President Obama to Address the Nation’s School Children September 8th
Concerned parents and grandparents are calling TCGOP headquarters outraged about the President’s address to the nation’s school children on September 8th.
The U. S. Depratment of Education teaching guide for this event can be found at http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10582301/President-Obama’s-Address-to-Students-Across-America-September-8-2009 for Pre-K through 6th grade students and http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10648471/Obama’s-Address-to-Students-Across-America-September-8-2009-Menu-of-Classroom-Activities-7-12 for 7-12th grade students.
If you have school age children and are concerned, call your child’s school and aks to speak to the Principal. Ask :
- If your child’s school will be participating.
- Will they be viewing the broadcast only or will the U. S. Department of Education teaching guides also be utilized?
- What is the proceedure for parents who want to opt their child out from participating?
If you are unhappy with the responses you recieve from your child’s school, contact members of your locally elected School Board and the Suprintendent for your School District.
Please post here what you learn from your child’s school.
9 Responses to “President Obama to Address the Nation’s School Children September 8th”
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KISD has shown preferential treatment toward Obama by broadcasting the Obama Inaugurantion during school and not the Bush Inauguration. I am very unhappy with this decision.
Keller ISD official position on the Obama broadcast
On Tuesday, September 8 at 11 a.m. CST, President Obama will deliver a nationally broadcast address to students.
Keller ISD will allow our students to view the Presidential Address.
President Obama plans to discuss the importance of education, staying in school, how to improve our education system, and why education is so important for this country. The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.
The address should last approximately 30 minutes.
Depending on lunch/class schedules, students will view the speech in the following ways:
Live – at 11 a.m. CST
Recorded (teachers will be able to access the link from the district’s internal Web portal [K-Connect]) – either later that afternoon or the following day
If parents do not want their student(s) to watch the broadcast, parents may dismiss their student(s) during that time and not be penalized.
· KISD students will not be required to use the United States Education Department materials published to support student note-taking during the speech.
If asked where individuals can access the address:
The Presidential Address will not be posted on KellerISD.net.
The address will be broadcast live on the White House website at http://www.whitehouse.gov at 11 a.m. CST
Or, individuals may visit any news- or government-related websites on the Internet
Keller ISD is participating regarding watching the speech but they are not going to use the U. S. Department of Education teaching guides. Indian Springs called me back and was very helpful. Willis lane blew me off. I am keeping both my children home that day in PROTEST TO THE ENTIRE HILTER MOVE!!! The children can’t speak about God or pray in school so why should they have to be subject to party politics and politicians! This is WRONG!
This is the response that I received from the Superintendent of the White Settlement ISD in which my daughter began Kindergarten this year:
“I appreciate you sharing your concerns with me. WSISD will provide a link on the District’s website to the archived copy of the President’s address, thereby providing parents discretion in this matter. WSISD is not requiring campuses and teachers to air the live broadcast or provide access to the archived speech. Teachers who choose to show the broadcast will provide parents the opportunity to “opt out” their child from the activity with no penalty.”
I am pleased with WSISD’s response and hope that other districts will follow.
I live in Keller. I called my son’s school and they said it’s not mandatory, but I have to write a letter to his teacher and they will “find somewhere to put him”! I think I’ll just keep him home, I don’t need for the school to parade him around as a radical, right-winger, anti-government 5th grader!
Arlington ISD has the following statement on its web site::
“President Obama will address schoolchildren on Tuesday, September 8. That day will be a regularly scheduled instruction day in the Arlington ISD. The district will make the speech available in the future as an instructional resource as deemed appropriate to the district’s curriculum. Students and parents will also be able to access the speech through a link on the district’s Web site.”
We teachers received a similar statement today.
In case you’re hesitant to say Don’t Mess with young minds! here’s the legalese…
Parents do have legal rights to remove their kids from this. Know your rights as a parent under the law…it’s okay to take the kids out for the O speech.
This is an excerpt from the TX Justice Foundation of Parental Rights. You can see the entire document at http://www.txjf.org/pages.asp?pageid=29422
Removal of Child From Classroom or Activity:
m.) I hereby exercise my right to remove my child(ren) temporarily from any and every class or other school activity that presents, covers or discusses the following topics or activities because they conflict with my religious and/or moral beliefs. (Texas Education Code §26.010) (Texas Family Code §151.003[a][1]). I request that my child(ren) be placed instead in an academic program in accordance with his intellectual abilities. I request that the classroom materials on these subjects be provided to me and I will then determine how they will be covered with my child(ren): (circle all that apply)
* Affective Development/Instruction (including, but not limited to, Non-Academic Decision Making, Non-Academic Problem Solving, Self-esteem, Interpersonal Effectiveness and Cross-cultural effectiveness).
* Death Education (including, but not limited to, Suicide Education and Euthanasia).
* Dream Interpretations, Evaluations, Meanings, or Discussions.
* Drug Education.
* Evolution (other than as a THEORY ONLY).
* Family Planning and/or Parenting Skills.
* Globalism Curriculum, One-World Government, Anti-American or Anti-Nationalism Teaching, Advocacy, or Promotion.
* Guidance Counseling, whether group or individually.
* Human Sexuality (including, but not limited to, Abortion, AIDS, Alternative Lifestyles, Birth Control, Contraceptives and/or Their Use, Divorce, Extra-Marital Sex, Homosexuality, Incest, Premarital Sex, Prostitution, Roles and Society Norms of Males and Females, Sex Behavior or Activity).
* Internet Access without Direct Adult Supervision.
* Journaling (including Log Books, Diaries, Personal Journals) on Topics that are Personally Intrusive and/or Invasive to My Child(ren)’s, My or Our Family’s Right to Privacy and Other Personal Matters.
* Life Skills Instruction – Social and Personal Training (including, but not limited to, Gender Equity Training, Interpersonal Relationships; Non-Academic Personality Tests or Evaluations; Sensitivity Training; Exercises in, or Strategies that Call For or Elicit, Self-Disclosure; Attitudes Towards or About Parents, or the Relationship Between my Child(ren) and His/Her Parent(s).
* Meditation, Visualization, Holistic Healing or Teaching.
* Origin of the Universe (other than as a THEORY ONLY).
* Population Growth, Control, or Reduction.
* Psychology or Psychoanalysis (including, but not limited to, Group Encounter Sessions, Sociograms, Self-Evaluations and/or Auto-Criticism, Sociodrama and/or Psychodrama Exercises, Sandplay Therapy.
* Religiously Offensive Literature or Reading Material.
* Relaxation Techniques or Exercises (including, but not limited to, Hypnotic Exercises or Techniques, Imagery, Suggestology or other Yoga Techniques).
* Tolerance Training or Instruction on Controversial Topics (including, but not limited to, Homosexuality, Same-Sex Marriage or Partnerships, Family Relations, and Gender Issues or Roles).
* Values Clarification (including, but not limited to Moral Dilemma Exercises, Life/Death Decision Exercises or Survival Games, Role-Playing Involving Moral Issues).
* Vocational/Career Awareness.
* Witchcraft, Magic (“Black” or “White”), Mysticism, Mother Earth, Gaia, New Age, Occultism, the Supernatural, Wicca – Including the Teaching or Discussion of Said Topics.
* ___________________________________ (other subjects).
* ___________________________________ (other subjects).
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD has the following statement on its web site:
Presidential address 9-8-09
Information regarding Presidential address to students
September 3, 2009 | Updated 10:00 a.m.
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD values the fact that classroom teachers and campus administrators make sound and appropriate decisions with regards to classroom curriculum and learning opportunities. EM-S ISD will not show the live viewing of President Obama’s address to the students of America on September 8. Following the address, a recorded version will be located on the emsisd.com website for parents and students to have the opportunity to view it if they so wish.
The recorded version can be used as an educational tool in some classes at a later date if its purpose fits into the scope and sequence of the district curriculum. However, any parent/guardian can opt out of their student viewing the Presidential address, if that is their desire. The parent simply needs to inform their student’s campus in writing of their decision, and the teacher and campus administration will respect their decision. The student will not be penalized for not viewing the speech, instead a different learning opportunity will be provided. As a district, we are neither prohibiting the speech nor promoting the speech and are sensitive to the political perception surrounding this event.
We appreciate our parental involvement in EM-S ISD and value each parent’s input regarding their child’s education.
Thank you for your continued support of EM-S ISD.
Fort Worth IDS is going to pump this to high school kids who will be voting in 2012. Is this Obama propaganda or campaigning? You decided. One thing is certain, it’s underhanded and sneaking to wait a week before to notify the public to prevent a reaction, and to deliver it to schools, where parents can’t prevent their children from watching it. Lastly, what about the suggested curriculum? http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/7-12.doc
We have had no time to put pressure on Fort Worth ISD.
I feel my children are being indoctrinated and I am very-very uncomfortable with the manipulation of the Obama administration.
I find this all so bizarre that U.S. citizens are so afraid of this man’s message to our children. It seems that on one hand the media has made him out to be a Pop Icon which is very inappropriate for the office of President, I also think the other media that makes him out to be Satan or a Socialist dictator is also being negligent and dangerous.
It seems the two party system in America and today’s media are making sure that we Americans divide and stay divided. Someday history will show how this current division has weakened America in the world community and from within.
I’m not sure whether the Republican or Democratic Parties will ever be “victorious” over the other or what either party considers a Victory. I fear that the partisanship and fear mongering and rumors will cause great damage to this great country in the long haul.
I often think of what our forefathers would think of us as the modern day Americans and as U.S. Citizens. Over the past 233 years too many brave Americans have died to make this country great and to maintain our freedoms. It’s sad to see Americans afraid of other Americans. Instead of continuing to find fault in our neighbors maybe we should be finding ways to take back America as citizens and not as blind sheep following our Politicians or our Talk show host’s view points.
Thank you for the opportunity to voice another perspective.