We are homeschoolers. And today, more than most other days, I was glad of that. Why you may ask? Well, I learned today that President Obama is planning an address to all public school children on September 8th.
One of the conspiracy theories that abounds amongst conservatives, and frankly the liberals don't do much to dispel, is that the public schools are one of the biggest tools the liberals use to get their ideology across. It's hard to dispute, when you consider teachers overwhelmingly support democratic policies, but that's not the subject of this blog. However, when I heard about Obama's upcoming speech, I thought "well, I'm sure glad we homeschool".
Then I read that the Department of Education has put together special teaching suggestions for teachers to use to help their students prior to and after Obama's speech. Perhaps the most offensive of these suggestions is for K-6th graders 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."
This really irritates me. First...I don't want my kids figuring out what they can do to help this President with his policies. I'm not saying that I wouldn't do a service for my country if asked by my President. But, I would not violate my core beliefs for anyone, nor would I want my kids to ever do that. I want my kids to understand why what this President is attempting to do in this country is wrong, and how they can be part of the democratic process to elect leaders who share their beliefs and will listen to their concerns.
What will happen to kids who are informed enough to write letters objecting to what the Obama is doing? I'm sure some good teachers who can put ideology aside will be ok with this, but others will most certainly not be ok with this. This is a horrible position to put a little kid in, especially if he or she has been raised by parents who didn't vote for Obama and don't support what he is doing.
Second...why does the President have to use the public schools to talk to our kids? Could it be that he wants a captive audience away from the influence of parents? If he really wants to get a message of encouragement to the kids of this country, then get some advertising time during Saturday morning cartoons. Don't go to them when they are stuck in the schools, and their parents aren't there to offer a counter perspective.
Third...this proves that the Department of Education is nearly worthless. Don't they have anything better to do than come up with teaching suggestions in support of an Obama indoctrination speech?
If I were a parent with a kid in the public school system, I would have to think long and hard about whether or not my kids would be going to school on September 8th. The dilemma is...children are sponges, and they soak up whatever they hear, so no matter how well educated they are, something will strike a chord with them...Obama is too good of a speaker to think otherwise. So, as a parent, I would have to be prepared to hear about this, and spend a lot of time explaining why the president was wrong (because he's almost always wrong), and what is correct. Luckily, as a homeschooling family, we don't have that problem.
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Note to readers...I wrote this later than normal, so I was more tired than normal. I would suggest clicking on the link to the FoxNews article in the blog and reading it. It details further teaching suggestions which are nearly as irritating...in my opinion. There's a few other interesting tidbits in there as well.
Sorry, couldn't stay quiet here. This argument is just sad! Regan did the same thing in 1988 and talked about the importance of cutting taxes! H.W. Bush did the same thing in 1991 and asked students to send letters to him telling him what they could do to help him achieve his goals. Somehow I ended up a Democrat. The argument presented to the speech is myopic at best.
The President wants to talk to students about the importance of education and the Department of Edu. is giving teachers tools (all be it, poorly worded ones) to help teachers have students retain the meaning of the speech.
The dropout rate is a huge problem for us in the education field, and the President is trying to use his influence to keep students in school. A report by an educational advocacy group founded by Colin Powell found that almost half of all public high school students in the US’ fifty largest cities fail to graduate. In California alone a single year of dropouts could cost the state $50 billion in lost wages, social programs, and incarceration (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,425623,00.html).
So, in other words, the President is trying to save your tax dollars on Tuesday by attempting to reach students and have them stay in school. But I guess that is just the way I see it. We are all entitled to our own opinions and to raise our children as we see fit.
-MCD
First, don't apologize for offering your opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, even though they should. ; )
My problem with this is the Dept. of Ed. materials. If Obama wants to give a message of encouragement, that's fine, but when it's accompanied by the types of materials I've been reading about, it makes me suspicious.
Obviously, I was too young when Reagan and Bush 41 did this, but I would have felt the same way then if the same type of lesson materials accompanied their message.
I was glad to see that Obama is going to publish the text of the speech Monday so parents can read it and make informed decisions.
I believe the President is ultimatly our employee...even though all of us didn't vote for him, he is there as a public servant to us, the voters. I've been hearing way too much lately about, "what can I do to help Obama", "how can I make sure Obama gets to do what he wants, etc." These all imply that whatever Obama wants is obviously in the best interest of the country. A lot of us don't believe that.
We should be asking, what can I do to make sure my city, state, and country are the best places to live. If that aligns with what Obama wants to do, then support him. If that is opposite to what Obama wants to do, then do what you can to oppose him...call you congressman, etc.
Oh, and the argument is not sad...given the materials that were planned to accompany the speech.
The tone of the original post was intentional. I have no doubt that Obama, or one of his aides, had final approval over the education materials. So, while you blame the mess on this Dept. of Education, the buck stops at the Presidency as Harry Truman said. The adminstration could have stopped this whole mess, simply by tempering the education materials...or better yet, trust teachers to handle it in a way that is appropriate for their class. After all, the teachers in the class should know what would be best for their students.
I think it's okay for the president to address students to explain the importance of educating oneself and encourge them to work hard in school. I don't think it's appropriate for the president to discuss policies because kids don't have anyway to be involved in that discussion unless they lobby their parents! Save that for download to be used in a high school social studies class.
The materials put out by the DOE are REALLY poor. But can we blame the president's office for that? Maybe we should actually follow the Constitution and get rid of the DOE since education is a state responsibility not the responsibility of the federal government.
But what keeps getting me about this whole thing is this: Why would you write a letter to yourself????????
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