(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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With the passing of Ted Kennedy last week, it is easy to recall the memories of "Camelot" and the lore of the Kennedy family. Much of that has to do with the rhetoric flourishes of Ted's brother, John F. Kennedy:
The words, "Ask not what your country can do for you; Ask what you can do for your country," although ingrained in the hearts and minds of most Americans, seem to have been misunderstood by Barack Obama to say, "Ask what you can do for your president."
The Drudge Report splashed the story Tuesday afternoon that Obama planned to make an "unprecedented address to all public school students" on September 8.
And despite all of the proposed protests and outcry (even by Lefties) against the plan, which I sympathize with, there is a greater issue that already exists with the materials distributed for the event.
On the "Activities for grades PreK-6" document, the Department of Education has lined up some ideas on what teachers can do with their 4-14 year olds in the classroom. What is odd about the list is that all of the ideas revolve around Obama, not about the students or the country.
"Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama..." is the tip for what to do before Obama's speech. Why is it so important to know about him? Is is really appropriate for schools to have students read all about Obama as a standalone project and not encourage and more in-depth civics lesson as part of the curriculum? Teachers should be careful with the suggested reading and make sure their 2nd grade class doesn't get to read all about how Obama tried cocaine, as he admitted in "Dreams From My Father."
Throughout the speech, teachers are asked to encourage students to think about many things... mostly relating to Obama himself:
"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?" (emphasis added).
"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? " (emphasis added).
Why is it that the students ought to be accountable to Obama himself? This is yet another example of how out of touch Obama and his administration have become. They must honestly believe that citizens should be waiting to hear what Obama has to say and when he says "Jump" they should respond "How high?" To push this mindset on young children is appalling.
Finally, teachers are also encouraged to have the students work on some projects following the speech. One notable suggestion was to:
"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." (emphasis added).
Rather than doing for country, Obama now asks elementary school kids and younger to do for him instead.
The only thing missing from these suggestions were the deity-worthy capitalization of pronouns referring to Obama.
For more info: Joe Luppino-Esposito is a law student and a leading young conservative writer. He speaks nationally on winning activism battles for conservatives on campus. Joe is also editor of AverageJoeLE.com, a blog for recent conservative college graduates.
Comments
I do not support the current presidents agenda. My children are also old enough to recognize when partisan bulls*it is being thrown at them, even if that bulls*it comes from the president. I'd actually like them to experience it and learn from it. But, I will not tolerate verbal abuse from either partisan teachers or their fellow students if they are asked to participate in a Q&A afterwards. That is the problem with this, not that the president is speaking to the schoolchildren of America. But, that this president has created a following of bullies. It would be a shame to have to keep my child home from school and miss out on their studies to keep them from being bullied as a result of this.
The children of Cuba look to Fidel Castro as does the children all around the world look to their Marxist leaders and adore them as a God. Obama is a Marxist and a lefist pig.
He has to do something when his policies make adults yawn.
www.examiner.com/examiner/x-19977-Allentown-Fiscal-Responsibility-Examiner~y2009m8d31-Where-is-the-broad-interest-in-this-health-care-debate
This is nothing new, if you look at the last 8 months of presidency BO has shown consistantly that he is just a self centered egotistical narcasist...This is just further efforts on his part to exploit his power as president for his own personal sense of fulfilment...
I don't suppose school children would want to be indoctrinated with the likes of water torture and a president from the past that couldn't even give a comprehensive speech?
I have never been so concerned about a presidents agenda as I am of Mr. Obama. That being said, I plan to withhold my 5th and 6th graders, and watch the speech with them at home; I'm sure you tube will post video. We will discuss service as a family. I worry also because children, by nature, are liberal. They have little to no real life experience or wisdom to base their decisions which are mainly emotionally based. Critical thinking is not taught in the classroom anymore, so we will be teaching it in the home...where it belongs in the first place!
I am a retired school teacher and an English professor. I am absolutely stunned parents, teachers and our schools would go along with such an obvious government indoctrination program aimed at our impressionable youth.
Learning about civics and American political history is great. Having our president step into classrooms to tell children what a great president he is, this is a slap across the face Lady Liberty and America.
You parents and teachers out there going along with this obvious indoctrination of our American children, you are neither good parents nor good teachers; you are socialists sacrificing our children to a "brown shirt" political philosophy.
This indoctrination program is frightening. More frightening is parents and teachers participating in this indoctrination.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
Puma Politics
Seriously? This is really, really reaching. The questions are geared toward the kids who just watched the speech, and are formed like they typically are in this situation. When kids watch a speech, it's like the speaker is speaking to them. The questions are aimed at very young kids, and you look like a loon for implying there's anything going on here except a speech from the president (not a candidate, YOUR president), encouraging kids to have a good school year. Nice way to spread that fear and idiocy.
Did you actually read the press release, btw?
Well, at any rate, enjoy life on the fringe while the vast majority of America (and the world) shake their heads in bemusement. Guess it's better that you'd pick a non-issue to rile people up over instead of causing any real damage.
Teachers love Obama and his policys. How will the kids be swayed? Nuff said
The Obama youth project, humm, sounds kinda familiar doesn't it?
I think we may homeschool again. I don't know what the man is planning but so far Obama and congress are pretty much corrupt.
How far will this man go to make us believe he is greater than life. I pray my daughter will keep my granddaughter home so she can miss this brain washing. Will he never stop? He is going to control everything in America or not be happy. Wake up America! This man is evil and he will bring America down.
Tomouthtapedshut
I wish it was taped shut. That torture was done on people who were trying to destroy America. Do you think the Muslims are this gentle? No your head rolls before interrogation is even a thought. You think Obama gives a comprehensive speech. Ha! He rambles on with his crap and has to use a teleprompter to even get thru a speech and questions ask by the press. I have not seen a bit of his "change" that has been good for America. Now he wants to brainwash our children.
Obama is avoiding addressing the true problem with our education system. Obama is a sissy boy.
Over in Los Angeles, California, you will find the highest paid teachers of our nation, obscenely high paid. The Los Angeles county dropout rate is fifty percent. Los Angeles is rendering our kids into illiterate hamburger flippers.
Much the same is true across our nation.
Obama is to address our teachers, staff, school boards and our education system. Obama is to offer a blistering critique of our failing to provide decent educations to our children.
This lack of quality education in America is not the fault of our students, this is the fault of our dysfunctional education system. Yes, inspiration for students is good, but students are the wrong target audience. We can inspire our kids to do well in school but this is pointless while our teachers are failures at teaching our kids.
Obama is avoiding the true problem. Obama is a sissy boy.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
Puma
This sounds alot like something that occurred back about 80 years ago in a country call Germany. If BO wants to address the children why doesn't he do it in an address to the nation where he encourages parents of the nation to view it with their children in the context of a family setting not in the setting of a liberal school environment. But then again he probably would not get the end result he is looking for. I thank God everday that my children were able to attend a parochial school where they learned about the true Messiah and not have their minds twisted and bent by a liberal school system and now a complete moron set upon the destruction of this nation. The BO disciples need to wake up and realize what is happening to their country!! By way all you BO followers do you also agree that the gov amoung other things should be able to shudown the internet and totally control speech in this country? You lib's of all people should be screaming from the rafters about this one!
This is totally unacceptable.
I am a high school U.S. History and my first response to Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama's national ASSembly was that this sounds like "1984" or one of the 20th century dictators who understood that their power lay in their ability to influence the next generation.
However, I am ready to give it a shot. If he truly gives the old work hard, study, pay attention in class and get plenty of sleep speech, it will be a waste of time, but fairly benign. Heck, some schools pay people $20,000 to come in and give those talks. In fact, many of us dumb ol' teachers talk to students about those things on a daily basis.
If his speech becomes political in any way, I will teach it for what it is: propaganda and indoctrination. If he encourages children to push specific policy ideas, I will expose it for my students. It might be fun to compare and contrast Obama's view of America with the Founding Fathers. In other words, "bring it on."
We all have our own set of morals, values, and ideals. We can all make a decision to opt out for our own children if we so choose. I wish however, that our president would address all of us. I would consider allowing my children to watch his speech if I could have information about its content. Just like any other form of information or television, It is my resposibity to be aware of what my children are watching and judge if it is appropriate according to my morals, values, and ideals. I thank God that I live in America and have the rights I hold.
"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." How appropriate!
Thank God for private schools where my children don’t have to be exposed to this political brainwashing. Public Schools use to teach things like reading, writing and arithmetic. However, now days they are nothing more than political indoctrination stations as are most of our universities. Barry Obama is a scary one indeed, whoever thought that American’s would elect a president that holds values and philosophies of those who our forefathers fought and sacrificed their lives to oppose and defeat. There must have been a lot of people out there who slept through history class! I would just as soon have Fidel Castro talk to my children as this president.
Mr. President, I think you could best help our country by taking a one way trip in air force one to anywhere but here. PS – Please feel free to take Pelosi, Biden, Reid, Gibbs, Boxer and all of your other America hating cronies with you. Thank you in advance for considering my recommendation and I’ll be glad to help you pack.
I agree with Nestor, however for the sake of Global Warming please only use 1 gallon jet fuel.
This idiot is so full of himself it is sickening. I worry about the future of our country more now than I ever have
I agree with Jane in that all the president is doing is hoping to use technology to reach out to children. There is no campaigning here - he is already president. Of course the questions are geared at trying to get the children to consider what the speaker is saying. Just because someone is not of one's party in no way gives one the right to spread such fear and hatred. I am so sorry to see so many citizens buy into the FOX rhetoric. People, they are only reporting these things and spreading lies in order to gain viewership and, in turn, make a greater profit. You are all indoctrinating yourselves with the belief system of Rupert Murdock, who no longer is welcome in his own country, yet you balk at the opportunity that your children will have to hear their president speak? What is wrong with this picture?
Dawn asks, "What is wrong with this picture?"
Barack Obama.
Obama is a well known Marxist leaning socialist and racist who is a close friend for years with domestic terrorists, racist preachers, criminals, corrupt politicians and surrounds himself with leftist extremist radicals, tax cheats, communists and Chicago thugs. Obama has surrendered America to Islam. Obama is bent on rendering America a socialist welfare nation stripped of most of our Constitutional freedoms.
He is our president. What is wrong with this picture?
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
Puma Politics
Dawn,
It is apparent that you have been drinking the cool-aid! Maybe you need to do a little research about your beloved president instead of being indoctrinated by the main stream media. You don’t have to watch Fox news, listen to conservative radio or read conservative websites to discover the truth. With very little effort you can find hundreds of video clips and articles of obama being dishonest, changing positions to suite his agenda or target audience and revealing he true ideology which is that of a Marxism. Your naivety is truly mind boggling!
How did this man get into office. it seems like so many people are against him, yet someone voted him in. It sure as heck wasn't me. I agree, BO is trying to destroy our country. the question is will it be through iraqui terrorists, german nazi's, chinese communism, or his he goingto create his own kind of threat to us. I feel sad for our forefathers who sacrifised so much only to have us end up like this. Thanks to all of you morons who elected him--I hope you get affected first.
AS if our kids aren't screwed up enough with the media putting ideas in their heads. Kids already think parents are stupid, teachers are evil and incompetent, and adults are people to be ignored rather than respected. thanks to obama bin ladin our kids are being put in charge of telling him how he should do his job. Way to give them more power jackass. Then again, at this point our kids know more about what america needs than our own president does since they live the real life of an American.
You are all idiots for taking the time to even respond to this. Get to work you bunch of whining, misspelling, degenerates.
NOTHING MATTERS.
God forbid anyone besides you tries to spurn your lazy-video-game-addicted-sugar-crazed-selfish-rude-brat kids into actually THINKING or DOING something.
God forbid anyone besides you tries to spurn your lazy-video-game-addicted-sugar-crazed-selfish-rude-brat kids into actually THINKING or DOING something.
This would be terrible if it were true, but it is all lies. Get more details at the website. dub dub dub dot e d dot gov /admins/lead/academic/bts.html
At first I was scared, but a little google search showed me that this article was just sensationalism. PHEW!
To the most recent commenters: I gave you a shout out on my new piece-- with an update to this story: www.examiner.com/examiner/x-18410-Newark-Young-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m9d3-Obama-administration-backpedals-on-ways-to-help-the-president
More paranoia and disinformation from members of the "Fox Thinks For Us" (FTFU) club. So now we are afraid for our children communicate with our unanimously elected President? Or, is it Fox who fears that more of the truth will slip out and damage their hideous disinformation campaign? It is saddending to see how so many good Americans are so easily susceptable to Fox brainwashing. Guess the entertainment value of publicly bashing our President outweighs any effort of seeking out the truth (death panels, nazism, etc.). All he wants to do is get our children engaged in the world and we respond by applying fear and blinders? Wow, better I guess to keep them home that day to play Nintendo or make some popcorn and watch some Glenn Beck! Wake up folks - get engaged in the process, learn to separate sensationalism and entertainment from reality. No President in recent memory has been dealt a bigger crap sandwich and he's merely asking for some face time to engage those it will effect most.
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