will invite K-12 students to submit a video no longer than 2 min, explaining why education is important and how their education will help them achieve their dreams.††Teachers are welcome to incorporate the same or a similar video project into an assignment. More details will be released via www.ed.gov.

Extension of the Speech: Teachers can extend learning by having students

Create posters of their goals. Posters could be formatted in quadrants or puzzle pieces or trails marked with the labels: personal, academic, community, country. Each area could be labeled with three steps for achieving goals in those areas. It might make sense to focus on personal and academic so community and country goals come more readily.

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 students accountable to their goals.

Write goals on colored index cards or precut designs to post around the classroom.

Interview and share about their goals with one another to create a supportive community.

Participate in School wide incentive programs or contests for students who achieve their goals.

Write about their goals in a variety of genres, i.e. poems, songs, personal essays.

Create artistic projects based on the themes of their goals.

Graph student progress toward goals.

Taken From The Yahoo Group The Fine Print

......y'all should really join this group

[Guest Phantom6]

I find it pretty funny that you guys keep saying that teachers lean to the left. My wife is an elementary school teacher. She votes conservative every time. She is not alone. I have met alot of the other teachers. I dont know but maybe one that would be a democrat.

I apologize. I was painting with a broad brush and apparantly in doing so splattered your wife with the red paint of Social Democracy. I can however speak with authority and pin point accuracy regarding not all of but the overwhelming majority of the teachers in my town because I have sent 5 kids through the school system here and work with a number of youth groups. They are liberal, some even socialist and espouse their politics in the classroom.

The NEA, not only the largest teacher organization but the largest union in the United States is strongly left leaning. This is the official mouthpiece of the educators of this country. Let's take a look at what we find on nea.org:

THIS WEEK'S

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

NEA Rallies for Health Insurance Reform

Public Education Loses Friend With Passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy

Falling Through the Cracks: Latina Dropouts

Drilling down a bit further on the site we find the following article:

Town Hall Deception

We've all seen coverage of angry protestors at town hall meetings on health care. In a must-read op-ed, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post argues that there was a concerted media effort to make the protests appear more widespread than they were.

The bias and misinformation in that article has already been proven by numerous sources, some of which are actually O supporters yet the NEA uses this to misinform and mis-lead.

The NEA is pushing hard for Obamacare. They say in one of many articles that are pro-O:

More specifically, NEA believes that health care reform must:

1.Guarantee coverage for the uninsured, currently estimated at 45 million individuals, including 9 million children;

2.Control costs so that premiums and health care services are affordable to all, regardless of income or employment status.....

I didn't find a single article suggesting that there was an alternative to O's methods.

True, there are teachers that don't care for this type of socialism that the "Big O" brings but they are the minority. God bless teachers that have the spine to stand up and make comments like these found in the comments section after an article that was pro-Obamacare:

09/08/09 - PhysEdFred

We are going to eventually lose our great Health Care and do NOT kid yourself... No Matter what the President says... The illegal Aliens WILL eventually be included. 15 or so Million. And who will pay for this..

09/05/09 - Barbara G

Reading this article makes me proud that I only belonged to the NEA the first year I taught and NOT the other 33 years. No wonder people have such horrible views on educators!

I don't have to "only think how the media tells" me as clsutton21 seems to suggest. I go reconnoiter the "enemy camp" and from this reconnaissance make my decisions. So, I stand by my earlier statement with the slight modification that while not all, but taken as a group, teachers throughout this country are left leaning. They are without a doubt, in my town.

[Guest HexHead]

I find it funny that people think its their job to teach their political ideas to their kids. Same thing with their religon. Why not let the kids think it through themselves and come to their own conclusions?

Are you forgetting the teachers union is a secular-progressive organization and was one of Obama's biggest supporters during the campaign?

[Guest clsutton21]

So...everyone best get prepared for zombie children chanting Obama. You know that they will be after us all.

[Guest HexHead]

I find this part of the "lesson plan" uncomfortable....

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?

[gregintenn]

I find it pretty funny that you guys keep saying that teachers lean to the left. My wife is an elementary school teacher. She votes conservative every time. She is not alone. I have met alot of the other teachers. I dont know but maybe one that would be a democrat.

If she belongs to either the TEA or the NEA, she is either liberal or ignorant of the ideals they promote.