I normally don't post on the forums.. but this is just absolutely ridiculous. Basically, whiny parents are annoyed that the President of the United States dares to talk to the children.
I mean, the nerve!

Anyway.. here is the article. I bolded something that basically said it all:

children from listening.

Readers' Comments
Share your thoughts.
Post a Comment »
The uproar over the speech, in which Mr. Obama intends to urge students to work hard and stay in school, has been particularly acute in Texas, where several major school districts, under pressure from parents, have laid plans to let children opt out of lending the president an ear.

Some parents said they were concerned because the speech had not been screened for political content. Nor, they said, had it been reviewed by the State Board of Education and local school boards, which, under state law, must approve the curriculum.

“The thing that concerned me most about it was it seemed like a direct channel from the president of the United States into the classroom, to my child,” said Brett Curtiss, an engineer from Pearland, Tex., who said he would keep his three children home.

“I don’t want our schools turned over to some socialist movement.”

The White House has said the speech will emphasize the importance of education and hard work in school, both to the individual and to the nation. The message is not partisan, nor compulsory, officials said.

“This isn’t a policy speech,” said Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. “It’s designed to encourage kids to stay in school. The choice on whether to show the speech to students is entirely in the hands of each school. This is absolutely voluntary.”

Mr. Obama’s speech was announced weeks ago, but the furor among conservatives reached a fever pitch Wednesday morning as right-wing Web sites and talk show hosts began inveighing against it.

Mark Steyn, a Canadian author and political commentator, speaking on the Rush Limbaugh show on Wednesday, accused Mr. Obama of trying to create a cult of personality, comparing him to Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader.

The Republican Party chairman in Florida, Jim Greer, said he “was appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology.”

And Chris Stigall, a Kansas City talk show host, said, “I wouldn’t let my next-door neighbor talk to my kid alone; I’m sure as hell not letting Barack Obama talk to him alone.”

Previous presidents have visited public schools to speak directly to students, although few of those events have been broadcast live. Mr. Obama’s address at noon, Eastern time, at a high school in Virginia, will be streamed live on the White House Web site.

The first President George Bush, a Republican, made a similar nationally broadcast speech from a Washington high school in 1991, urging students to study hard, avoid drugs and to ignore peers “who think it’s not cool to be smart.” Democrats in Congress accused him of using taxpayer money — $27,000 to produce the broadcast — for “paid political advertising.”

This week, school officials were hearing from parents about the issue not only in Texas, but in other parts of the country as well — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, South Carolina and Utah.

Herb Garrett, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, said many of his members felt that the controversy had put them in an awkward situation, vulnerable to attacks from conservative talk-show hosts if they open up instructional time for Mr. Obama’s speech, and open to accusations that they have disrespected the president if they do not.

“It’s one of those no-wins,” Mr. Garrett said.

In Texas, calls and e-mail messages flooded into the offices of many local school officials. “I didn’t get a positive call all day,” said Susan Dacus, a spokeswoman for the Wylie Independent School District outside Dallas.

School officials in Wylie decided to record the speech, review it and then let individual teachers show it, offering students the opportunity to avoid listening if they wished.

In Houston, teachers have been asked to tell parents if they intend to show the speech and the schools will provide an alternative class for those whose parents object, a spokesman for the district, Lee Vela, said.

Some Houston parents, however, said telling children they should not hear out the president of the United States, even if their parents dislike his policies, sends the wrong message — that one should not listen to someone with whom you disagree.

“It’s difficult for me to understand how listening to the president, the commander in chief, the chief citizen of this country, is damaging to the youth of today,” said Phyllis Griffin Epps, an analyst for the city who has two children in public school.

I may have not voted for President Obama but I sure as hell will respect him. If Americans don't give their own president respect then how do we expect other countries to do so? He deserves a lot more respect than what he gets.

If a president wants to take time out of his demanding schedule to speak to my daughter about the importance of education then I would be more than grateful.

I'm sorry, but Bush was our president, and he did not get the respect he deserved. What's the difference?

There isn't a difference. Never said there was. He did deserve more respect as well.

I agree with you, I just wondered. I've always said that even though I don't like Obama, I do WANT him to be a good president. It would be stupid if I didn't. No one actually WANTS our country to suffer, do they??

Did parents who didn't like Bush remove their kids from school when he did the same thing?

I personally think Bush was an idiot. But I wouldn't have stopped my child listening to him in school, because as Makayla said, that suggests to a child that it's ok to disrespect someone because you don't like them.

No, I am not disrespecting the president. I give him the respect that he deserves as the leader of our country. However, I choose not to have my child listen to someone who, in my opinion, is not a good role model for her. It's simply my right as a parent. When she's older, we would discuss it ad I would allow her to make the decision for herself.
It really doesn't matter at this point, though... my child is 3... she won't be watching, lol.

Well said.

I was just about to post this.

our school district wanted to show it, but because we are a poor district, we dont have cable :)
i plan to find the speech online and let my kids watch it.
just today, one of our reporters (i work for a local news paper) had 2 administrators call about this. its sad that parents are so up in arms over it. i mean, come on, grow up....what harm could this possibly do to you kid by having a prisednet who "GASP" wants them to stay in school...HOW AWFUL!
*sigh* ignorance is bliss, and there are many here in west central illinois who must be extreemly happy!

This is so dumb.

At the school where I am student teaching, teachers can show it but are required to give another activity to children whose parents don't want them to watch. I think that is pretty asinine.

Of course, it lands right at outr lunch time, so I don't know if we will watch it recorded.

The uproar is ridiculous. Other Presidents did it. Reagan and Bush Sr, to name two. People didn't freak out about it like they are now. And no one even knows exactly what is going to be IN the address, they're just SPECULATING that it will be agenda pushing.

I have an idea for the parents throwing such a fit....Go to the school and watch it WITH your child. Then go home later and discuss the things he said. As far as I'm concerned, it's lazy parenting to just pull your child out of school because of the (speculated) possibility of someone saying something you disagree with.

I'm a teacher, and our district has left it up to the teachers/parents. In my age group, it doesn't apply because my kiddos are so young, they wouldn't get it. So, we won't be watching it. As a parent, I don't like Obama, and I really would rather teach and motivate my OWN child, so I would probably not allow her to watch it. I'm not going to let someone that I actually KNOW and don't like talk to her about her education, so I'm not going to have her listen to a speech by a person that I DO NOT KNOW personally, and don't like. Granted, at this point, my daughter is three, so it doesn't apply, but in the event that it did, I would request that she not watch it. Several teachers in our school are watching, several are not. It's certainly not required, but they are putting lots of restrictions and lesson designing implementations on those who choose TO watch it with their class.

This surely isn't going to be the first and last time there will be motivational speeches given to school kids. What happens when Em is in school and they have an assembly given by someone else about staying in school or staying off drugs. Would you also pull her out that day because you don't know the speaker? Or is it just because you don't like the President? I'm not asking in a snide way, I'm genuinely curious.

Well, I'd do research on the person that's speaking, and then make a decision. As my parents did, as every parent should. Now, when she is in High School, maybe middle school, I'll do the research, talk to her about it, and let her make an informed decision.

But what makes you think that Obama is trying to REPLACE you and your responsibily as a parent to encourage your child? Why does it have to be one or the other? Surely the more people who encourage a child, the better? How is it doing any harm?

The harm is in the face that I believe he isn't a good role model for my child. I don't want someone who I believe to be immoral and dishonest to speak to my child. It's that simple. I don't think it would be replacing me as a mother, I didn't say that. It's not about republican, democrat, conservative, liberal... it's not even about the message, it's the person.

I have to agree with Red Frag... if another person, who is an important and (mostly) well-respected person... why would it be so bad for your child to hear how important education is as well?

You are saying it.. as well as the President saying it.. that just seems like it would doubly get the message across...

That's just it... he's not WELL respected by me. I give him the respect he deserves as our president, however, I do not agree with or like him as a person, I do not believe he is a person that has good morals, or ideals, and I believe him to be a dishonest, self-serving person. I do not believe he is a good role-model for my child, and I can chose someone much better suited to encourage her rather than someone I dislike and believe to be immoral.

this may be well-intentioned, however, you will not be able to control every influence over in your child in the course of their life. you can't keep your child in a bubble.

As I said before, when she is older we will discuss these things, and I will make sure she has the information she needs to make a well-informed decision for herself. My child is 3... she WILL be in a bubble for at least a few more years if I have my way.

Do you know him as a person? What has he done that you don't think he's a good role model?

Honestly there was enough of this discussion during the election, and I truthfully do not care to get in to it. At this point, I agree to disagree with Obama supporters, and I hope for the best when it comes to his presidency. As a mother, I have my own opinions of people... and wether or not they are fit to be good role models for my child. Sadly, our current president does not fit the bill, and let me add that there are several presidents and politicians that I do not consider proper role models for my child, or any other person's child. I do not have to know him personally to know that I prefer that he NOT be a role model for my child. I don't know Osama Bin Laden personally, but do you think he would be a good role model? I hope not. In any case, it is my decision, and mine alone. It's not up for debate, as this is my child, and I will do what I believe is best for her.

Understood, but I don't understand why you would object to a respectable man, President or not, telling your children to stay in school and do well.

I don't believe he is a respectable man, in all honesty. I give him the respect he is due as president of our country, but beyond that, I don't care for him. At all. I wouldn't want any man that I don't like (especially one that I dislike to this magnitude) saying anything, anything at all, to my child. However, as my child is 3, I don't have to worry about it. (As I have said numerous times.)