On my Facebook profile, there has been 64 comments (as of this writing) on whether U.S. Presidents, most specifically Barack Obama, should address the school children of the American nation. The comments began sparking controversy on both ends of the spectrum, when I posted a link on my profile for a Facebook group I created, “Hey Obama! Leave My Kids Alone.” The group’s name comes from a press release, with a near-identitical title, which was written and released by the Cato Institute.
But I didn’t start the Facebook group solely to oppose President Obama, but to also protest all U.S. Presidents from speaking directly via telecasts in our nation’s public schools. Here is a list of select comments from the thread.
“I’ve spoken to a number of local teachers in private and each of them has a sickening concern about the materials related to Obama’s speech and how its used to influence students to find Obama ‘inspiring’. The questions used in the class activities are leading, just a lawyer would setup a series of questions in a trial to receive a desired response or action.
“For Obama or any President to speak to the children of America without permission from the parents is a dangerous political move no President should make, especially one that is highly controversial like President Obama.”
And…
“I’m hardcore to the point in saying — NO U.S. PRESIDENT SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO ADDRESS OUR CHILDREN DURING PUBLIC SCHOOL WITHOUT THE PARENT’S FULL CONSENT.
“Obama is simply the current President. If it was John McCain, George Bush, Hillary Clinton, or any other politician that was elected President, I’d be just as hardcore on this issue.
“My key underlying point to all this is that the federal or state government doesn’t have the exclusive right to tell you how they will educate or talk to your children. I started this group to create awareness around this issue.”
And…
“If you have a son or daughter and you’re alright with your child watching and listening to President Obama, that’s fine. I’m not here to convince you otherwise.
“But if you’re a parent and you’re not okay with the President speaking to your son or daughter, then I’m letting you know you have the exclusive innately parental right of removing your child from school under any condition or pretense.
“It’s not about spreading fear, it’s about creating awareness of the options available to parents.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, as a parent, you can remove your child from school for any reason, especially if you’re uncomfortable with the school, class, or learning environment?”
And…
“I don’t believe the President should be a role model — this includes all Presidents. The President isn’t elected to be a role model for children or adults. He is elected to serve the people of the United States of America, to enact the powers provisioned to him in the United States Constitution and its extensive Bill of Rights.
“The President may inadvertently become the role model of some children or adults, but it shouldn’t be spoon fed to the masses.”
And, finally…
“Furthermore, I am not a parent (at this time), but if I were, I would remove my child from class on September 8th, specifically because of the President being broadcast into classrooms around country.
“Instead, I would watch and record the re-broadcast of the President-to-student speech. If I deemed the talk appropriate for my child, then I would allow my child to watch it with me. Then I would go over what the President spoke and hit on any key values the President expressed.
“The problem with American parenting is that they let their children roam very freely, unrestricted, absorbing every little detail about the world around them. If I were a parent, I wouldn’t want my child continually exposed to the conditional stimuli that’s openly broadcast on television, radio, the internet, etc.
“You see, I’m a psychology major and I know during a child’s earliest years, they are most susceptible to outer influences.
“I’m all about a child learning about the world around them, but it should be expressly under the guidance and direction of their parents.
“Again, this drives home my point which I stated earlier, which I’ll reproduce here:
‘If you have a son or daughter and you’re alright with your child watching and listening to President Obama, that’s fine. I’m not here to convince you otherwise.
‘But if you’re a parent and you’re not okay with the President speaking to your son or daughter, then I’m letting you know you have the EXCLUSIVE INNATELY PARENTAL RIGHT of removing your child from school under any condition or pretense.’”
There are four major points to all of this:
- It is your exclusive innately parental right to raise your child as you see fit, as long as it does not physically, mentally, and/or emotionally harm the child.
- No President should be afforded the priviledge to speak directly to children without the parent’s full consent.
- Federal and state government should not force feed students with political agenda and dogma.
- A parent has the right to withdraw their son or daughter from school at any time, for any reason, and under any circumstance.
Len Munsil, a Republican and former 2006 Arizona gubernatorial candidate, drives home point #4 very clearly (at least for Arizona parents):
What this controversy has done is expose a fundamental debate in America — who is in charge of our children, parents or the state? The response from some administrators, even in Arizona, that no students will be allowed to “opt out” is downright frightening, and in violation of Arizona law.
You as the parent have rights in Arizona. I can’t tell you whether pulling your kids from an Obama speech is necessary – it’s almost impossible to avoid seeing an Obama speech in our current media culture — but that’s your call, not the school’s. Arizona Revised Statute Sec. 15-102 says school districts must have policies by which:
… parents who object to any learning material or activity on the basis that it is harmful may withdraw their children from the activity or from the class or program in which the material is used.
No comments:
Post a Comment