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White House prepares schools for September 8th address to the nation’s youth
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On September 8th Barack Obama is going to address the children of our Nation in an unprecedented webcast to the nation’s public schools. In a letter sent to principals across the nation, from Secretary Arne Duncan, it was announced that the White House website would be broadcasting a live speech intended to reach the majority of the Nation’s youth as they begin the school year. The speech, according to the letter, will concentrate on the importance of education and, according to an interview Obama gave to a young reporter, how the administration plans on improving the system. The letter came accompanied with two proposed teaching plans for the classes. One plan addressed children in PreK-6th grade, while the other addressed children in 7th-12th grade.
As the current administration concentrates on yet another way to reach yet another captive audience, the mainstream media has largely ignored the proposed September 8th speech. The teaching plans that accompanied the letter from the Secretary raised suspicions from conservatives alerted to the intention of the administration. The teaching plans include such “thinking exercises” as asking “What is the president asking me to do?” and suggesting that the teachers build background knowledge (one suggestion given in the teaching plan is to read books about Barack Obama.). Some think this type of influence on our children is nothing short of propaganda.
In the teaching plans for 7th-12th grades it is suggested that the students examine and read “notable quotes” from the president’s past speeches. (I wonder if one of those “notable quotes” is his infamous “spreading the wealth” comment to Joe the Plumber.) The teaching plan also gives suggestions on how the teachers can help the students “increase retention and deepen understanding of an important aspect of the speech.” It seems Barack Obama’s community organizing days are not behind him as he pushes for an obvious and overt attempt to ask the students to consider the importance of the community’s goals and needs. In one part of the K-6th teaching plan, it is suggested that “it might make sense to focus on personal and academic goals so that community and country goals come more readily.”
The knee jerk reaction of the few people who have become aware of the administration’s plan is to denounce the act as an obvious propaganda driven attempt at indoctrinating our children. Holding off on judgment until after the speech is aired might be a wise a prudent maneuver; however, with the past associations of the president, and his administration’s attempts at manipulating facts to encourage their agenda, it seems reasonable that trepidations exist. On Hugh Hewitt’s radio program it was suggested September 8th become the unofficial conservative "take your child to work day” in an effort to avoid the presentation of a very liberal president in a very liberal environment to an otherwise very un-political mind . . . a child.
After all, the political presentation of education is not exactly a suitable or appropriate subject of study for a child in Kindergarten; or even in third grade. More importantly, however, is the fact that such a direct attempt to “inform” our youth by the leader of the free world is, for a lack of better adjectives, a little strange. It is reminiscent of a maneuver Chavez or Castro would employ to indoctrinate the youth.
A little more unsettling is the fact that the address will be uninterrupted, and in most cases, hosted by a sympathetic administrator: The school. It remains questionable that an obviously biased establishment such as the public school system will have the capacity to fairly interpret any of the president’s talking points; let alone with a proposed teaching plan supplied by the White House. (Below is one extreme example of political bias in the classroom. Please be sure to watch the video.) Why should our children be subjected to such propaganda? If the president feels education is an important issue to tackle, his course of action should be to address the citizens of this country directly; and leave the nation’s youth out of the politically polarizing debate. What grants the president the right to speak, without your consent or presence, to your eight year old child about the importance of education and community? Is it arrogance that has convinced him such an act would be acceptable; or is it more calculated than that? And why do they feel it justifiable to supply teachers with, essentially, White House approved teaching plans?
I encourage you to read the letter and lesson plans for yourself. However, I also encourage you to consider contacting your principal and requesting that the speech not be aired within the school. I would otherwise encourage you to consider pulling your child from class that day, or (at the very least) making a sincere attempt at watching the speech on your own. (It will be on the White House website at 12:00pm EST) I, despite not having a child of my own, will be watching the speech as it airs live on Monday. I hope that the animosity many conservatives have about his attempts to “communicate” (a term I use loosely) directly with our children is unfounded.
School contact information should be available with a simple google search.
Click here to view the letter, K-6th grade teaching plan or the 7th-12th grade teaching plan.
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Below is the video referenced in the article. It came to light during the elections, and is yet again starting to surface. It is The Case for taking an active and important role in your child’s education. Be sure to watch the whole video.
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