Obama's Speech to Students: Education Message or Lopsided Propaganda?

As if you all know what's in the school curriculum all year long--can't get over the fact that another election wasn't fundamentally stolen this time--actually I think you (righties) let this guy win so you could blame everything that happens in the world on him-- you haven't gotten over the damage you've done to this country starting with Richard Nixon (talk about a liar)--then there was Ronald Reagan--called out the troops on our own students in Calif--probably OK with you, because they, too were opposed to someone elses (your) right-wing views.--and Bush Sr, with whom you find no problem--a former CIA head--there's a guy you really want influencing your kids. I can't believe the pettiness, ignorance , mean-spiritedness of so many who call themselves Christian. "Communism"?-- read the bible that you claim to abide by: He who has two coats should give one away" (St, Matthew, paraphrased)--sound like a Pinko philosophy to me. It's too bad Joe Mc Carthy didn't last longer--He eventually would have wiped out his own, too.

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No president whether Republican or Democrat should be allowed to give a private speech to students. If he/she wants to give a public speech geared toward students that parents can view with them, that’s great, but a private message in the classroom that parents can’t know about is just plain wrong! My guess is that the powers that be anticipated that there would be an uproar about this first attempt at indoctrinating our children, so this speech is probably mild. Then everyone will say, “See that wasn’t bad,” and then they’ll let their guard down as the speeches get worse. Speaking privately to students is a tool used by communist countries. How do you think they get students to turn against their parents (even turning them in)? What scares me is that some people actually think this is OK. Shows that we’re getting closer and closer to being turned into a communist country. More and more people have been brainwashed by the media to accept things that we should be up in arms about!

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Seriously, did none of you ever go to elementary school or have older children? When I was in school I clearly recall the television being wheeled in for Regan to make a speech at the beginning of the school year. My older nieces and nephews saw Both Bush men and Clinton make speeches at the start of the school year. This is nothing new.

And EVERYONE needs to get over themselves about this "Serve the president" thing. I assume (from your comments) you don't quite understand speaking/reading within context. Obviously the President is equal in the case with Country. No different than JFK saying "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country." Seriously, I'm not even like some huge Obama fan, but he IS our president and I for one am glad that he has an interest in our children and their education.

Also, someone commented about the "poor me" attitude. Um, apparently you don't understand what "poor me" is. He was citing valid examples of people who have had difficult times growing up but did not rely on that as an excuse or a reason not to succeed. Being a person who comes from a very poor background who had a very rough growing up I could relate.

People opposed to this speech are just still upset that Obama won.

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Wow - the president surrounds himself with "communists, Marxists and racists" he is a "neo-con, socialist, communist"

You know this is partly the reason the republican party lost this election. There is only so far you can get with this kind of extremism before people begin to get tired of being afraid especially as they see nothing to fear.

As for the uproar by the parents causing the release of the text of the speech - is it not good hat there is an administration that listens and responds to the wishes of the people? How many things were done during the previous administration about which there was a great outcry that usually went completely unheeded - including sending young men and women to war in Iraq.

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Conservatives champion individual responsibility; except, of course, when the Obama defends it. In that case, it is indoctrination. "Stay in school and study hard" somehow translates into Obama converting all the children of this country into his foot soldiers doing his bidding. A message to conservatives: you lose all credibility when you pick fights about concepts you actually agree with.


Rachel,

Why are you bolding certain sentences in order to make them appear more frightening? Is that a scare tactic you learned on Fox News? Talk about yellow journalism and fear-mongering. Oh wait, that's right. Your husband is running on the Republican ticket for Congress. Gotta scare those moderates into voting Republican! "Obama is going to get your children!" should do the trick.

By the way, I disagree with the IPledge video being shown in school for many reasons. But mainly because I don't care what celebrities have to say, in all honestly and neither should my children. Their opinions are meaningless and they should keep them to themselves.

And to LS- Yes, Bush Sr spoke to students as well. However, the democrats went offensive AFTER the speech was given, not before. It is one thing to disagree with something after it is done. It is quite another to fall prey to all the fear-mongering out there before having the facts.

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I am shocked that, number one, anyone who thinks a "stay in school speech" is bad. Number 2, those parents out there...you cannot control and shelter every aspect of your child's lives. It's impossible. Not only that, but, how many times do I see kids doing whatever they want, act disrespectfully to anyone they feel the need to disrespect at that moment, mothers and fathers who just let their little brats run all over a starbucks while they chat on the phone, or sit on their laptop. Number 3, he is our president...we THE AMERICANS voted him in just as we have in the past for every president. And as with every president, you vote him in and are confident that he will do well, and then BAM!-we once again don't like his agenda. Typical with americans. It is the way of politics. The problem with parents is that they want to CONTROL everything...except rearing the brats...including the teaching they recieve in school. If you all are so riled up then you can either go to college, earn a teaching degree, and go out and teach, home-school your children yourselves (if you think you can do it so much better), or ACTUALLY let the professionals do their jobs without constant interfering. There is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with wanting the best for your children, but then why are you complaining about a STAY IN SCHOOL SPEECH???
And please, there were plenty of other presidents who talked to children, who put out what many thought were positive messages, but not all did. Regan and his "just say no"...sure the message was to stay away from drugs...but what parent had a problem with that president doing the parents job and telling them to stay away from drugs? DARE is now taught in schools. No parent has a problem with this. Why can't we teach our children to stay in school. Why can't we stress this point?

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Stop trying to act like you are protecting your children. You people are completely unpatriotic. You should show respect to the President of the United States. You are teaching your children to hate. You are acting like children yourselves! Get over it, your man didn't win the election. Stop reading crazy right wing propaganda and Fox news, because they deliberately lie! It is NOT true that he had anything in there saying How to SERVE the president. If I believed every crazy email that comes in my mailbox from my republican friends, I'd be scared to death. Please have an open mind, you are not doing your children a favor by acting this way. Fox news didn't even cover his speech the other day, because they didn't want their viewers to get the entire truth and realize they were being fed bull@@@. They wanted to cherry pick it, and come up with skewed reporting on the speech.

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Firstly, I don't think it is fair for any of us to judge President Obama or his administration on the basis of a video made by a couple of 2nd rate actors, or a call school teachers biased based on a school-district that decided to screen it before considering the implications. Of course, the President can't make his feelings known about this video... if he embraces it he looks like a groupie and if he distances himself from it, he looks like an elitist. I don't think discussion regarding this video and the President's speech to schoolchildren belong in the same article, honestly.

Secondly, what is wrong with the questions: "How does the President inspire you?" or "What is the President asking you to do?".... frankly, I am quite interested in the answers of my 2nd graders... in the most basic of terms, without any political agenda, the President is an inspiration to children of color and children of little means. He is an inspiration to any child without a trust fund and without a father sitting at the dinner table every night. If a student is politically minded and disagrees with the President's agenda, he or she might be inspired to become politically active to attempt to promote a political agenda that he or she agrees with! There is no wrong answer to this "leading" question, Rachel. Everyone on both sides of the infamous aisle knows what the President is asking students to do... stay in school and do your best! What in the world is "leading" about that?

Of course, the President should make his speech and the accompanying materials transparent, which he did... and of course, the materials were developed by politicians and needed revision... which they were. If President Obama's speech helps just one of my students see a light at the end of the tunnel and keeps just one of my students in school for the long haul, then any political unease felt by the suits in Washington and the conservatives across America is worth it... no question!

I have to wonder, Rachel, if you would be calling a distrust of the government "healthy", if McCain were our President? How do you find a balance between fostering patriotism and love of country with a "healthy distrust of government"?

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RCD: pls use spell-check and/or a thesaurus when making your asinine comments...you should have used "reeked" instead of "wreaked" when making your "lopsided propaganda" totally biased statement...I know that thinking was not required on MTV, but I assume it was at the college from which you matriculated. Oh, and no worries about being a minority and a racist...your children will be the ones to judge you for that incongruity later on...funny thing, karma.

As for precedence, every contemporary President (except Dubya) has addressed our school children and has asked them for their help...you need to research this crap that you put out as fact...I won't comment on Dubya's decision not to address the nation's school children (guess we would have to check with his brain, Karl Rove).

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Umm, it's not a resurgence in distrust in our government...a lot of us have been distrustful of our government for the last 8+ years...and yet we handled it differently then our political counterparts. I was not a fan of Bush, but I supported him as President in front of my children and had my political debates with adults, where they belong. It saddens me that now when it's time for Republicans to do the same and agree to disagree, they don't.

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No, No, No..The president has no place directing his speaches towards our children. Presidents are just presidents. Not parents, not god. Presidents work for the people of the United States. They are human along with the rest of us. Children should not idolize presidents but respect them. Look at the actions of some of our presidents, most recent being Clinton. I certainly would not want him talking to my child. He embarrassed our whole nations with his actions. The president needs to talk to the people on his own level, meaning adults. Leave the parenting to the parents.

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Unbelievably sad commentary. Healthy distrust of our governmnent came long before this summer. It peaked with the scandal of the Bush reelection, and escalated throughout that term. Bush and Regan both gave back to school speeches, and the reaction to President Obama's message is disrespectful and shameful to this country.

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No kid should be watching anything on tv in school. There is so much to learn and so little time (I'm a teacher). We know who is president. We are taught to respect our president and love our country as kids. That's what kids need to know. This is, in my opinion, a marketing act more than anything and a waste of time for children. It is to benefit President Obama and his agenda. It simply serves as an interruption for the educational process in our already overburdened schools.

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Dear RCD:
Bush did speak out to school children! The reason you don't remember is b/c no one made a big deal out of it!! I don't understand why the scare tactics surrounding Obama. What could possibly be wrong with a president addressing our children on the importance of staying in school and doing your best!

I don't know if you know this, but a majority of us in this country, often times have to put school work in the back burner, due to mom and dad divorcing, the lights getting shut off cause mom can't pay the bill, not being able to get the necessary help at home b/c mom has to work two jobs or can't read. Being one of those children who's mother and father worked endlessly as factory workers, yet had a hard time making ends meet, I would've been ecstactic to hear our president address me and other like me and tell us don't worry, try your hardest and i promise you that you will make it!

Nothing wrong with that...

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