In the wake of objections by many on the right against President Obama’s upcoming address to schoolchildren — reminding them on the first day of school about the importance of education, and telling them to work hard — many schools across the country are dealing with objections from parents who don’t want their children exposed to such a harmful, socialist message.
“I don’t recall ever having a sitting president addressing schoolchildren,” said Andrew Palomo, the father of a student in suburban Chicago. “For major events, maybe, but not the first day of school. The whole thing makes me angry as an American.”
It should be noted that Obama’s address isn’t really a new thing, though — and furthermore, the subject matter of Obama’s address is pretty tame compared to past Republican presidents. As DailyKosTV points out, George H.W. Bush gave an address on education policy — not just education itself as a virtue — to American classrooms in late 1991. And Media Matters notes that a lame-duck Ronald Reagan spoke via TV to schoolchildren in 1988, and promoted tax cuts during the course of the discussion.
So let’s check out some other examples of outrage.
⢠As a precaution in Virginia, the state Department of Education has notified schools that they should be prepared to accommodate students whose parents don’t want them seeing the speech.
⢠Also in Virginia, Loudon County will not be showing the speech — though administrators say this is entirely due to logistical concerns, that principals already have a full day ahead of them.
⢠Denver-area mother Shanneen Barron is keeping her kids home from school on Tuesday. “Thinking about my kids in school having to listen to that just really upsets me,” said Barron. “I’m an American. They are Americans, and I don’t feel that’s OK. I feel very scared to be in this country with our leadership right now.”
⢠Houston-area parent Brett Curtis is also against the speech. “I think it’s inappropriate because it smacks of political indoctrination of the worst kind,” said Curtis. “It’s not just a speech. It’s a specific curriculum to go along with the speech directly from the president of the United States without review.”
⢠And even a Republican elected official, Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, is speaking out. Kinder released a statement today bashing the address. Key quote:
While I have the utmost respect for the office of the president, and for this president, this public relations tactic has gone too far. The distribution of teaching curricula from the White House to the classroom clearly usurps the authority of our local school boards and school administrators.
We have seen the federal government intervene into our lives in ways that many of us thought we would never see. This is a clear infringement on the rights of our students and those of Missouri parents.
I believe that if parents choose to keep their children at home during this presentation, they should be able to do so without any consequences being imposed upon their children.
