In 1991 when George Herbert Walker Bush spoke to the students, did anyone fuss and threaten to leave their children home from school?!
I don't see the problem with the President of the United States speaking to the school children.
Well, Barb, I've been joking about this (both online and in our house), and my mother asked the same question. I confess, I was stumped for a second. I guess on the surface, there's nothing wrong with the President addressing children and encouraging them to apply themselves to their studies, etc.
It's just a matter of people not trusting Obama's motives, plain and simple. I understand that. And I'm glad our children are homeschooled so the choice is 100% mine, as to what they watch and hear. However, we MAY watch the speech at home if its broadcast publicly as well as in the classrooms, which I'm sure it will be.
All jesting aside, the right thing to do would be to listen respectfully and have prayer for the President. Not politically speaking, but from a Christian standpoint. If he makes political points that need to be addressed, I suppose it can be a launching pad for parent-child discussion.
I'll just say this--if people are going to send their kids to government schools, they shouldn't get their panties in a wad when the government plays a major role, to put it mildly. It's no surprise. Do they really think the only time their children are in danger of being "indoctrinated" by the liberal left is when the President is speaking? I'd say that's probably the LEAST dangerous time, because he's in the public eye and has to keep his comments at least fairly left of center. No, I'd say they're more in danger of being indoctrinated on a daily basis by teachers and friends who have liberal, unchristian values, who lack character and principle and often basic morals.
I suppose that's a soap box I'll step off for now.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
Well, Barb, I've been joking about this (both online and in our house), and my mother asked the same question. I confess, I was stumped for a second. I guess on the surface, there's nothing wrong with the President addressing children and encouraging them to apply themselves to their studies, etc.
It's just a matter of people not trusting Obama's motives, plain and simple. I understand that. And I'm glad our children are homeschooled so the choice is 100% mine, as to what they watch and hear. However, we MAY watch the speech at home if its broadcast publicly as well as in the classrooms, which I'm sure it will be.
All jesting aside, the right thing to do would be to listen respectfully and have prayer for the President. Not politically speaking, but from a Christian standpoint. If he makes political points that need to be addressed, I suppose it can be a launching pad for parent-child discussion.
I'll just say this--if people are going to send their kids to government schools, they shouldn't get their panties in a wad when the government plays a major role, to put it mildly. It's no surprise. Do they really think the only time their children are in danger of being "indoctrinated" by the liberal left is when the President is speaking? I'd say that's probably the LEAST dangerous time, because he's in the public eye and has to keep his comments at least fairly left of center. No, I'd say they're more in danger of being indoctrinated on a daily basis by teachers and friends who have liberal, unchristian values, who lack character and principle and often basic morals.
I suppose that's a soap box I'll step off for now.
Good post, Abi, and to my knowledge it will be on C-Span...
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
Well, Barb, I've been joking about this (both online and in our house), and my mother asked the same question. I confess, I was stumped for a second. I guess on the surface, there's nothing wrong with the President addressing children and encouraging them to apply themselves to their studies, etc.
It's just a matter of people not trusting Obama's motives, plain and simple. I understand that. And I'm glad our children are homeschooled so the choice is 100% mine, as to what they watch and hear. However, we MAY watch the speech at home if its broadcast publicly as well as in the classrooms, which I'm sure it will be.
All jesting aside, the right thing to do would be to listen respectfully and have prayer for the President. Not politically speaking, but from a Christian standpoint. If he makes political points that need to be addressed, I suppose it can be a launching pad for parent-child discussion.
I'll just say this--if people are going to send their kids to government schools, they shouldn't get their panties in a wad when the government plays a major role, to put it mildly. It's no surprise. Do they really think the only time their children are in danger of being "indoctrinated" by the liberal left is when the President is speaking? I'd say that's probably the LEAST dangerous time, because he's in the public eye and has to keep his comments at least fairly left of center. No, I'd say they're more in danger of being indoctrinated on a daily basis by teachers and friends who have liberal, unchristian values, who lack character and principle and often basic morals.
I suppose that's a soap box I'll step off for now.
Here is a facebook status just posted by a friend of mine who is young, white, not a Democrat or liberal who I happened to go to Bible School with:
"I didn't vote for Obama (nor for McCain, for that matter), but all these irrational anti-Obama folks are almost making me want to support him."
I know that many here will not acknowledge it, but as some people react to everything that Obama does in an extreme and irrational way, it turns some people off...particularly younger people who are not encumbered by decades of political ties and predispostion. I think that the right is not doing itself any favors in how it reacts to some of these things and treat every move as evidence that the sky is falling. Just my honest (and humble) opinion.
__________________
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
Excuse me, but are all of you telling me that you missed this? This has been the issue all along. And as much as we don't want to discuss it - people, largely, do not trust this man.
Quote:
On Wednesday evening however, the administration edited part of the pre-k-6 lesson plans after public outcry about enlisting children’s participation in political activities. The original lesson plan asked children to “write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.” It has since been changed to say “Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.”
While it appears the President’s speech will focus on the value of education and personal responsibility, federally-directed lesson plans set a concerning precedent for the government’s role in education. Education analyst Frederick Hess writes at the American Enterprise blog that the lesson plans “were developed with federal funds, devised on taxpayer time, and made available on the Department of Education’s website” and “might be construed as an invitation to engage in advocacy rather than instruction”.
It is one thing to teach about the historical relevance and accomplishments of past administrations. It is another thing entirely to encourage children to implement a sitting president’s political agenda.
Excuse me, but are all of you telling me that you missed this? This has been the issue all along. And as much as we don't want to discuss it - people, largely, do not trust this man.
And GHWB asked kids to do more or less the same thing...I will say again, the backlash over this is political.
And GHWB asked kids to do more or less the same thing...I will say again, the backlash over this is political.
Sorry, Barb - Bush DID NOT have Lesson Plans ready for the students to participate in.
Funny the current administration keeps taking things OUT and CHANGING things from their ORIGINAL INTENT because the American people will not allow them to cross a line with our rights and Constitution. The student lesson plans were one example. Another was the wording in the healthcare bill over "death panels". They cried fowl on Palin and then reversed themselves and CHANGED their wording.
Pushing a line - pushing and pushing......If you are happy with that, then what can I say?
Sorry, Barb - Bush DID NOT have Lesson Plans ready for the students to participate in.
Funny the current administration keeps taking things OUT and CHANGING things from their ORIGINAL INTENT because the American people will not allow them to cross a line with our rights and Constitution. The student lesson plans were one example. Another was the wording in the healthcare bill over "death panels". They cried fowl on Palin and then reversed themselves and CHANGED their wording.
Pushing a line - pushing and pushing......If you are happy with that, then what can I say?
Didn't say I was happy or unhappy, Pressing On, but I don't see goblins behind every move Obama makes...and no, I did not vote for him, in case anyone is wondering.
But tell me...what if Bush HAD had "lesson plans?!" Would there still have been an uproar?! I don't think so...
As I don't have children, this issue does not effect me...just stating my opinion is all...
I see NOTHING wrong with a president...any president speaking to the youth of this nation.
Didn't say I was happy or unhappy, Pressing On, but I don't see goblins behind every move Obama makes...and no, I did not vote for him, in case anyone is wondering.
But tell me...what if Bush HAD had "lesson plans?!" Would there still have been an uproar?! I don't think so...
As I don't have children, this issue does not effect me...just stating my opinion is all...
I see NOTHING wrong with a president...any president speaking to the youth of this nation.
Abi IS a parent, and said it best, IMHO...
Abi's words were good for a President that would be speaking WITHOUT Lesson Plans involved - bottom line, Barb.
Quote:
After reading the Department of Education lesson plans for the speech, McCluskey said he noticed several passages that should set off "alarm bells," including language that attempts to "glorify President Obama" in the minds of young students.
"It could be a blatantly political move," he said. "Nobody knows for sure, but it gives that impression."
McCluskey also noted that the lesson plans for young students contain suggestions to write letters to themselves on how they can help the president, but that suggestion is not in the lesson plan for middle and high schoolers -- perhaps due to the likelihood of increased political ties at that age.
"You don't want to see this coming from the president," McCluskey said. "You don't want to see this coming from the federal government."
I guess on the surface, there's nothing wrong with the President addressing children and encouraging them to apply themselves to their studies, etc. 
Do they really think the only time their children are in danger of being "indoctrinated" by the liberal left is when the President is speaking? I'd say that's probably the LEAST dangerous time, because he's in the public eye and has to keep his comments at least fairly left of center. No, I'd say they're more in danger of being indoctrinated on a daily basis by teachers and friends who have liberal, unchristian values, who lack character and principle and often basic morals. 
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