…as a sign of Crazy Uncle syndrome on the right:
“It’s hard to imagine anything more ridiculous than attacking the president of the United States for talking to students about the importance of getting a good education and being a good citizen,” said Kathy Miller, president of a statewide school monitoring group. “I wish our elected leaders were responsible enough to denounce this kind of wild-eyed paranoia. But the problem is too many of them are actually feeding this kind of nonsense — like when the governor flirts with secessionists and state Board of Education members say the president sympathizes with terrorists.”
That sounds so reasonable and reasonable voices on the right are questioning the opposition:
But seriously — what in the world could possibly be wrong with this? Question for you folks who are blowing the horns of doom: do you really think Obama is going to hypnotically insert socialist ideas into the minds of your children, diabolically disguised as an inspirational message?
The idea of the president speaking to the student’s of America is not new:
titled “Superman’s Mission for President Kennedy.” The story revolves around Superman encouraging the youth of America to join Kennedy’s “Presidential Fitness Program.” This program was a nationwide campaign to encourage physical fitness in America’s young people.
It was prepared “in close cooperation” with President Kennedy, and originally scheduled for publication in Superman #168, cover-dated April 1964. However, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, and DC decided not to run the story…Months after Kennedy’s untimely death, President Johnson’s administration contacted DC and informed them that Johnson wanted the story published, “as a tribute to my great predecessor.” The Kennedy family also gave their OK.
The story finally saw print in Superman #170, cover dated July 1964.
If you are going to worry about this and NOT be a crazy uncle you need to have cause:
Well there is the interesting video of how Children have been used that we posted this week.
And then there is the withdrawn lesson plan that focused on how to help president Obama rather than how to help America.
But to really understand the worry you have to see what actually goes on in the public school system. To do that one should talk to a teacher who has seen it up close:
I’ve been teaching in the same public school in upstate, NY for fourteen years, and the left-wing agenda has never been so obvious to me as it was this past school year. If you think that fair and balanced teaching goes on in all classrooms, think again. I’m not saying that every single teacher is involved in Democrat indoctrination. I’m not even saying most teachers are, but I am saying it happens–too often. You listen to kids long enough, you find out what goes on and you learn the anti-Bush, anti-Palin, anti-conservative sentiments being expressed.
After Obama won the election, my school went crazy. Leading up to the inauguration, the school decided we were going to show it live to every student. Now, I was sick to my stomach because I just didn’t want to watch it, but I did believe that it should be shown, so I prepared myself to grit my teeth, suck it up, and just get through it–which I did. The problem was what went down leading up to that day–and for weeks afterward.
Let me run you through a day at school leading up to the inauguration: walk into the building; go to my mailbox; find lesson plans about Obama to use with students that were placed in my box; leave plans in my box (I did not do them!); walk down the hall where there were Obama posters on my left and right–posters about Change, Hope, and all that rhetoric he was talking during the campaign; listen to morning announcements with some quote from Obama right before the Pledge of Allegiance (everyday); go to library and see books about Obama displayed; after school go home and check email; in email find suggestions from ELA professionals about how to incorporate inauguration activities into lessons; read email with information about different seminars and workshops teachers can attend about the inauguration.
She later talked with a vice principal:
When I got an email from the assistant principal detailing the manner in which we would handle watching the inauguration ceremony, I emailed him back with a short note that basically said, “I hope you show the same enthusiasm in four years when Sarah Palin is elected president!” When I saw him later, he admitted that “teachers tend to be Democrats, as am I, but if your girl [Governor Palin] gets in in 2012, I’ll be sure we do the same thing.” My response? “Well, my boy, Bush, got in four years ago, and we didn’t do anything!”
Well it’s not as if the teachers are doing this stuff in class. Oh wait:
See, I don’t have a problem with having our students seeing an inauguration. They should see it. I don’t have a problem with them hearing from the President of the United States at the start of the school year. Hopefully, a president can inspire. My problem is with the Left-wing agenda so often displayed in the public school. My problem is with the president asking students to figure out how they can help him. My problem is with a teacher telling a student that the reason some people didn’t vote for Barack Obama is because they’re racist, as one teacher told her class. When her daughter came home and told her mom, a friend of mine, her mom had to call the teacher and ask her, “Why would you tell my child that? My husband and I didn’t vote for him, and we’re not racist. We didn’t vote for him because he’s a radical abortionist!” The teacher was left hemming and hawing.
My point is that some teachers are already indoctrinating students. How much farther will this go with the president’s September 8th speech and his request that teachers have their kids figure out how to help him? Too far, I’m afraid.
Just yesterday my son was telling me about the French Teacher at his high school going on about how horrible American is and the only reason she stays in the country was Obama.
It seems to me this is the wages of the uncritical coverage and the messianic adulation that the press gave candidate Obama over the previous 18 months. If he had been vetted normally and treated as a candidate by reporters as opposed to the slobbering love affair he had it might be different, maybe if reporters who disagreed with him weren’t personally attacked, if tea party protesters where not demonized or called nigger if racism was not ascribed to opposition to the one perhaps then the people wouldn’t mistrust his administration.
You are the parents, if you want to keep your kid out of school that’s your call not mine. My kid is going to school. He knows what propaganda is and I’ve taught him to recognize it. If you haven’t taught your children the same, then I ask, why not?
Remember we still live in a republic, there are school committee’s in every city and town. If you don’t like what is being done in your schools what are you doing about it? Are you showing up for meetings? Are you voicing concerns? Are you getting involved?
We have the power to effect change on the local level and it tends to bubble up. If we choose not to, then as always we will get the government; national, state and local that we deserve.
As for our teacher quoted above:
I say this: If I’m ever required to make my students gather around the screen to watch an Obama speech about how they can embrace and promote his agenda, they’d better be prepared for me to also gather my students around to read Governor Palin’s Facebook page when she comes out swinging against one of his dangerous policies.
As you can see, my days are numbered!
Let’s hope not.
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