Parents and lawmakers speak out against Obama's speech to students

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Looks fine to me; I just don't undrestand what people were expecting. Did people really think he was going to be giving a stump speech to school children?

No. I think it was the first batch of lesson plans that allowed the right wing hype machine to creeped them out. If you ask kids to write letters about helping the President, people who oppose that President's agenda are going to freak.

I still don't think it's going to get shown in a lot of places, but maybe folks will watch at home later.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Looks fine to me; I just don't undrestand what people were expecting. Did people really think he was going to be giving a stump speech to school children?

Yeah . . . basically, if you're in opposition to this specific message, you're an absolute lunatic.

It's a great speech, and it's well-targeted - maybe some crazy folk will get pissed by the "ethnic" names used in the anecdotes, but it's not intended for Jimmy Catholicschool Prodigy anyway.

[WCsweet<3]

KSig
I don't know. I went to Catholic school my entire life. We had kids drop out and struggle all the time. I do understand what you mean though. However, like DaemonSeid said earlier that if you reach one child then it is a job well done and I agree.

[DaemonSeid]

I have a nice brown shirt I am wearing tomorrow....hmmm

[AGDee]

I have read responses to the content that implied that the content would have been really different if there had not been so much controversy but since people got up in arms, they changed it <eye roll> Seriously?

From what my kids tell me about what they see/hear on Channel One, it's very liberal in it's content. I'm surprised there aren't more protests about Channel One, honestly.

My kids attend assemblies at school all the time without parental permission or an "opt out" option. One, in particular, my daughter experienced in 2nd grade. It was a teenager doing an anti-smoking assembly because this teenager had gotten throat cancer at age 8, supposedly due to his parents' second hand smoke. I was a smoker at the time but NEVER in the house and NEVER in the car with the kids. My daughter came home hysterical that she was going to get throat cancer and have to talk through a computerized box because I smoked. She totally missed the "second hand smoke" part of the message and only heard the "If your parents smoke, you will get throat cancer" part. Additionally, it's nearly impossible to positively determine what caused any cancer. I mean, obviously, your risk for lung cancer increases tremendously when you smoke. However, when I was a kid, all of the adults smoked everywhere and anywhere, including in the car with the windows up (and both mom and dad were smoking like that!). I don't know a single person who got throat cancer in elementary school because of it. That presentation seemed completely irresponsible to me.

ETA: The teachers for whom school starts tomorrow weren't scheduled to be at work until Friday. I don't think they had any time to prepare.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I have read responses to the content that implied that the content would have been really different if there had not been so much controversy but since people got up in arms, they changed it <eye roll> Seriously?

From what my kids tell me about what they see/hear on Channel One, it's very liberal in it's content. I'm surprised there aren't more protests about Channel One, honestly.

My kids attend assemblies at school all the time without parental permission or an "opt out" option. One, in particular, my daughter experienced in 2nd grade. It was a teenager doing an anti-smoking assembly because this teenager had gotten throat cancer at age 8, supposedly due to his parents' second hand smoke. I was a smoker at the time but NEVER in the house and NEVER in the car with the kids. My daughter came home hysterical that she was going to get throat cancer and have to talk through a computerized box because I smoked. She totally missed the "second hand smoke" part of the message and only heard the "If your parents smoke, you will get throat cancer" part. Additionally, it's nearly impossible to positively determine what caused any cancer. I mean, obviously, your risk for lung cancer increases tremendously when you smoke. However, when I was a kid, all of the adults smoked everywhere and anywhere, including in the car with the windows up (and both mom and dad were smoking like that!). I don't know a single person who got throat cancer in elementary school because of it. That presentation seemed completely irresponsible to me.

ETA: The teachers for whom school starts tomorrow weren't scheduled to be at work until Friday. I don't think they had any time to prepare.

Again, I totally agree. First of all, Channel One definitely has content that I would expect some parents to find questionable. To my knowledge there has been no major outcry over the content of Channel One. It continues to be widely shown.

Second, I know that the school districts mean well in having assemblies where they talk about the dangers of smoking and such, but as you pointedout, often the students don't have to get permission from their parents to attend. Last year around prom time, the school had an assembly and invited the Life Flight trauma team from Duke to come and speak about car accidents on prom night. Of course they had a little video to go along with it. Needless to say, the students were traumatized and disturbed by the content of the video. Many of them started crying and remained upset for the remainder of the day. Still, at the outset no one required the students to get permission to attend, nor were the students given the choice to opt out of seeing it. Everyone had to attend.

With that being said, I still don't understand the uproar surrounding his speech. 1. Parents everywhere should be happy that anyone wants to try to encourage their children to stay in school. 2. It goes without saying that because of Obama's path to the White House, some kids may be more responsive to hearing such a messgae from him because it makes them feel as though if they work hard they can achieve anything in this country. 3. In the back of my mind, and in agreement with several other people I have talked to about this, I think it is a little less about partisanship and more about something else...

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by sqid smoks crak

PS. If it was really about something else Obama would not be in the White House.

You mean the fact that he won the election means that no disagreement with his policies or position, even if only held by a relatively small but vocal segment of the population, could be rooted in "something else"?

Your logic does not resemble our earth logic.

[DaemonSeid]

whey

[AOII Angel]

I was proud of Laura Bush for standing up and supporting President Obama for this initiative. Encouraging kids to stay in school may just be that and not a political agenda to turn all kids into socialists.

[moe.ron]

So . . .

Did comrade Obama's speech inspire the little kids to join the revolution to overthrow the capitalist system and changed it into a utopian worker's paradise?

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I was proud of Laura Bush for standing up and supporting President Obama for this initiative. Encouraging kids to stay in school may just be that and not a political agenda to turn all kids into socialists.

I didn't know she had done that. That is great to hear. lmao

[DaemonSeid]

PHILADELPHIA – On the very first day of the school year, 12-year-old Mileena Rodriguez was reminded by President Barack Obama himself that hard work can take you places.Mileena listened to Obama's plea to study hard and stay in school Tuesday, watching along with several of her classmates at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School and students across the country. For all the hubbub among adults over the back-to-school speech, many youngsters took the president's message to heart.

"He said that we're the future, and he's right," said Mileena, who wants to be a forensic scientist. "That's a president telling you, `I care about you getting your education.' Just imagine what kids like us can do if we actually listen."

Schoolchildren from coast to coast watched on classroom TVs and computer screens. Others did not hear the message at all, either because their parents pulled from them from class or their schools refused to carry the speech over complaints from conservative groups and others that it smacked of political indoctrination.

In his speech, which aired on C-SPAN and the White House Web site, Obama used examples from his own life to urge students to study hard. He told them to stop chasing dreams of being athletes or reality TV stars.

"The truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try," Obama said.

Other presidents, including Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, delivered similar speeches to students, but some conservatives accused Obama of trying to promote his policies, and they urged schools and parents to boycott the address. Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer initially called the speech an attempt to "spread President Obama's socialist ideology."

The Department of Education was also criticized for proposed lesson plans distributed to accompany the speech, including a section — later changed — that asked students to write about how they could help the president.


link

I hear that his books are the modern day Mein Kampf *wink*

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Other presidents, including Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, delivered similar speeches to students, but some conservatives accused Obama of trying to promote his policies, and they urged schools and parents to boycott the address. Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer initially called the speech an attempt to "spread President Obama's socialist ideology."

I wonder how many Republicans would mention that the last person to give such a speech was H.W. one of theirs, instead of Clinton who was the last Democratic POTUS.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

I wonder how many Republicans would mention that the last person to give such a speech was H.W. one of theirs, instead of Clinton who was the last Democratic POTUS.

thank you.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by deepimpact2

And why are you always criticizing his speaking ability? Do you say that about every single President? I could understand a few remarks here and there, but now you are just sounding sour and bitter. I didn't think Bush was eloquent, but I didn't say it every single time he gave a speech. Have you not realized by now that ALL Presidents generally give quite a few speeches? Besides, I would rather have a President who actively tries to inform the public instead of one who stays silent and expects the public to just go along because he's the President.

Why is there a problem with her criticizing his speaking ability? I don't agree with her (I think Obama's a solid speaker), but people have ALWAYS criticized the speaking skills of Presidents. Criticism of Obama in this regard just comes with the job.

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

I wonder how many Republicans would mention that the last person to give such a speech was H.W. one of theirs, instead of Clinton who was the last Democratic POTUS.

Lots would remember that - please, let's not confuse the loud protests of a few for the feeling of the Republicans as a whole. There are plenty of Republicans (and conservatives overall), including myself, who had no problem with the speech, and had no issue with giving such a speech to kids.