Obama Speech Divides Parents
President Barack Obama’s plan to address the nation’s students during the school day Tuesday has polarized parents over whether it’s OK for their kids to listen to the speech.
On one side are parents who say the webcast speech to K-12 students is “political recruiting” and “spreading the liberal agenda.”
On the other are those who say listening to presidential speeches is an important part of American culture and the education process.
The White House officially announced the speech Wednesday morning, and the U.S. Department of Education followed up with a letter to school principals and a lesson plan for discussing the talk. The White House said the speech will address the importance of studying and staying in school.
Most metro-area districts passed information about the speech on to their schools Wednesday afternoon, asking principals to send the information home with students that same day.
But word of the address leaked out early and spread rapidly online and on talk radio, and some parents reacted strongly to the perceived motive for the speech.
School districts in the metro area immediately began fielding phone calls and e-mails from parents.
Many wanted more information about Obama’s agenda, but others reacted angrily and threatened to pull their children out of school that day.
“We’ve received about 50 phone calls today, the vast majority of them opposed to the speech,” said Susan Meek, spokeswoman for Douglas County Schools. “Some parents are worried they won’t be able to be there, or won’t have been able to view the speech ahead of time.”
“Liberal agenda”
Highlands Ranch parent Shanneen Barron, in an e-mail to The Denver Post, wondered why Obama’s speech is OK for the classroom when the Bible is not.
“I believe in the Bible and I believe it has educational value,” she wrote, “but teachers aren’t allowed to teach on that. So why this? We won’t be sending our kids to school on Tuesday.”
One Jefferson County parent complained of Obama’s “political recruiting,” while a Douglas County parent said that “spreading (Obama’s) liberal agenda in publicly funded schools is reprehensible.”
On the other hand, Rachel Drummond of Highlands Ranch, who has three school-age kids, said watching a president give a speech is part of growing up.
“I would expect my kids to listen to any president,” she said. “My gut reaction is that there are a whole lot of people out there who don’t want to listen to a black president.”
Douglas County’s Meek said she thinks parents aren’t sure what to expect from the speech. “They’re uncertain what the message will be, and they’re concerned about their kids sitting through a presidential address not being sure what it’s going to be about.”
“Totally educational”
In Douglas, El Paso and Jefferson county school districts, principals and classroom teachers will decide whether students may opt out of listening and participate in some other academic activity during the speech.
Denver Public Schools spokesman Mike Vaughn would not say whether Denver students will be given the option of not listening to the speech.
“This is not going to be a political discussion, it’s an educational lesson,” he said. “We will emphasize to parents that it’s totally educational and nonpolitical.”
Most school districts have technical limits and may not be able to broadcast the speech to every classroom, particularly in elementary schools, which may not have enough computers. The cable network C-SPAN also will broadcast the speech live, so that classrooms with televisions may watch it.
Most school districts will not allow classroom discussions of the speech.
In a note to parents, Staci McCormack, principal of Arrowwood Elementary School in Highlands Ranch, wrote “the follow-up conversation may happen at home with parents.”
Obama is not the first president to talk to the nation’s schoolchildren about good study habits.
In 1991, President George H.W. Bush addressed the nation’s students, urging them to study hard, avoid drugs and turn in troublemakers. In his speech, he told students to ignore peers “who think it’s not cool to be smart.”
And Democrats responded then by criticizing him for spending Department of Education money on a broadcast they claimed was political advertising used to counter claims that he was ignoring domestic issues.
-By Mike McPhee, Denver Post
I have been really surprised by the reaction. Then again, after getting burned at the stake after writing about all the kindergarten problems in my local school district, maybe I should just learn that education is controversial.
However, I honestly do not get this argument. I am not a supporter of President Obama but have been almost laughing at all the people who are saying he is going to push his “liberal agenda.” He did not get to be president by being stupid and doing something like that would be stupid. We need to give him some credit for speaking out to our kids. I wish more would do it.
I, too, am shocked by the outrage. I just don’t get it. How can talking about education to school children be bad? Even if it was a President who had politics I didn’t support, the message of education and its importance should bring us together, not drive us apart.
I absolutely agree Amber and JoAnn. I had to blog about it last night because I was so shocked! I may not agree with the President on everything, but one speech to school-aged kids probably isn’t going to rock their world regardless of of his motives. What they are most likely to remember is that they got a break from listening to their teacher for 20 minutes and got to watch TV instead!
I don’t get it either. I think some people will use any excuse they can to talk trash about Obama. What does this teach our children? Intolerance. That anyone who disagrees with us is bad.
I’m bummed my daughter won’t be in school on Tuesday (she goes M-W-F), but we will find the speech online and watch it at home. For the record, if it were McCain giving the speech I’d have no issue with my kid watching it either. A president should be able to talk to the people in his nation.
Great feedback, everyone. I agree!
I think this is a great idea, myself! I am so ignorant of our country’s political structure and government- I think it’s great that we expose our kids to the world we live in, that they learn how things work. I do think that schools should make the lesson plan available for parents to view, that way if parents choose to keep their children out, they can, but I see no reason to “forbid” such a thing!
I am not a political person… I believe that whoever is president deserves our right to listen.
Why would we not?
Are we SOOO afraid that he is going to “sway” our children in the hour he is going to talk to them in a way that we can’t correct?
What harm is it going to do?
“Support your country, each other and the president” – Yep… I checked.. so far I don’t have anything bad to think about that one.
“Study hard, you ARE our future” – Yes… also very true statements, so what would I complain?
He is going to talk to them! The president of the UNITED STATES cares enough about my football playing son, my artist daughter, my prima donna senior to speak with them.
He is speaking to my second grader, my kindergartner and two toddlers. He is speaking to all of us and all of them. He is speaking to the teacher standing before those students, giving those children hopes that they can one day change the world.
Change a world that is showing hardships all around. How many of our kids have come home to use with tears in their eyes saying, “My friend had to move to live with their grandmother because they couldn’t afford their home.” ?
I work in the school district and get phone calls from parents saying, “My kids and I are living in our car, how can the bus come pick them up in the morning?”
We need help…. help from our kids, help from each other and help from our president.
Someone cares enough to talk to my kids and give them hope… LET THEM SHOUT! I want my kids to see that the president cares.
Ahem… Ok.. my soapbox and I are packed away…. Off to my blog.
I think the most shocking thing about this story I’ve read so far, and that I just learned from reading this post, is that person’s response that somehow race is a factor. Ugggggghhhhh. Until that statement I thought everyone had pretty reasoned arguments for their feelings on the matter. But, to project racial motivations on people with opposing viewpoints is just vile to me.
As for me, I don’t have a dog in this fight since my daughter isn’t even of pre-school age yet, but I wouldn’t opt her out if she were in school after getting more informed on what was going to be said and the changes that have been made since first announcing the speech. I think THAT was a legitimate request by parents: to have more info. on the speech and the discussion topics leading up to and after.
One thing I’ve notice since I started paying attention, is that the people’s trust in any President doesn’t come inherent with the office, i.e. George H.W. Bush. Is the amount of distrust in this President warranted? That’s for everyone to come to their own conclusions on.
I think people tend to look at the PERSON rather than the OFFICE.
The acid test is: would your views change if the other party held the presidency?
I have no problem with a President talking to children about studying, trying, reading, working hard and working smart. Of either party (although I wish we had more than two viable choices in parties).
Any educator just can’t help but to LAUGH at this particular line…”Parents at least agree that lasting lessons should come, not so much from the White House, but the house where kids grow up.” Sure, that’d be GREAT if every parent actually did their JOB at home but NEWSFLASH America- NOT ALL PARENTS ACT LIKE PARENTS. What about the students who go home to NOBODY? Are they supposed to cozy up to their television at home and know to turn on the presidential address in the evening?! Did it ever occur to some Americans that perhaps the reason OUR president is addressing students DURING the school day is so that every young person will at least have the opportunity to hear a speech especially designed for THEM. Bottom line…IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU…IT’S ABOUT THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THIS NATION. Enough said.
Its like a MIL who hands a kid a chocolate bar before dinner behind your back. Yes, the chocolate bar won’t kill them and sure it makes them happy. They are probably willing to do something for it if you made them but the point is MIL should have asked you first.
Why wasn’t I asked? Why do I not get to view it before my child does to see if its something I’d approve of? Why do I need to pull my child out of school if I don’t want him to participate?
I know text can be hard to read emotion so I’ll let you know I’m not fighting or arguing. I’m simply confused at why he can’t speak to us first.
And yes, I read the post above me that states “What about the students who go home to NOBODY?” well then maybe Obama should be spending his time there…where its hell of a lot more critical! Because in my great town where we’re lucky to have ONE kid drop out a year, I don’t need the president telling my son to do better. He does his best every day!
This whole thing has saddened me. I’m not sure what people think he’s going to say that is so offensive and so “liberal”.
And the analogy of luring kids with the “chocolate bar”. Sorry I don’t get it. What is so “chocolatey” about the speech? What is the reward? And what appetite is going to be spoiled? To me what was so telling is the “…They are probably willing to do something for it if you made them…”. Like there is some expectation that there is some sort of an ellicit trade going on here.
Personally I think that whoever holds the office of president should do this every year at the start of the school year. What is so wrong encouraging kids to do their part as part of their future. To empower them to think about their own success. To take some responsibility for their own success. Isn’t that what we want for our kids? What is liberal or conservative about that?
I think that it is ironic that parents are so willing to pull their kids which strikes me as not being very respectful of our democracy.
When I grew up (not all that long ago) I was raised to respect the President. For this reason, I grew up assuming my parents had voted for Reagan, but as I later learned, the did not vote for him 100% (mom – never, dad did first time, but not second). What I find most outrageous about this is the idea of the “liberal” or “conservative” agenda and the idea that one would not want to listen to the President speak!
The divide that has grown in our country is sad and the parents who don’t want their kids to listen to the speech and the ones who will pull them out of the school for the day are severely misguided. If you want to teach your children to be respectful, non-judgmental, and to listen thoughtfully to those with differing opinions, then you ought to be pleased to have your kids listen to a Presidential Speech, even if you did not vote for him.
Even the idea of viewing it before hand — to make sure it is “okay” for little ears is silly. Do you really think the President, a father himself, is going to say something to traumatize or warp your children? If so, then you probably shouldn’t ever let them leave your side, keep them with you all the time, and never ever let them visit friends or relatives, because God knows what they might hear when they are not under your direct supervision!
Personally, I think it is a great idea, for a President, whatever his or her leanings might be to speak to our kids and open their awareness to the political nature of our country. Democracy loves discourse and the only good thing about this controversy is that it has folks talking.