Obama attempts to co-op America's students

This is troubling on so many levels. President Obama is planning to address the school children on Sept 8 and, among other things, challenge them to decide what they can do to help further the Obama agenda. This alone is reason enough to reject public schools and support school choice - if public schools participate, they are committing education child abuse. This from a former White House Liaison for the U.S. Department of Education under President Ronald Reagan. President Regaan would never have used and abused America's children like this! - Peggy Venable

Critics Decry Obama's 'Indoctrination' Plan for Students
A suggested lesson plan that calls on students to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help President Obama following his address to students nationwide is troubling and establishes the president as a "superintendent in chief," education experts told FOXNews.com.


By Joshua Rhett Miller

FOXNews.com

Wednesday, September 02, 2009



A suggested lesson plan that calls on school kids to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help President Obama is troubling some education experts, who say it establishes the president as a "superintendent in chief" and may encourage children to support him politically.

Obama will deliver a national address directly to students on Tuesday, Sept. 8, which will be the first day of classes for many children across the country. In a letter to school principals last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the president will "challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning." Obama will also call for a "shared responsibility" among students, parents and educators to maximize learning potential.

Duncan's letter includes "a menu of classroom activities for students in grades preK-6 and for students in grades 7-12. These are ideas developed by and for teachers to help engage students and stimulate discussion on the importance of education in their lives. We are also staging a student video contest on education."
Teachers could extend the lesson by having students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals." Another suggestion is to have students "interview and share about their goals with one another to create a supportive community." (Does sound oddly like something Hitler, Stalin, Mao and other dictators did?!! --SMB)

But Obama's critics say the lesson plans and the president's calls are troubling on many levels.

"In general, I don't think there's a problem if the president uses the bully pulpit to tell kids to work hard, study hard and things like that. But there are some troubling hints in this, both educationally and politically," said Neal McCluskey, associate director of Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom.

Among the concerns, McCluskey said, is the notion that students who do not support Obama or his educational policies will begin the school year "behind the eight ball," or somehow academically trailing their peers.

"It essentially tries to force kids to say the president and the presidency is inspiring, and that's very problematic," McCluskey said. "It's very concerning that you would do that."

Parents of public school students would also have to pay for that "indoctrination," regardless of their political background, he said.

"That's the fundamental problem. They could easily be funding the indoctrination of their children."

Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said the suggested lesson plans cross the line between instruction and advocacy.

"I don't think it's appropriate for teachers to ask students to help promote the president's preferred school reforms and policies," Hess said. "It very much starts to set up the president as a superintendent in chief."

Amid the debate on the federal government's level of involvement on issues like health care and others, Hess said, "there's a lot of people" on both sides of the political spectrum who will rightfully be concerned with the president's call to action.

"It shows exactly what the problem is," he said. "This is going to open the door to all kinds of concerns."

Messages to the White House seeking comment were not immediately returned early Wednesday.

After reading the Department of Education lesson plans for the speech, McCluskey said he noticed several passages that should set off "alarm bells," including language that attempts to "glorify President Obama" in the minds of young students.

"It could be a blatantly political move," he said. "Nobody knows for sure, but it gives that impression."

McCluskey also noted that the lesson plans for young students contain suggestions to write letters to themselves on how they can help the president, but that suggestion is not in the lesson plan for middle and high schoolers -- perhaps due to the likelihood of increased political ties at that age.

"You don't want to see this coming from the president," McCluskey said. "You don't want to see this coming from the federal government."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/02/critics-decry-obamas-lesson-plan-students/