There's My Two Cents: About That School Speech...

Monday, September 7, 2009

About That School Speech...

So: what are you going to do about Obama's speech to your kids tomorrow? Many are keeping their kids home, many will have their kids opt-out for other activities, and many more will allow their kids to watch (let's not think about how many don't even know what's going on, and overlook the fact that some schools haven't even started yet...nice planning, White House). Some Missouri school districts are opting out of the speech entirely.

For an examination of the full text of the speech, go here. If this script is accurate, it seems pretty benign. The problem lies in the fact that the White House and the Dept. of Education released study guides and lesson plans that will pressure students in discussions before and after the speech to 'help' the President. This is essentially turning the nation's classrooms into cheerleading sections for the most radical President in the history of the nation, and it's going to give license to some of the more radical teachers to really tighten the screws, like this one who heckled one of her students last fall for supporting John McCain. Most teachers will, I'm certain, handle this with more professionalism and grace than the White House can even comprehend, but it's a certainty that some will not.

I like what Hot Air says about this, which seems pretty even-handed:

...had the White House skipped the study guide and simply released the speech from the beginning, it seems unlikely that this would have created much controversy at all. Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush both gave similar speeches in similar circumstances to students without creating a lot of hard feelings.

I think that gets to the heart of it. As Michelle Malkin says, it's not the speech, it's the subtext:

It’s the radical activism of the White House Teaching Fellows who designed the education guides tied to Obama’s speech.

It’s the overzealousness of public school educators who have turned classrooms into Obama campaign offices.

It’s the influence of the left-wing social justice crusaders of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge on Team Obama.

It’s the Left’s embrace of Obama Chicago pal Bill Ayers’ pedagogical philosophy of “education as the motor-force of revolution.”

It’s the activist tradition of government schools using students as junior lobbyists to pressure legislators for higher education spending, pro-illegal immigration protests, gay marriage, environmental propaganda, and anti-war causes.

Now, who are you calling “kook?”

Most students (especially young ones) will miss all of the subtext, and this will be another cheerful hoo-rah speech about doing well in school. Older kids and adults can peel the onion back more, though.

One sad aspect of this is that Obama mentions himself in this speech more than school, education, responsibility, country/nation, parents, and teachers combined. But it's never about him, you understand.

The other thing that bothers me about this is the way they went about it. First of all, it's during the school day, when parents cannot be present. If this was about education, why not do it in the evening when kids and parents can all sit down and watch together? Seems to me like Obama is trying to lever government authority (via government-run schools) into place over parental authority. In case anyone has forgotten, that's one of the tactics Hitler used, too, and while this doesn't nearly reach that threshold, there are some eerie similarities. And, the fact that they released one set of plans for the speech, took heat, and immediately changed those plans, really makes it look like they had something a bit less benign in mind originally, don't you think?

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I'll post some reports on it after the fact. I think the bottom line is that, if this disturbs you, make your opinions heard. Call your schools, call the principal, call your school districts, call your school boards. Let them know this is not something you appreciate, and that this sort of indoctrination will not be accepted by you. You will not be alone. Do what you feel you must.

I leave you with this brilliant audio from Chris Stigall's radio show in KC on why so many people simply do not trust Barack Obama to do something like this:

Drop.io