Professional Soldiers ® - September 8, 2009

Professional Soldiers ® (http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/index.php)

- The Early Bird (http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=45)

- - September 8, 2009 (http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24798)

Quote:

Originally Posted by lksteve (Post 282736)

Brief hijack....I believe it is still Dolores County HS...

Ah yes. The DCHS sign always confuses me. :D

Quote:

The School District made the decision not show the Obama speech because of parent complaints/concerns. Considering that, would you consider it out of step for a teacher to seemingly go against that decision and show it 2 days latter in a classroom?

Not if it had the necessary approval of either the site-based principal or district and was used in a manner consistent with district guidelines.

Quote:

...I just don't like it

Finally, the crux of the matter.

As for myself, forty-two years ago (at 16 years old) I knew everything (according to my father) - now I know little - except to realize education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance tempered by the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper.* :)

And so it goes...;)

Richard's $.02 :munchin

* With grateful appreciation to Will Durant and Robert Frost.

A pretty good opinion piece from an educator - with the idea that an issue such as he brings up (Afghanistan) is a developmentally appropriate discussion at the high school level.

And so it goes...;)

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Quote:

The Problem With Obama's Speech To Kids: It's Bland
Jonathan Zimmerman, CSMonitor, 8 Sep 2009

Jonathan Zimmerman teaches history and education at New York University. He is the author of "Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory."

Here's a quick quiz in preparation for President Obama's speech to America's students today. To succeed in school and in life, you should:

a. work hard

b. set goals for yourself

c. take responsibility for your own actions

d. all of the above

The correct answer is "d," of course. But every American kid knows that already.

And that's the real problem with the president's message, which will be broadcast live on the White House website and on C-SPAN: It's bland, neutral, and mind-numbingly obvious. You can't even imagine a cogent objection to it.

Of course, that hasn't stopped GOP firebrands from trying. In the blogosphere, especially, Republicans have charged that Mr. Obama's speech will indoctrinate students with his supposedly "socialist" views. Across the country, parents have demanded that schools obtain their permission before showing Obama's speech to their children; others have announced that they will simply keep their kids home today.

But there's nothing socialist – or even partisan – about Obama's speech. If you think otherwise, go online and read the text of the speech or the White House's suggested classroom activities to accompany it. One exercise asks children to make a poster of their goals; another instructs each student to "brainstorm" about what qualities promote personal success. Not a word about Obama's positions on healthcare, taxes, or anything else.

And that's precisely the problem here. To really learn, our kids need to confront the real dilemmas that grip our country. No one will learn anything new from yet another bromide about hard work and personal responsibility; instead, they'll tune out.

So how about using this week to teach our children something they don't know?

Consider our ongoing war in Afghanistan, which appears to be losing its support at home. Fewer than half of Americans now say they approve of Obama's handling of Afghanistan, where he has pledged to increase troop levels. Indeed, 41 percent say they want the troops to start coming home, up from 33 percent in April and 24 percent in February.

Are they right? I don't know, myself. But here's what I do know: Our kids need to be reading, talking, and thinking about the answer. Some of them will become soldiers one day, of course, but all of them will become citizens. And they will have to sort these things out for themselves.

What better time than this week? Just three days after Obama's school speech, after all, the nation will commemorate the eighth anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The 9/11 attacks remain at the heart of America's rationale for fighting in Afghanistan, where Al Qaeda planned and financed them.

That's why Obama referred to 9/11 no fewer than five times in his address last March justifying increased troop commitments to Afghanistan. Unless we root out terrorists and rebuild Afghanistan, the argument goes, we will always remain in peril.

I'm not sure I buy that. But I'd like to hear the president make the case for it directly to our young people. And, most of all, I'd like to hear them respond.

That would bring even more of Obama's enemies out of the woodwork, of course, braying about propaganda and indoctrination. But any teacher worth her salt would expose students to arguments against the president's position, insisting that the kids formulate their own.

And to do that, of course, they would have to learn something about the history of the conflict. How many American children know that the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, for example, or that the United States supported the anti-Soviet mujahadeen? How many kids could even find Afghanistan on a map?

As soon as the president has finished his dull speech about hard work and personal responsibility, let's get down to the truly hard work of teaching our children how to be citizens. We need to give them the information and skills to debate and decide the most pressing issues of our time, including the war in Afghanistan. That's our biggest responsibility, as adults, and we all need to remember it.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0908/p09s01-coop.html

The teacher reminds me a lot of a certain enthusiastic, agenda driven and sometimes confrontational Rec. Soccer Coach that bent the rules and influenced the hearts and minds of some kids in a positive manner.

And like the Coach, the teacher has parents whispering in his ear....it takes a person like you to make this work, but if you cross the line we can pull the plug on it in the blink of an eye.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard (Post 282783)

Finally, the crux of the matter.

Yeah, I know it is 90% me :rolleyes:

Quote:

Finally, the crux of the matter.

Wasn't that always 'IT'...?

My initial thought when I heard about the idea was in all honesty that I do not care for the man so why should he be allowed to talk to my child without me there?

Our children's attitudes and positions will come from those that provide the greatest level of influence. I have chosen for that influence to be MINE...not the school system, not a politician, not some rap-artist.

The idea that children require exposure in order to develop is true, but that exposure should come with guidance.

So the very simple response is this...."Mr President, I don't like you or your policies and NO you may NOT talk to my child...not about education, healthcare or the color of the sky."

Period.

Quote:

Our children's attitudes and positions will come from those that provide the greatest level of influence. I have chosen for that influence to be MINE...not the school system, not a politician, not some rap-artist.

I hope you are not too disappointed if your child decides otherwise. ;)

It might do well to remember that - children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk (Carl Jung).

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paslode (Post 282757)

Aside from my dislike of Obama and my son coming home as stating we need to help President Obama, I think what is pissing me off is we planned to attend today and then we are told they aren't showing it in my kids classrooms, only to find out later from an item in a backpack they are doing it Thursday.......a Liberal tactic of bait and switch :D

I'm sure they sweated blood and spent hours coming up with that nasty tactic at the midnight meeting of the super secret, liberal "Destroy America via kids" select commission. :p:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard (Post 282810)

I hope you are not too disappointed if your child decides otherwise. ;)

There is a point where all children have to make a decision...usually that freedom comes with time (I would say that it comes with being an adult...but I have seen that standard being waived more often than not :D).

I see it as my responsibility to "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." and I take that seriously.

Quote:

It might do well to remember that - children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk (Carl Jung).

And I could not agree with you more.... In fact that point should be a far heavier burden on the parents of today than it appears to be.

Quote:

I hope you are not too disappointed if your child decides otherwise

Old scholastic saying: "You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make him drink"- "You can give a child a book, but you cant MAKE him think".

As a parent it is as stated previousely, our job to point our children down the right road. What they do on their journey is their responsibilities.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dozer523 (Post 282837)

I'm sure they sweated blood and spent hours coming up with that nasty tactic at the midnight meeting of the super secret, liberal "Destroy America via kids" select commission. :p:D

Hahaha! I was actually joking ;)

School kids taught to praise Obama

School kids taught to praise Obama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aqMTD5UFmU

Hmm, check out the "about" in the upper right hand corner of the page.

I wonder just how much more of this stuff is flying around out there under the Radar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete (Post 285104)

The father of a local student knew about the "pledge" issue prior to the 8th.
He told his first-grade daughter that she was not to pledge to any man, only to her country.

The daughter resisted the event on the 8th, much to the chagrin of faculty and administration.
They decided to call the father in to discuss the issue.

He came in and told them his thoughts on the matter.
They called Child Protective Services.

CPS visited his home and found everything to be fine.
The father pulled his daughter from public school and enrolled her in the same school my children attend.

He is considering legal action against the local district.

Page, Arizona is a very red area of a very red state.
If this type of intimidation can happen here, what is happening in blue states?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen (Post 285531)

Page, Arizona is a very red area of a very red state.
If this type of intimidation can happen here, what is happening in blue states?

PM from the People's Republic of California inbound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen (Post 285531)

If this type of intimidation can happen here, what is happening in blue states?

Quote:

Originally Posted by incarcerated (Post 285542)

PM from the People's Republic of California inbound.

I hope you'll share with the rest of us, incarcerated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen (Post 285531)

He came in and told them his thoughts on the matter.They called Child Protective Services...

He is considering legal action against the local district.

IF there isn't more to the story than I would definitively contact a lawyer, I don't have kids yet but find this type of academic dishonesty disgusting and very troubling to our countries future. More and more I am considering homeschooling when the wife and I do eventually have children.