Please welcome Holly Cara Price for another edition of The Price Point. Today, she’s taking a look at the controversy surrounding Obama’s speech for classroom students, which seems to be drawing fewer angry reactions now that the text has been posted online.
I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts on this whole kerfuffle. For my part, I’ll say I pretty much agree with Holly.
The Price Point: Back to School
By Holly Cara Price
Tuesday, September 8th, at noon Eastern Standard Time, President Barack Obama will, according to Glenn Beck and his minions, jump start the apocalypse by giving an eighteen-minute speech to American school children between the ages of 5 and 18. According to the White House, the President will “urge students to take personal responsibility for their own education, to set goals, and to not only stay in school but make the most of it.â€
To inject a little historical accuracy into this brouhaha, the last time a U.S. President took time out to directly address our nation’s schoolchildren was eighteen years ago. That speech took place on October 1, 1991 and was broadcast live on CNN, PBS, and NBC Radio. Bush 41 spoke about the importance of education: “I know you’ve heard about stanines and percentiles, surveys and statistics, but here’s what all that fancy talk really means: Education means the difference between a good future and a lousy one.†Somehow, I rather doubt that left wing segments of the population threatened to not make this speech available to entire school districts.
By the hue and cry visited upon this announcement from certain segments of the population (in other words, those citizens who wanted to see John McCain in the Oval Office accompanied by Sarah Pitbull-Lipstick Palin as his second in command), you might think Obama was inserting secret code into this speech that aims to turn our children into godless Communists and socialists. I mean, in case you didn’t know, it’s turned into a complete shit storm. Parents are threatening to keep their children home so they don’t get “indoctrinated.†Mark Steyn of the National Review said on Rush Limbaugh’s show that the address was an attempt to extend Obama’s “cult of personality.†School districts in six states (Texas, Illinois, Virginia, Wisconsin, Missouri and Minnesota) intend to not let their students watch the President’s address.
Jim Greer, the Chairman of the Florida Republican Party, stated, “As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology. The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other President, is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power.” Greer also said that “this White House has been very diabolical in creating outlets to communicate with young people.”
The White House released the text of Obama’s speech earlier today and you can read the entire thing here. Sprinkled with pop culture references and stories of success against all odds, the punchline is stay in school – and you’ll change your life for the better. It’s nothing new. It’s nothing controversial. Call me crazy, but I think there’s a number of deluded people in this country who just cannot get over the fact that our President, who was democratically elected last year, is Barack Obama. A man of mixed race – brought up by a single parent – who went to Harvard – who married a black woman who also went to Harvard – a man who is capable, smart, and well-educated. Add one black President to those evil left wing Democrats who want to steal your individuality and let big government run everything and poof! you’ve got bona-fide controversy. Keep that guy away from the kids. They might learn that, if they stay in school and get good grades, they might end up like he did – changing the world.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Hampshire // Sep 8, 2009 at 2:52 am
I really like Obama’s speech and his beautiful gift “magic box” for students..
2 Sam // Sep 8, 2009 at 6:36 am
As long as the Republicans feel that their best way to regain power is to oppose everything Obama does, this sort of thing is going to keep happening. “Don’t let up,” “Don’t give the president any legitimacy,” “Oppose everything he does,” “Make the case that he’s a socialist every chance you get,” and so on. These are drawn from the playbook of a desperate, ideologically bankrupt political party.
I would have been thrilled to have a president like Obama speak to me when I was a kid in school. But when I was in the second grade, the President of the United States resigned, so it didn’t work out that way.
3 Gonzalo // Sep 8, 2009 at 9:35 am
“…taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology.”
This argument is preposterous. Like it or not, Obama was elected president. Are they expecting him to not speak to the public at all so he avoids “indoctrinating” people?
Nice article, Holly. I like your last point. Conservatives have every right to disagree with Obama, but for crying out loud, it’s time to accept he’s your president already, and start having a modicum of respect for him.
4 Kim // Sep 8, 2009 at 9:44 am
Delurking to say I could not agree with you more. Clearly this whole “stay in school” thing is a plot by the Democrats to take over the world
. Also I don’t see what the problem is with asking our children to listen to the president making a speech and evaluate their reaction to it. It seems like a great opportunity to teach critical thinking skills, even if you don’t agree with what is being said.
5 Chrystal K. // Sep 8, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I really love that speech and if I were still in school and heard that on the first day, I really do think that it would make an impact on me, especially coming from a man who is living proof that hard work and dedication are important and rewarding.
6 Employment Attorney // Sep 8, 2009 at 7:05 pm
American kids need to know their president, whether they support his policy agenda or not
7 Amanda // Sep 8, 2009 at 9:51 pm
I’m pretty sure Jim Greer retracted all of his remarks after the text was published, but don’t quote me.
I teach middle school, and our district gave kids the chance to “opt-out” of watching the speech. I was appalled that there would even be a need to provide that option, despite the conservative nature of the region. The town where I teach is very supportive of the school system–but apparently they still listen to conservative talk radio enough to be swayed by flimsy fear-mongering arguments.
I think the kids liked the speech–who doesn’t appreciate being reminded that failure is par for the course? And I think a lot of my colleagues felt a little ashamed that they’d made a stink about it as well, since President Obama wound up speaking directly to the issues we try to help students deal with every day.
Blessedly, I heard many of my students saying, “My mom told me I HAD to watch his speech today!”
I will say, the administration was treading in dangerous political waters with the early suggestion of lesson plans to accompany the speech–not just with conservatives, but with teachers. Because if there’s one thing teachers hate, it’s someone butting in on their curriculum design. Even though I would have loved for my students to complete the suggested assignment, I could agree with the argument that it was over-reaching.
And can I say, I LOVED the moment when the high school kid addressed the Secretary of Education as “Arne Duncan?” Beautiful.
8 Tractor Engine Heater // Sep 9, 2009 at 8:47 am
The kids need to know their President. I am sure they are amused by his presence. I find the speech really inspiring, not only for the children but for the adults as well. We all want our children to work hard in school and pursue better grades. I hope that the parents will reinforce the messages that their kids heard.
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