AAR

[dick]

Just wondering whether parents on the board have decided to allow or forbid their children to "participate" in Obama's speech.

[jebe]

My son isn't school aged, way past it as a matter of fact, but I work for a public school. The Superintendent sent a letter home on Friday saying they were going to air it during school hours. Because our school has three middle school grades in it and we all follow different schedules, some of the kids will be in lunch when the address airs so they're recording it and showing it during the last period of the day. We weren't asked what we thought, just told to tune in. I won't even see it w/the kids b/c my kids will be in their special classes (art, music, computers) during that time.

In all honesty, I really don't know how I would feel about it if my son was school aged.
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Why put off til tomorrow what you can put off until next week?

[Lee]

You mean the one where the President of the US is going to encourage kids to stay in school and pursue education as a way of bettering themselves or the one where he's going to hypnotize all the kids into being socialists?

The silly season has truly begun.

[Tee]

[Claire]

Here's our letter from the school about the speech:

As you know, the Fulton County School System focuses on instruction and teaching the state's new curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards, so that students can achieve - and exceed - their personal and educational goals. Daily instructional time is a precious resource; therefore, schools are under no obligation to watch the hour-long address, either through the webcast or on CSPAN.

We will not be airing this broadcast at school. Families have the option of watching the president's remarks with their children outside of the school day, as the speech is expected to be available on both the White House (www.whitehouse.gov) and CSPAN (www.c-span.org) web sites after the broadcast.


I didn't even know anything about it until the letters came out. I think it can only do my kids good to hear the president say they should study hard.

I wonder what teachers think about it. It could be a good civics lesson, no matter what someones political views I would think.

[KarenS]

This is the text of President Obama's speech for Tuesday's address to the school children. Seems pretty innocuous to me. I do think it is the President's rightful place to exhort our students to do the best they can. They are after all our future.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

[willaful]

I haven't heard from the school one way or another. I hope my son will be seeing it.
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"I say, don't read the classics -- try to discover your own classics; every life has its own." -- Rudolf Flesch, _How to Make Sense_

[JaneO]

School children of varying ages are going to sit quietly, listen and pay attention to a speech.

On what planet?
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JaneO

[Tacilija]

At my kids' school, the first grade teachers sent home note saying that they will be watching and gave the parents option of not giving permission.

The fifth grade teachers sent the note saying that children will not be watching because school time is too precious to use it for political agendas (!!!).

I think 5th graders are way more likely to understand the speech and benefit from it and I am kind of upset at the 5th grade teachers attitude, but there is nothing I can do (besides leting kids watch the speech at home)...

[dick]

Right on, JaneO. I read the text of it today. Everything he says, most teachers have said at least 20 times without much effect. It would be great if it works, but....

[xina]

I think this is just another...extreme right wing effort, to discredit the President. And I'm sorry, but much of it has to do with the fear mongering journalism that is put out on Fox News. My 90yr. old father watches quite a bit and for a man who is so intelligent, but now very old... he has picked up some really scary ideas about this adminitstration just from watching regularly.
From what I have heard about the speech, the President is wishing the children luck in school, to study hard and to stay in school. What could be wrong with that?
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"As you wish"
~The Princess Bride

[Tee]

[Claire]

[norcalgolfer]

The whole point of the speech seems to be great, I doubt whether very many children will take it to heart, but if it makes a difference in even a few that's awesome. I don't like where Obama has to lie to try to relate though. His mom remarried when he was 4, to a man who worked for an Oil company as well as the Indonesian government, they did not have to struggle for money. When he was 8 he went to live with his maternal grandparents, both of which had good jobs. Him saying that he was raised by a single mom who had to struggle is a lie, unless you consider age 2 to 4 being totally raised, how many memories can he possibly have from those 2 years?

I think the speech was great, but in the future it would be nice if Obama could give a speech to a group without including gratuitous lies.

[Lee]

I bet he and his mom didn't get up to study at 4:30 _every_ morning either. Oh, will the lies never end. . .