(Realtalk) How do you feel about some Public Schools NOT showing Obama's speech?

[JayDean03]

Do you think there are racial undtertones against him?

Whats your view on all this.

I think it's ******ed at the fact that they dont want to see a black president on public school tv, but if it was McCain, it woulda been gravy

.

[h1]Schools weigh Obama speech[/h1] [h2]How to handle address up to principals[/h2] [h5]By Ryan Blackburn | ryan.blackburn@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 12:26 am on 9/5/2009[/h5]

Northeast Georgia schools are letting principals decide whether to show President Obama's public address in schools Tuesday, but it's doubtful many will tune in for the occasion live.

In the Clarke County School District, the option to air the president's education address live will be reserved for social studies teachers at middle and high schools, Superintendent Philip Lanoue said Friday. Elementary school teachers will be able to show the video, but only after previewing the speech first to determine if it will fit in with the curriculum, he said.

"It's a historical piece, so the parameters we have set is that it's for our social studies classes for our high schools and middle schools," Lanoue said.

What was supposed to be a light-hearted, motivational back-to-school message has become a hot-button issue for school administrators, with conservatives and political pundits urging parents to keep their kids home if the teacher decides to show Obama's speech. But if the president's address can't be aired in school, his simple message to stay in school and work hard still is something all parents should be talking about with their children, Lanoue said.

"Certainly in terms of what he's talking about, my feeling is that that would be a great conversation for parents to have first," Lanoue said.

Superintendents in other districts, like Barrow and Jackson counties, also are leaving the decision up to school principals to decide to broadcast Obama's speech.

"We're giving it as an optional activity," said Barrow County Superintendent Ron Saunders. "We do say that if teachers chose to view the speech, they need to let parents know about it and if (students) do chose to not watch the speech, they need to be given an alternate activity."

Still, chances are, very few Barrow students will watch the speech unless teachers can get enough required permission slips returned from parents, and teachers can prove how they'll connect Obama's message with the state's curriculum, said Lisa Leighton, spokeswoman for the school district.

"I don't think were going to have too many takers right now the way it looks," Leighton said. "We've heard from nobody."

Administrators in consultation with faculty in Oglethorpe County Schools have decided not to play the speech at all, while teachers in Jackson, Commerce City and Jefferson City will preview Obama's message on C-SPAN before deciding whether it's worth using in class.

"After we watch it we'd be better prepared to discuss it," said Warren Tolbert, who teaches social studies at East Jackson Middle School. "We felt that would be the safe thing to do."

Children across the country have been invited to tune in to hear the president's message, but some parents this week besieged schools to specifically request their students not watch.

Conservative political pundits also have questioned the president's motives, saying the speech is akin to the federal government overstepping its bounds in public education.

Obama's address will be shown live on the White House Web site and on C-SPAN at noon, a time when most students will be at lunch.

Obama isn't the only president who's directed a speech to school children.

In 1991, George H.W. Bush gave a similar speech about the need to study hard and stay away from drugs to broadcast live from a junior high school.

Bush also drew criticism from Democrats who said he had used the U.S. Department of Education for paid political advertising.
[h5]Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, September 05, 2009[/h5]

 

[dirtylicious]

for those who want the full text

http://www.whitehouse.gov...s/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone - how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday - at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.

I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world - and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor - maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine - but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life - I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that - if you quit on school - you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life - what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home - that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer - hundreds of extra hours - to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education - and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you - you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust - a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor - and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you - don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down - don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.


...that's some real controversial stuff there...

 

[thytkerjobs]

I can't stand to hear everything turning back to race when it comes 2 obama. Thank god there are schools that aren't forcing this speech upon thestudents. It has nothing to do with his skin color. If mccain woulda done some crazy $#@! Like this, people would be just as outraged. If parents choose tomake their kids watch his speeches, fine. But to make schools play it for an hour and then ask questions about obama afterwards, and suggest that they read hisbooks first...that's just crazy. Whether he's white black yellow green whatever. Im jamaican, btw..so don't try and pull a race card.

 

[kdawg]

Making everyone do their best at school - isn't that Communism?

 

[extraordinary swag]

Whoever is not allowing their students to watch is just showing their obvious bias/racism, nothing in that speech has a political agenda. And how in the worldcan people criticize the speech way before the text of it was even out? Even Laura Bush said its not that big of a deal.

People in this country are just so damn paranoid over every little thing Obama does. I'd rather have someone articulate and in tune with today's youthlike Obama speak to my class over George Bush that's for sure.

 

[korean dave]

I really hate to use the race card in these situations, but I'm starting to feel the same way. People are going way overboard on this matter. On the news,you hear parents (always white) saying that they don't want political propaganda spewed onto their children...but I'm starting to feel that it has todo with Obama also. And if it was about politics, can children not think for themselves? Are parents really that scared that the President will brainwashchildren and make them disregard all their principals and values? It really makes no sense to me.

 

[korean dave]

thytkerjobs wrote:

---

I can't stand to hear everything turning back to race when it comes 2 obama. Thank god there are schools that aren't forcing this speech upon the students. It has nothing to do with his skin color. If mccain woulda done some crazy $#@! Like this, people would be just as outraged. If parents choose to make their kids watch his speeches, fine. But to make schools play it for an hour and then ask questions about obama afterwards, and suggest that they read his books first...that's just crazy. Whether he's white black yellow green whatever. Im jamaican, btw..so don't try and pull a race card.

This isn't the first time a President has address children inpublic school.

 

[thytkerjobs]

Originally Posted by Korean Dave

I really hate to use the race card in these situations, but I'm starting to feel the same way. People are going way overboard on this matter. On the news, you hear parents (always white) saying that they don't want political propaganda spewed onto their children...but I'm starting to feel that it has to do with Obama also. And if it was about politics, can children not think for themselves? Are parents really that scared that the President will brainwash children and make them disregard all their principals and values? It really makes no sense to me.

not true

there are black and white people for Obama, and there areblack and white people against Obama.
My main issue here is that people are really trying to pull the race card for EVERYTHING he does. Get over it. If i had a kid in school, they'd be hometoday. And as i said, Im not white, and im obviously not racist against black people..im mostly black.

 

[solewoman]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

for those who want the full text

http://www.whitehouse.gov...s/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone - how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday - at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.

I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world - and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor - maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine - but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life - I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that - if you quit on school - you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life - what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home - that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer - hundreds of extra hours - to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education - and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you - you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust - a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor - and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you - don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down - don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

...that's some real controversial stuff there...


thats what im talking about...a realist

 

[im not you]

Originally Posted by thytkerjobs

Originally Posted by Korean Dave

I really hate to use the race card in these situations, but I'm starting to feel the same way. People are going way overboard on this matter. On the news, you hear parents (always white) saying that they don't want political propaganda spewed onto their children...but I'm starting to feel that it has to do with Obama also. And if it was about politics, can children not think for themselves? Are parents really that scared that the President will brainwash children and make them disregard all their principals and values? It really makes no sense to me.

And as i said, Im not white, and im obviously not racist against black people..im mostly black.

Not saying that you are...but that means absolutely nothing. Some of the biggest people prejudice towards Black people...are Black people.

 

[korean dave]

thytkerjobs wrote:

---

Originally Posted by Korean Dave

I really hate to use the race card in these situations, but I'm starting to feel the same way. People are going way overboard on this matter. On the news, you hear parents (always white) saying that they don't want political propaganda spewed onto their children...but I'm starting to feel that it has to do with Obama also. And if it was about politics, can children not think for themselves? Are parents really that scared that the President will brainwash children and make them disregard all their principals and values? It really makes no sense to me.

not true

there are black and white people for Obama, and there are black and white people against Obama.
My main issue here is that people are really trying to pull the race card for EVERYTHING he does. Get over it. If i had a kid in school, they'd be home today. And as i said, Im not white, and im obviously not racist against black people..im mostly black.


I have yet to see a Black person being interviewed saying they didn't want to have their kid watch Obama today.... I work in television news BTW

 

[friendliest ghost]

^ Yes, but Obama is rapidly losing ground in the black community.

 

[im not you]

Originally Posted by Friendliest Ghost

^ Yes, but Obama is rapidly losing ground in the black community.

How you figure that?

 

[thunderchunk69]

Originally Posted by SoleWoman

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

...that's some real controversial stuff there...

thats what im talking about...a realist

 

[dirtylicious]

If i had a kid in school, they'd be home today
curious... what in the speech do you find objectionable?

 

[i be john mayer]

Schools not letting kids watch the speech is pure politics and pure plug bull like how they took down "green jobs czar" and how every whitehousestaffer is now some sort of "czar".

 

[thytkerjobs]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

If i had a kid in school, they'd be home today

curious... what in the speech do you find objectionable?

it's not so much the words in the speech im against...its the principle.
if people want to hear his message they can...on a voluntary basis. youtube, the news, etc.

 

[JayDean03]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

If i had a kid in school, they'd be home today

curious... what in the speech do you find objectionable?

 

[nationaltruckerdave]

Kids are immature.. For the most part they wouldn't appreciate it.

 

[lifelessons]

Originally Posted by Im Not You

Originally Posted by thytkerjobs

Originally Posted by Korean Dave

I really hate to use the race card in these situations, but I'm starting to feel the same way. People are going way overboard on this matter. On the news, you hear parents (always white) saying that they don't want political propaganda spewed onto their children...but I'm starting to feel that it has to do with Obama also. And if it was about politics, can children not think for themselves? Are parents really that scared that the President will brainwash children and make them disregard all their principals and values? It really makes no sense to me.

And as i said, Im not white, and im obviously not racist against black people..im mostly black.

Not saying that you are...but that means absolutely nothing. Some of the biggest people prejudice towards Black people...are Black people.

you aint never lied.......black people never wanna see each other do well....hell in the workforce i would trust my white counterparts before i did my blackones....i've heard too many stories of dirty #@#+ we do to bring each other down

 

[i be john mayer]

Originally Posted by thytkerjobs

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

If i had a kid in school, they'd be home today

curious... what in the speech do you find objectionable?

it's not so much the words in the speech im against...its the principle.
if people want to hear his message they can...on a voluntary basis. youtube, the news, etc.


seriously. if this were reagen, clinton, bush, nixon, etc. then this would not be any kind of issue. every school in the nation would (and has!) have kids inclassrooms watching this speech simultaneously WITH the lesson plan, even though i don't feel that part necessary. be real, man. the controversy is aboutOBAMA giving a back to school speech. not obama giving a back to school SPEECH.

 

[diego]

Originally Posted by Tetsujin23

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

If i had a kid in school, they'd be home today

curious... what in the speech do you find objectionable?

Its not about finding something objectionable. The issue here has nothing to do with the content of the speech.
Personally I would let my kid watch the speech wether it be at home or at school, I voted for Obama. However, we must be able to respect everyone else whowishes to exercise their right to not have ther kids be subjected to this speech.

Not everyone is a democrat, and some of you have to realize that a white person that does not like Obama's political agenda is not automatically a racist.

What happens if McCain wouldve won? Im sure there would be a whole bunch of liberal democrats crying how they do not want their kids to watch that speech atschool.

At the end of the day, Im sure that Obama's advisors are aware that any kid at school who is at least 14 years old is a potential vote during his nextpresidential run.
School shouldnt be a place for people to secretly push their political agenda.

 

[dirtylicious]

^so you're saying every speech by the Pres is a secret puch to push their agenda?

 

[mez 0ne]

At the end of the day, this is a speech about education and nothing more.

I dont see why this would even be an issue whether he was democrat or republican.

 

[solewoman]

Originally Posted by ThunderChunk69

Originally Posted by SoleWoman

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

...that's some real controversial stuff there...

thats what im talking about...a realist

ok...poor choice of word? but what im tryna say is he is telling the truth when he made that statement. in regards to the fact that education isvery important and there are only very few people who will become famous rappers, atheletes etc...im glad he included that in his speech, a slice of reality.