The calls started coming in today at the school I teach at from parents threatening to pull their kids out of school during President Obama's speech to students this Tuesday. The principal, my boss, wore each call on his face as he, a few other teacher, and myself discussed the negative and downright hostile responses by so many in our community about this. I feel that one of my biggest obstacles as a teacher is student apathy, so am not opposed to a pep talk to students, but also know many won't listen because of the policital orientation - and I hate to say in some situations, race - of our President. Would the same response be happening if a sports star were coming to the school to talk about the same issues?What does bother me about the manner in which this speech is occuring is that it is being done during the school day - parents should have the right and privilege to watch this speech with their students at home and discuss it with them. But my bigger concern is the divisiveness these parents are ultimately teaching their children by refusing to allow their children to listen to a person who politically is different from them but has the same educational goals for their kids, and his own, that they do. Instead of pulling their child out of school, why not go with them to school that day and sit in during the speech? Use this as a chance to start a dialog and teach their children how to listen to others and come up with their own conclusions? This is a great chance to talk with their children about what they agree with, and also what they disagree with in the speech. These parents fear possible political agendas being forced on their children but are turning their back on an oppertunity, if they pull their children out, to both talk with their children about opposing viewpoints, but more likely on a chance to find a commonality with the "other side." Becuase in all actuality, this speech will most likely include no discussion of health care plans or wars or the economy, information that would be over the heads of school aged children. Republicans and democrats alike care about the education their children and grandchildren receive. Can we not, for 50 minutes, sit down together on the common ground of the value of education, our children with us, and encourage them to be fair minded, goal oriented students who should value the precious education they receive?
11 comments:
I heard about this today on national news. I was shocked that so many people are so angry about it. What--is Obama going to cast a magic spell and turn all the nation's children into liberals? Yes, parents should have the right to NOT have their children listen to the speach. But pull them from school? Yeah, THAT sends the right message! Let's run and hide from someone who thinks differently from us! Ahhh! They actually had a woman on the newscast saying that it was a great opportunity--like you said--to listen to others and not automatically villify what others have to say just because you don't agree with them politically.
On a side note, I heard about supplemental lesson plans that you could download online to use as discussion points after the speach. One was to have kids write letters to themselves about what the can do to help the President. Help him with what, exactly? That WAS kind of weird. It has now been reworded to say write letters to themselves about how they can attain long- and short- term educational goals. MUCH more appropriate.
I saw that in an article on the CBS news website (about the lesson plan activity wordings). I didn't like that either. But like you said, it has been changed and I wouldn't have had my students do that anyway. I am shocked by the behavior of the citizens of this community, predominately LDS, who are acting and speaking so hatefully (what happened to the Articles of Faith #11-13?). I will be happy to say I'm wrong if the speech turns to politics in any way, but I don't think that this will happen. Hysteria and villification of people with other views is unacceptable, childish, and destructive.
FYI I left a similar comment on a NY Times article about this and it was an Editors Pick! I was comment 63.
http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/us/04school.html?permid=63#comment63
Awesome! I just read it...I also read the other editor's picks (as well as some of the other comments) and your comment was so well-thought out, so well worded, it deserved to be an editor's pick! Good job!
So I thought that I left a forever long comment on how I disagree with you but it looks like it didn't post. Basically it said that I don't fear opposing views but I don't agree with the assignments that were asked to be given. Glad that they were changed though. I do agree that I should be done with parents present and not teacher. You don't know how most teachers will react and don't know if teachers will put their political spin on anything that he says....just think back to college and some teachers you had. Not everyone is fair minded as we wish they were. I do agree that education is important and if the president wants to talk about how important it is don't you think it would be better done in the evening hours and not during school hours when some teachers time is very valuable.
I've looked at and printed off the curriculum - it's posted on whitehouse.gov, and now that the wording of those two or three questions are changed, there is some positive stuff in there. I wouldn't go over all or even most of it (it doesn't apply and I don't want to take the time) but I may have my students do a few while they're listening. Like "what examples in your life teach you about persistance" or "which word during the speech do you find most interesting".
Beth, another thing, though, is that even with no presidential speech to blame it on, teachers still give their political spins and opinions all the time! I could tell you the names of teacher right now at Cedar High who talk their politics frequently. It just happens, though, that most of the time here in C-town the teachers spin it the way you believe. Though teachers are not supposed to, it happens all the time, but will you pull your child out of public school every day because politics will come up? There are kids at this school whose parents/families/selves are not republican but are here every day and listen to those teacher. President Bush gave a speech of his own to students in 1991 (I read it on his presidential website this afternoon) asking students to do some of the same types of assignments Obama is. I think there is a lot of hysteria and jumping to conclusions and no one has even listened to what the man has to say yet. Did masses of people want to pull their kids out of school when Bush Sr. spoke in '91? So why is it such a big deal now?
At some point kids are going to grow up and have to make their own political decisions. Why is everyone so afraid of a speech on a topic as benign as education? IT'S JUST A SPEECH ON DOING WELL IN SCHOOL, PEOPLE!! What happens when kids grow up and of their own accord decide that they think differently from their parents? Think of all those professors--did they make you change your mind on moral/political issues? No! All you can do is teach your kids things that you think are right, and hope when they make it out into the real world they make the right decisions themselves. If they value the same things you do, then no speech or lecture or President's opinion is going to change it.
Not on my watch. I don't trust Obama as a person because of his political views and his friends, etc. I don't want my kids to be endeared to a person who I believe is dangerous to the liberty that my for father died for. This is a big deal. It's not about an harmless education speech. Our elem school here in colorado is giving us the option of watching it or not. I don't want my little girl to watch it because I think it will be good. He is an attractive great speaker, who I not only disagree with but feel is dangerous to my way of life. So no! I am divisive when it come to dividing my kids from things I don't think are good for them. Of course they will make their own choices in all they do as they grow up, but they are young impressionable children right now who deserve parents who care enough to say no when they don't feel something is quite right.
You're right - you do have the right to not have your children watch and to disagree with the president and his views. But the divisiveness I'm talking about is the rude and hateful language parents are using, often around their children and about people who are of different political convictions. There is no excuse for that. Because those same impressionable children then come to school and repeat the things you say at home in my classroom but don't have the world knowledge to back up what they say. They learn the hatefulness and scorning language. And children whose parents are of different views (and they by impressionable default) hear that and learn their own kind of hate and scorn and defensiveness of language. And I have to get involved and try to smooth things over but not get politically involved myself though my students look to me to pick sides. So by all means keep your child home. But also keep in mind that your children may be learning something more than that you dislike the president and they stay home that day. This debate is so much deeper than people realize. And then we all go to church on Sunday and talk about the things we do, and I hear the racist, inflammatory, and exaggerated things my students say that they clearly pick up at home. What you say about this president, others say about the last. So what is really true? Can you name a politician who doesn't have a friend who has a past? Who hasn't been an attractive speaker at any point?
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