Link to Obama's Speech

[TXMary2]

I guess you missed the part where his mom basically did homeschool him because they couldnt afford the school most american kids attended.

 

Im not sure why you'd think homeschoolers deserve some special mention in the speech.

 

This speech in concert with this thread proves what I suspected all along: that this man could dress in drag and do the hula (to borrow from the Lion King movie) and some of you would complain that he wore too much eyeliner and not enough blush.

 

So now Obama was homeschooled? LOL Link please.

[Nakia]

I couldn't agree more.

 

 

:iagree: And for me the line is drawn when I read the comments about having such a loyalty to the country.

 

Heather,

I am asking this in all seriousness. What is wrong with teaching our children to have loyalty to our country? I know in a pp you said that our loyalty should be first to God, and I totally agree. But I also think it is important for our children to be taught to be proud to be an American and to know we are very blessed to live in this country. Do you not? Again, I am not being snarky; I am genuinely curious.

 

And for the record, I am not an Obama fan, but I like the speech, and we are going to watch it tomorrow.

[Peek a Boo]

Heather,

I am asking this in all seriousness. What is wrong with teaching our children to have loyalty to our country? I know in a pp you said that our loyalty should be first to God, and I totally agree. But I also think it is important for our children to be taught to be proud to be an American and to know we are very blessed to live in this country. Do you not? Again, I am not being snarky; I am genuinely curious

 

I think her key words were such a loyalty.

I'm probably not as conservative as Heather when it comes to how much loyalty one should and should not express to our country, but i know for. sure. that Obama's idea of loyalty to our country and MY idea of loyalty to our country are worlds apart.

[Tea Time]

NT

Edited September 7, 2009 by Tea Time

[Mrs Mungo]

So now Obama was homeschooled? LOL Link please.

 

I think it was more "after-schooling" (or before schooling in his case). His mother supplemented his education at home while he was attending school in Indonesia. This is widely known.

[JudyJudyJudy]

I read the speech this morning. Seemed fine - although this version has almost certainly been gone over with a fine tooth comb in order to make sure nothing could be misconstrued. I'm not at all convinced that the originally planned version was like this at all. And the lesson plans were out of line.

 

These are two things I know:

 

1. I do not trust this President.

 

2. He responds to public pressure.

This is rich. If he were unwilling to make any changes at all, he'd be considered to be arrogant and uncompromising. Face it: he can't win with some of you no matter what.

 

I don't believe he has changed the speech—not the overall message anyway. Has it "been gone over with a fine tooth comb in order to make sure nothing could be misconstrued"? Of course. That makes sense and should always be the case with any speech by anyone.

 

The lesson plans were changed a little to try to appease "the right" without taking away from Obama's message. Why is that bad? One of the things that Obama said when he was running for president was that he likes to work with both sides. Well, he's trying to do that, yet he's still getting criticized. :glare:

 

Having said all that, I don't like the "God" references at the end. To me, that's the only thing that's out of place for a speech given in a public school.

[PineFarmMom]

yeah, me too. It's only "mean spirited" if it's coming from the right ;)

 

stuff like ......

;)

 

Oh, Peek, whatever could you mean?? Remember?? There was a memo last week about all of this. I can't believe you didn't read it. Satire and sarcasm are ONLY okay if spoken/written by a lib. Also, news sources are only valid if they come from a liberal. Oh, and big movements to make changes are only acceptable if they are done by liberals. If they're done by conservatives it's just a big bunch of kool-aid drinking nuts creating a bunch of hoop-la over nothing. I can't believe you don't know this stuff yet!! ;)

 

BTW, I'm cool with the pt speaking to the kiddies. He's the president, and I am not one on the bandwagon that he shouldn't be doing it. I think THAT is something that was definitely overblown. A lot of the other things that people are upset about: pretty valid stuff!!

[PineFarmMom]

 

Seriously though, it's a good speech. I hope all this foolishness stops now.

 

 

Me too!! I'd love for the foolish spending to stop and the foolish bailouts and the foolish govt.-run health care ideas to stop. That would be thrilling for so many of us. I hope that foolishness stops now too. That way, those of us who see the truth of what is happening to our country can rest and have hope for the futures of our children. :)

Edited September 8, 2009 by admin
Edited to remove political image

[Renee in NC]

I wish his political philosophies and practices lined up with this speech.

 

I am disturbed by the level of distrust among the general public for this president. I do not think it bodes well for the country. I don't think it's entirely undeserved, either, which probably bodes even worse. I really wish we could have a president of either party that could draw at least some level of trust and respect from the majority of the country, even if we didn't agree with everything he did or said. And I really wish that both "sides" of the mess would quit handing out ridiculous false dichotomies and demanding that we choose between one dangerous extreme "position" and another instead of having a rational discussion about reasonable solutions to real problems. It makes me tired.

 

Well, if his approval polls are any indication, most of the country *does* trust him. It doesn't seem that way here because there are so many Republican homeschoolers who don't trust Obama. I am a Republican, voted for McCain, and *I* am sick of hearing about how horrible Obama is and how he wants us all to be communist.:tongue_smilie: I think he really wants the best for this country, even if it isn't what some people want. Obviously most Americans *do* want what he wants as they voted for him!

[mommyrooch]

But wait!! You know he was going to try all sorts of brainwashing techniques and turn our tots into liberal, marxist, socialists; thank heavens some were able to thwart him beforehand and change the content of the speech.

Honestly? Speeches aren't usually released until a day or so before the actual event. It was so fun to be scared the past week, tho. Fear Rules!!

 

Okay, I couldn't help but chuckle at this. ;) Well said Dot.

 

It's unfortunate that this speech was put into such a negative light. I'm so tired of the fear mongering in the media and elsewhere. I can only imagine how Obama feels.

 

Look, all that worry over nothing.

 

Fear Rules!! Not!!

[teamturner]

Maybe how the teacher's notes don't really go with this speech?

 

This is basically what I alluded to already. The DOE assignment as it was before it was revised doesn't match this speech. I didn't claim to have evidence. This is my hunch based on the above statement. Like I said, it's my opinion.

[Renee in NC]

Full text here.

 

Now that I have read this speech, I will make sure my dc listen to it. This is the same thing that I have been trying to tell my 11yo about hard work and responsibility. Because of our situation, they aren't going to have a lot of what others have, they are going to have to work as teens to finance their goals, etc. It is going to take a lot of hard work, even with the extra benefits of homeschooling.

 

My dc do care what he says because he is the President of our country and I don't ridicule him or talk about how terrible he is. I don't agree with many of his policies (and I will discuss those things as they come up) but he still deserves respect for his Office.

[Erica in PA]

nt.

Edited September 8, 2009 by Erica in PA
double post

[Erica in PA]

Typically speech texts arent provided a full 24 hrs before the address.

 

Be sincere. The problem is the speaker not the text and never was anything else.

 

How can you tell someone else what *their* problem was? That's pretty presumptuous. Believe me or not, it doesn't matter much to me... but it was the Dept. of Ed.'s leading questions about what children can do for Obama that caused me to become concerned. I wouldn't have loved the idea of the President speaking to all US public schooled students at one time, in the unprecedented way that it was planned, but I wouldn't have been truly concerned if it was just left at that.

[HappyGrace]

... it was the Dept. of Ed.'s leading questions about what children can do for Obama that caused me to become concerned. I wouldn't have loved the idea of the President speaking to all US public schooled students at one time, in the unprecedented way that it was planned, but I wouldn't have been truly concerned if it was just left at that.

 

:iagree: I actually wouldn't have minded the President speaking to the school children; it was the DOE questions that alarmed me.

[calandalsmom]

How can you tell someone else what *their* problem was? That's pretty presumptuous. Believe me or not, it doesn't matter much to me... but it was the Dept. of Ed.'s leading questions about what children can do for Obama that caused me to become concerned. I wouldn't have loved the idea of the President speaking to all US public schooled students at one time, in the unprecedented way that it was planned, but I wouldn't have been truly concerned if it was just left at that.

 

Apparently what students can do for Obama (and the good of all of us in this country) is do well and work hard.

 

It seems obvious to me.

[Erica in PA]

Apparently what students can do for Obama (and the good of all of us in this country) is do well and work hard.

 

It seems obvious to me.

 

I'd much rather my children work hard and do well for God, for themselves, for their family, for their country... not "for Obama", or Bush, or Clinton, etc. Hence my problem with those leading questions.

[babysparkler]

*If* he was going to say something more problematic before the "kerfluffle," I'm sure they changed it to make it less controversial so that they could say, "See? All that fuss over nothing!"

 

My problem with the whole thing was with the lesson plans, not the speech. Bush spoke to school kids on tv and other presidents have done so, as well. But none, to my knowledge, have included DOE-written lesson plans. Curriculum writing is not a job of the DOE. *That* part smacks of the gov't overstepping its responsibilities to me.

 

Lisa

who sincerely believes that a federal DOE is a waste of taxpayer money, and wishes it didn't exist.

 

:iagree:

[Peek a Boo]

Apparently what students can do for Obama (and the good of all of us in this country) is do well and work hard.

 

It seems obvious to me.

 

yeah... everyone has a slew of things that seem obvious *to them* that are dismissed as .....

references to Stalin or Pol Pot or Marx

fear mongers

smoke and mirrors

scaring the bejeepers out of

brainwashing techniques

turn our tots into liberal, marxist, socialists

to thwart him beforehand

so fun to be scared

Fear Rules!!

possibility of the evil eye

direct mind-to-mind transmission

text is really some kind of code

if you play it backwards?

foolishness

hoopla

must be an evil plot

[babysparkler]

Hopefully this time a larger section of students will take this pep talk to heart and feel like they CAN change their circumstances if they work hard. That is a message that is worth class time in many schools where students don't have family support and face difficult obstacles.

 

I agree with you. I'm sure it will be good for the kids it is geared towards, but for my kids who love school and naturally strive for their best, it would open their eyes to way more of the negative views of education and personal responsibility than they need to see right now. I will let them live in their ideal world of loving education and naturally being responsible for themselves a little longer without telling them that a different option exists. :) I personally think that my teaching of responsibility to my kids has been/is better than that speech. We won't be watching it.

Edited September 8, 2009 by babysparkler

[OnTheBrink]

This is basically what I alluded to already. The DOE assignment as it was before it was revised doesn't match this speech. I didn't claim to have evidence. This is my hunch based on the above statement. Like I said, it's my opinion.

 

I was agreeing with you.

[babysparkler]

So now Obama was homeschooled? LOL Link please.

 

I believe he was "afterschooled" before school from 4:30am until school started... that is what I took from the speech.

[LibraryLover]

Much ado about nothing. It is a conservatives dream. No excuses, no pandering to those born in less than ideal circumstances, nothing except a mantra of personal responsiblity and accountability. As expected. I wonder ,when those who readily believe the fear mongers each time they speak ,will begin to realize that x did not come to pass and y did not come to pass and just maybe ...at the end of the day it is smoke and mirrors. And making themselves a tidy bit of money scaring the bejeepers out of the "folks" they purport to serve.

 

 

Exactly, although people are falling for the rhetoric of fear like dominoes.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Originally Posted by TXMary2

So now Obama was homeschooled? LOL Link please.

 

I believe he was "afterschooled" before school from 4:30am until school started... that is what I took from the speech.

If any of you are truly interested, you can read more about it in Dreams from My Father, originally published in 1995.

[teamturner]

I was agreeing with you.

 

Oh, I know you were. I was actually trying to reply to someone else and was using your post to help me state my point. Sorry, Michelle!! :)

[Erica in PA]

If any of you are truly interested, you can read more about it in Dreams from My Father, originally published in 1995.

 

Babysparkler was right on, according to Dreams from my Father... he was afterschooled, in the mornings, just as she said. This has been discussed on the board before.

[rowan25]

Typically speech texts arent provided a full 24 hrs before the address.

 

Be sincere. The problem is the speaker not the text and never was anything else.

That was quite rude. No, the problem is not the speaker. Please do not put words into my mouth. If my problem was the fact that it was Barack Obama making the speech, I would have said so.

 

I did not like the lessons provided by the DOE, as I stated. If lessons were being provided, I would expect, as a former teacher, to have the text of the speech as well. I did not like the type of questions asked, nor did I care for the fawning nature of the questions. Since the language of the questions has changed slightly, they have become slightly less offensive to me.

 

I don't care if the President of the United States wants to take time away from the important business of running MY country to talk to a bunch of students, many of whom won't be paying attention anyway. For many students, it will be just an excuse to get out of doing schoolwork.

 

Sadly, I think both the President, the schools, the administrators, the teachers, the students and the parents all have more important things they should be worrying about than this.

[rowan25]

*If* he was going to say something more problematic before the "kerfluffle," I'm sure they changed it to make it less controversial so that they could say, "See? All that fuss over nothing!"

 

My problem with the whole thing was with the lesson plans, not the speech. Bush spoke to school kids on tv and other presidents have done so, as well. But none, to my knowledge, have included DOE-written lesson plans. Curriculum writing is not a job of the DOE. *That* part smacks of the gov't overstepping its responsibilities to me.

 

Lisa

who sincerely believes that a federal DOE is a waste of taxpayer money, and wishes it didn't exist.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[rowan25]

Actually, this makes me think about how much public attitudes toward teaching kids about sensitive topics has changed. I grew up in the 70s and 80s. In this era, there were after school specials a couple of times a semester. Some were on topics like the death of a family member or the Holocaust. Others were dramatized works of fiction (I remember Bradbury stories as a couple of these). There were educational tie ins. But the actual viewing was done at home, after school. Or not.

 

In a similar vein, the health classes on puberty for 5th and 6th graders required a permission slip to participate, rather than being standard with an optional opt out.

 

There has been a shift in thinking that the schools have an obligation to provide guidance on a host of topics that were previously covered by the family or faith community. I would even go so far as to say that the education establishment sees itself as specially equipped to cover these topics because they are the professionals. And there is a faction within education that sees instruction on topics of social/evironmental/political nature as being more important than instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic.

 

There is so very much to cover in math, reading, writing and history. Not to mention basic economics, science, art and music. I do really resent the time that is given over to "good causes." Every half hour at the end of the school day for collecting quarters for the United Way (just as an example) is a half hour that isn't used for a read aloud, math review, or science experiment. Over ten years ago, I did classroom observations as part of my MS Ed. I was struck by how little time the kids spent on anything academic on some days.

:iagree:Very well said.

[rowan25]

nt

Edited September 8, 2009 by rowan25
double post

[Renee in NC]

Actually, according to today's Rasmussen poll, "48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapprove."

 

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_pollOverall,

 

And Gallup is saying 52% approval. CNN says 54 - who knows who is right?

[Kari C in SC]

Much ado about nothing. It is a conservatives dream. No excuses, no pandering to those born in less than ideal circumstances, nothing except a mantra of personal responsiblity and accountability. As expected. I wonder ,when those who readily believe the fear mongers each time they speak ,will begin to realize that x did not come to pass and y did not come to pass and just maybe ...at the end of the day it is smoke and mirrors. And making themselves a tidy bit of money scaring the bejeepers out of the "folks" they purport to serve.

 

I could not agree more!

[Philothea]

The point is, that as long as Obama stands where he does on issues both political and moral, he has no right to speak to my children. To us, he is not a role model and will not be given that status in our home.

 

I can't see how such a speech will not sway some children to have an emotional attachment to Obama, like many people who voted for him, based on the notion that he is talking to them so he cares about them. The President and the Federal Government are like big, caring fathers who are looking out for all of us. :grouphug:

[Kari C in SC]

Well, if his approval polls are any indication, most of the country *does* trust him. It doesn't seem that way here because there are so many Republican homeschoolers who don't trust Obama. I am a Republican, voted for McCain, and *I* am sick of hearing about how horrible Obama is and how he wants us all to be communist.:tongue_smilie: I think he really wants the best for this country, even if it isn't what some people want. Obviously most Americans *do* want what he wants as they voted for him!

 

:iagree:

 

I have voted Republican the last 3 elections, but I still cannot believe the nonsense that so many of my close family and friends are believing. I am just baffled by this because these are people that I know are intelligent and well rounded people. I am just tired of the fear tactics that make absolutely no sense.

 

I took a junior high field trip to the Illinois governor's office back in the 80's. I can't remember who the governor was back then. I have no idea if my parents supported him or not. I do know that I was expected to respect him and the office he held. I remember sitting in his office while he gave us some sort of pep talk about heading on to high school, etc. Nobody screened the speech he gave us and we all turned out okay. If anything it was an honor to be chosen to go on the field trip because of the importance of the office.

[ConnieB]

Dunno... there's still possibility of the evil eye or direct mind-to-mind transmission. Or perhaps the text is really some kind of code? What happens if you play it backwards? :lol:

 

Seriously though, it's a good speech. I hope all this foolishness stops now.

 

 

Hmmmmm maybe there will actually be propaganda flashed across the screen at such speed (or whatever they do) so you can't read it but your mind can process it.

 

Remember the days of Subliminal messages.....maybe it's back.

:lol::lol::lol:

 

 

Of course who's to say that his original speech wasn't everything the fear mongers predicted, but it was rewritten to appease them.....so watch out, the one he'll give next semester will be filled with propaganda, and tips on how to brainwash your parents into giving you a larger allowance and having them call their Congressman to pass the health bill.

 

:lol::lol::lol::bigear:

[LibraryLover]

Hmmmmm maybe there will actually be propaganda flashed across the screen at such speed (or whatever they do) so you can't read it but your mind can process it.

 

Remember the days of Subliminal messages.....maybe it's back.

 

 

 

:lol::lol::lol::bigear:

 

 

God is dead, man. Btw, *I* am the walrus.

 

No, really.

 

:tongue_smilie:

[funschooler5]

Actually, this makes me think about how much public attitudes toward teaching kids about sensitive topics has changed. I grew up in the 70s and 80s. In this era, there were after school specials a couple of times a semester. Some were on topics like the death of a family member or the Holocaust. Others were dramatized works of fiction (I remember Bradbury stories as a couple of these). There were educational tie ins. But the actual viewing was done at home, after school. Or not.

 

In a similar vein, the health classes on puberty for 5th and 6th graders required a permission slip to participate, rather than being standard with an optional opt out.

 

There has been a shift in thinking that the schools have an obligation to provide guidance on a host of topics that were previously covered by the family or faith community. I would even go so far as to say that the education establishment sees itself as specially equipped to cover these topics because they are the professionals. And there is a faction within education that sees instruction on topics of social/evironmental/political nature as being more important than instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic.

 

There is so very much to cover in math, reading, writing and history. Not to mention basic economics, science, art and music. I do really resent the time that is given over to "good causes." Every half hour at the end of the school day for collecting quarters for the United Way (just as an example) is a half hour that isn't used for a read aloud, math review, or science experiment. Over ten years ago, I did classroom observations as part of my MS Ed. I was struck by how little time the kids spent on anything academic on some days.

 

I was in school in the 80s and early 90s...we watched and discussed several after-school specials at school. We also had assemblies about drugs, pre-marital sex, and the like. This is nothing new. I'm not saying I agree with it...I personally think that religion, sex (other than basic biology), and other personal matters should be taught by parents and be kept out of public schools.

 

However, I would not put Obama's speech in that category at all because a. His speech is about excelling in school and b. He's the president of the United States. I don't mean to say "he's the president so we must agree with everything he says". I mean that he will be in history books some day....to me, that makes him relevant enough for school-time.

 

I also think that kids that don't get to see the speech are missing out on something kind of neat. How often does the president address kids specifically? I read the transcript online, and I think it's inspiring. My kids will be watching it.

[sgilli3]

I guess you missed the part where his mom basically did homeschool him because they couldnt afford the school most american kids attended.

 

Im not sure why you'd think homeschoolers deserve some special mention in the speech.

 

This speech in concert with this thread proves what I suspected all along: that this man could dress in drag and do the hula (to borrow from the Lion King movie) and some of you would complain that he wore too much eyeliner and not enough blush.

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[shea]

I am usually just a lurker, but I thought I would post this interesting article. It is an opinion piece from the Washington Examiner.

 

Sue

 

 

When Bush spoke to students, Democrats investigated, held hearings

 

By: Byron York

Chief Political Correspondent

09/08/09 7:11 AM EDT

 

The controversy over President Obama's speech to the nation's schoolchildren will likely be over shortly after Obama speaks today at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. But when President George H.W. Bush delivered a similar speech on October 1, 1991, from Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington DC, the controversy was just beginning. Democrats, then the majority party in Congress, not only denounced Bush's speech -- they also ordered the General Accounting Office to investigate its production and later summoned top Bush administration officials to Capitol Hill for an extensive hearing on the issue.

Unlike the Obama speech, in 1991 most of the controversy came after, not before, the president's school appearance. The day after Bush spoke, the Washington Post published a front-page story suggesting the speech was carefully staged for the president's political benefit. "The White House turned a Northwest Washington junior high classroom into a television studio and its students into props," the Post reported.

With the Post article in hand, Democrats pounced. "The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students," said Richard Gephardt, then the House Majority Leader. "And the president should be doing more about education than saying, 'Lights, camera, action.'"

Democrats did not stop with words. Rep. William Ford, then chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, ordered the General Accounting Office to investigate the cost and legality of Bush's appearance. On October 17, 1991, Ford summoned then-Education Secretary Lamar Alexander and other top Bush administration officials to testify at a hearing devoted to the speech. "The hearing this morning is to really examine the expenditure of $26,750 of the Department of Education funds to produce and televise an appearance by President Bush at Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington, DC," Ford began. "As the chairman of the committee charged with the authorization and implementation of education programs, I am very much interested in the justification, rationale for giving the White House scarce education funds to produce a media event."

Unfortunately for Ford, the General Accounting Office concluded that the Bush administration had not acted improperly. "The speech itself and the use of the department's funds to support it, including the cost of the production contract, appear to be legal," the GAO wrote in a letter to Chairman Ford. "The speech also does not appear to have violated the restrictions on the use of appropriations for publicity and propaganda."

That didn't stop Democratic allies from taking their own shots at Bush. The National Education Association denounced the speech, saying it "cannot endorse a president who spends $26,000 of taxpayers' money on a staged media event at Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington, D.C. -- while cutting school lunch funds for our neediest youngsters."

Lost in all the denouncing and investigating was the fact that Bush's speech itself, like Obama's today, was entirely unremarkable. "Block out the kids who think it's not cool to be smart," the president told students. "If someone goofs off today, are they cool? Are they still cool years from now, when they're stuck in a dead end job. Don't let peer pressure stand between you and your dreams.

 

 

 

 

 

[lgm]

Still chuckling over "I am the walrus"..

 

 

I read the speech with my 7th and 9th graders last night..first day of school is today for us. We can't see any teachers using any of the suggested lesson plans as, in the past, they would say that doing so would undermine their authority in the classroom. Since they won't collaborate with the other teachers that teach the same class, we can't see them collaborating with the President of the U.S. In any case, they don't have the equipment for the whole school to listen live, unless someone puts the TV next to the mic for the loudspeaker and some brave soul decides they can interrupt lunch.

 

The speech itself was interesting. My kids realized it wasn't aimed at them. They certainly don't aspire to being a rap, basketball, or reality TV star. They aren't failing or struggling, since they attend all their classes daily and academics in full inclusion, no AP/IB/honors schools like ours has become aren't 'hard' at all. Who knows, maybe the students it was aimed at will hear the message from the Pres. It was worth a try and I admire him for not giving up on this population, as our district did until the state forced them not to.

[calandalsmom]

The point is, that as long as Obama stands where he does on issues both political and moral, he has no right to speak to my children. To us, he is not a role model and will not be given that status in our home.

 

I can't see how such a speech will not sway some children to have an emotional attachment to Obama, like many people who voted for him, based on the notion that he is talking to them so he cares about them. The President and the Federal Government are like big, caring fathers who are looking out for all of us. :grouphug:

 

the point is this is an attitude of blatatnt disrespect towards the position of the POTUS.