Brogdon: Obama speech to students ‘a very bad idea’
State Sen. Randy Brogdon, a candidate for governor, is concerned about the impact of an address made by President Barack Obama on Sept. 8 to the nation’s school children.
“President Obama has shown time and time again that he has no regard for the Constitution or our founding principles,” said Brogdon, R-Owasso. “Is this the person we want addressing our children?
“President Obama seems intent on bypassing the parents to speak to the children directly. I don’t like that - it is just one step too far.”
In 1991, President George H. W. Bush made an address to America’s school children to stress the importance of education, but Brogdon said President Obama’s address was dramatically different.
“I strongly encourage every student stay in school, get an education and I am glad to see the president shares the same desire that I do, but what worries me is the other items he discussed in this address – environmental concerns, conservation policies and other social issues. These are topics for parents to talk about with their children, not the president of the United States.”
State Rep. Sally Kern said the presidential speech to the nation’s students appears to cross the line into political advocacy.
“Unfortunately, it appears this event is more about indoctrination of students than education,” said Kern, R-Oklahoma City. “No president, Republican or Democrat, should interrupt the educational process in this manner. President Obama is always in the news, so there is ample opportunity for students to see him.”
The event included a prepared menu of classroom activities for students (www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf).
“Unfortunately, the proposed classroom activities include things such as having students write about how they can help the president,” Kern noted. “Our school children should not be exploited this way for partisan purposes.”
She noted that the lesson plan called for students’ letters to be “collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”
“To many parents, it looks like children are going to be held ‘accountable’ if they don’t propagandize on behalf of the Obama administration,” Kern said. “I’m sure those involved are well-meaning, but the appearance here is very troubling.”
The prepared materials also include suggested questions for students, such as, “What can I do to help the President?” and “What new ideas and actions is the president challenging me to think about?”
Kern said parents concerned about the issue should contact their local school principal, superintendent and school board members and state their disapproval.
“I believe partisan use of taxpayer dollars and a captive audience of children will hurt local support for schools and make it harder to pass bond issues in the future,” Kern said. “To maintain their credibility, our local schools simply should not have participated in this event.
“The purpose of our government schools in a constitutional republic is not to force a captive audience to establish a bond with the president. Such an action would be appropriate for Cuba but not the United States of America.”
There is a tremendous difference between education and indoctrination, said State Sen. Steve Russell, who said he has been inundated with concern from constituents following news reports that President Obama planned a satellite address to the nation’s school children Sept. 8.
“I am concerned any time I see parental rights of education at the local level being usurped by federal and state government. But this is more than that. I’ve looked at the U.S. Department of Education’s website and proposed ‘lesson plans’ to follow this speech, and I was dumbfounded by what I saw,” said Russell, R-Oklahoma City.
Following the speech, the lesson plan explained that teachers may want to ask students, “What is the president asking us to do? How will he inspire us? How will he challenge us?”
“As far as I am concerned, this is not civics education - it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality. This is something you’d expect to see in North Korea or in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq,” Russell said. “As an American citizen who fought for the freedoms we hold so dear, I find this approach to be alarming, and it certainly appears to have been coordinated with great care. The President should address voters, not their children. He could encourage parents to highlight the things that find common ground in the American ideals we hold dear. His role should not be to bypass parents in the educational discussion by going directly to classrooms.”