The current controversy over President Obama’s planned back to school speech has been met with much hesitation and rightfully so. In the past only dictators and socialists have specifically addressed the youth of America. Many parents and even school officials have been outraged by the Presidents current plan.
In the original lesson plan for the speech, the children were to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.” Another assignment was to “discuss what the president want’s us to do.” Thankfully, however, the critics objected to these assignments and it has since changed to “Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”
Either way many parents and teachers are not happy with this course of action. Some schools are even closing down for the day so as not to subject their students to the speech. Michelle Moore of St. Louis is thinking about keeping her children home from school on the 8th. “I have to sign permission slips for my kids to watch R-rated movies in school,” Moore said, explaining that she felt parents were being blindsided by the president’s address. “It was simply presented, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this, this is when it’s going to air and you’re going to show it to your kids.'”
I know that I as a parent, were my children of school age, would keep my children at home. I am outraged for the other parents who’s children are in school. Many parents feel that if they had been presented with what he plans to say, or notified and given a choice they might be more considerate. For now however, they have had no choice, they can either send their children to school to be subjected to a unknown speech directed at their children or keep them home.
The idea that this socialist is targeting the young and naiveté, with his speech is infuriating. By pulling in the celebrities to whom many children idolize is even more underhanded. By pulling Le Bron James, and Kelly Clarkson, it sends the message to the young and impressionable that they should listen to the president and follow him simply because these stars are speaking alongside him. Some might say that, that is a jump, but we all know how much children listen to, and learn from their idols.
Bottom line is, this should have been talked about and agreed upon before having it thrust upon the children. Children deserve the right to be young and innocent not tainted by the ever toxic political world. At the time of this article, Foxnews.com held a poll, asking whether parents were going to keep their kids away from the speech, results were out of almost 63,000 votes 87% (almost 55,000) votes said they were in fact going to keep their children away from the speech. A little over 6,000 said they were going to allow their children to watch the speech.
In light of this someone higher up should listen, trying to get to the parents through their children will cause you loss of support. Think before doing something this outrageous again.