Millions And Millions Of Children Across America Will See The Speech Live In School With Their Teachers, While Greenwich Students Will Be Blacked Out
It's No Wonder That Greenwich Fails To Meet No Child Left Behind Standards Year After Year After Year.
Please see attached for release regarding the viewing of the President's
Address to students.
Kim Eves
Director of Communications
Greenwich Board of Education
290 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
http://www.greenwichschools.org/
Phone: 203-625-7415
e mail: kim_eves@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Fax: 203-869-8003
DISTRICT TO VIEW PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS TO STUDENTS
(For immediate release: Greenwich, CT – Friday, September 4, 2009)
President Barack Obama will address the nation’s youth in a LIVE speech on Tuesday,
September 8, 2009 at 12:00PM. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s web site, the address will “challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for Superintendent of Schools,
Dr. Sidney Freund, said “This is a teachable moment, one that we
will take advantage of as it supports the fundamental tenet of our work – the importance of education – a message we certainly want to reinforce with our students.”
Greenwich Public Schools will view President Obama’s address to students at a date to be determined, following the LIVE broadcast on Tuesday.
Having only recently received the request by United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, to air the address - the District will take the opportunity to properly plan for the logistics of viewing the speech:
- to ensure that the District has the proper viewing mechanisms in place,
- to plan discussions and activities appropriate for each grade level, and
- to provide an opportunity for schools to select the optimal time during the day to view and discuss the address.
Dr. Freund will meet with District and School-based administrators early next week to plan for the in-school viewing and reinforcement of the President’s message about the importance of Dr. Freund has planned a message to be delivered to parents this afternoon via telephone using the District’s electronic home/school communications system. A transcript of the message “Good afternoon, this is Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Sidney Freund.
As you may be aware, President Obama is planning to address all students in the United States LIVE at noon on Tuesday, September 8th.
The advance notice states that the President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning. President Obama is reinforcing the message that our Principals and teachers delivered on our first day of school.
I have received several emails and calls from parents and community members objecting to airing the speech during the school day. I have also received several calls encouraging me to show every student the President’s address. After careful consideration of all perspectives I have decided on the following course of action:
At this time, we do not plan to view the President’s speech live on Tuesday.
We will, however, make arrangements for all students to view the President’s address at a later date.
This decision has been made primarily to provide adequate time for us to plan the viewing:
- to ensure that we have the technical capacity in place
- to ensure that an instructional team has time to engage in thoughtful dialogue to prepare age appropriate activities to accompany the viewing of the President’s speech, and
- to ensure that every student has the opportunity to view the address
As a parent, you will be advised by your building principal of the date and time of the
presentation.
I hope you view the President’s message and discuss its importance with your child.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy your holiday weekend. Good-bye.”
http://www.greenwichschools.org/
COMMENT:
Whatever Happened To Respect For The President Of The United States?
The fact of the matter is - this is a fake controversy, nothing more and nothing less. It is a ginned up fake cheer-lead-the-base dumb exercise.
Greenwich kids and parents, just download the speech on Monday from the White House web site and see what the Bush Republican's of Greenwich don't want you to see.
Obama's speech to children has been turned into a advertising campaign for socialism. "As far as I am concerned, this is not civics education - it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality," said Oklahoma state Sen. Steve Russell. "This is something you'd expect to see in North Korea or Saddam Hussein's Iraq." Florida state chair Republican Party, Jim Greer warned Obama is trying to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda." Boo-yeah! Go 'git 'em commie bastards, Jimmy Bob!!!
Thanks to the profound intellect of conservative talk radio and the right-wing blog-wingnuts, Obama's speech to children is now a lecture on socialism, Marxist-Leninist-Mao ZeDong thought. I wish it was so because it would be impressive to listen to anyone who can expound and explain socialist and communist theory in 20 minutes. Then I would encourage the kids to listen because to understand true capitalism, you need to understand the counterpoints of facism, socialism, communism and neo-socialism. Das Kapital and The Wealth of Nations.
The culture wars never ended.
In fact the chasm between right and left, Republican and Democrat is so wide that the continental divide seems like an irrelevant analogy.
We certainly can't have the President of the United States of America telling the children of Hamilton Avenue School if you apply yourself and try hard you can overcome your failed school and school district.
In a town that has an growning educational gap between white and minority students, we certainly can't have the President of the United States telling children to challenge students to work hard, stay in school .
FLASHBACK:
In 1991, former President and Greenwich resident George H.W. Bush delivered a nationally televised speech to students from a Washington school, encouraging them to say no to drugs and work hard.
What Does The National PTA President Say About The President's Speech To The Nation's Children?
Here is what the national office e-mailed to state and local chapters
Q: How does National PTA feel about the President giving this speech on the first day of school and about parents "opting-out" of their kids watching it?
A: Anytime a president gives a speech about the importance of education; a speech that inspires kids to do well in school; a speech that speaks directly to them; we feel those are positive messages for children to hear. National PTA supports making children feel good about being in school. Finally, any time we can encourage additional student-teacher dialogue on setting academic goals, it's a positive step.
We also recognize that parents have a choice and if they choose to "opt-out" of having their child watch the speech, that is certainly their right. However, it should not be a detriment to the child's learning experience. In other words, the child should only be re-directed to a different activity during the time of the speech and not miss the entire day of school.
Q: Does PTA support those lesson plans and if any guidance is being given by the National PTA to its affiliated schools?
A: The lesson plans were developed by teachers (the Teaching Ambassador Fellows at the US Department of Education) for teachers.
National PTA works on legislative and policy issues; not curriculum. You may want to contact the NEA...
NOTE FOR YOUR REFERENCE: The lesson plans are optional for use (so teachers don't have to do them) and they are framed as "menus" of activities that teachers can use to use the speech as a learning opportunity . Using the optional lesson plans is a local decision to be made by teachers and principals
It Looks Like Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sidney Freund And Some Greenwich Board Of Education Members What To Play Politics With The Education Futures Of Greenwich School Children.
Maybe Dr. Sidney Freund Should Consider The Following As He Yields To Far Right Wing BOE Political Pressure.....
The Majority Of Greenwich Public School Parents Voted For Obama.
Obama Carried Greenwich Last Year.
Only Former Superintendent of Schools Betty Sternberg Would Be Stupid Enough To Allow The President's Address To Students To Be Politicized.
If Some Far Right Wing Greenwich Ideologue Is Afraid Of Their Child Being Encouraged To Stay In School, Then Let Them Opt Their Child Out Of Viewing The President's 20 Minute Address.
It Will Be The Perfect Chance For Their High School Age Child To Make A Run To Chicken Joe's Or To Have A Quick Cigarette On The Far End Of The GHS Campus.
MORE GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWS:
ALSO:
Ronald Reagan's Speech To Students
Want to talk about indoctrination?
Here is what Ronald Reagan had to say to some middle school students back in 1988 .
The speech was later carried to schools nationwide. .....
"Today, to a degree never before seen in human history, one nation, the United States, has become the model to be followed and imitated by the rest of the world. But America's world leadership goes well beyond the tide toward democracy. We also find that more countries than ever before are following America's revolutionary economic message of free enterprise, low taxes, and open world trade. These days, whenever I see foreign leaders, they tell me about their plans for reducing taxes, and other economic reforms that they are using, copying what we have done here in our country.
I wonder if they realize that this vision of economic freedom, the freedom to work, to create and produce, to own and use property without the interference of the state, was central to the American Revolution, when the American colonists rebelled against a whole web of economic restrictions, taxes and barriers to free trade. The message at the Boston Tea Party -- have you studied yet in history about the Boston Tea Party, where because of a tax they went down and dumped the tea in the Harbor. Well, that was America's original tax revolt, and it was the fruits of our labor -- it belonged to us and not to the state. And that truth is fundamental to both liberty and prosperity.'
Why Wasn't Faux News And Glen Beck All Over This Speech?
So just remember kids,
It's OK If You're A Right Wing Republican.
Parents and right wing commentators need to calm down and realize that the Obama address will not mean the loss of their child forever.
If their children turn out to be "leftists" Greenwich Roundup sincerely doubts that the Obama address will be the turning point in their lives where they came to believe in the Obama "socialism" message.
Send your kid to school and if you really are concerned talk with them about the Obama address over dinner.
That may be the best lesson your child receives that day.
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