OK, the President of the United States is going to, for the first time in history, make a nation wide speech to all school children in America, PK6-12th grade.

Where I get concerned is when it seems to me that the line between "education" and "indoctrination" becomes breached, and quite frankly, the line is being breached here IMO.

For instance the government has sent out a list of instructions for teachers to follow to ensure that the children listen, record what is shared, as well as develop an action plan for applying what he shares.

gov document

The students are going to be instructed to write down what the President wants them to do, why it is important to listen to the president, then the teachers are actually instructed to use the written reports about what the students believe the president is asking them to do for public accountability at a later date... in the classroom? In front of the classroom our government wants public school teachers to hold all their students accountable for doing what the president is asking them to do?

I am very uncomfortable with this as it certainly seems to move into the area of indoctrination when children are going to actually be held accountable in the classroom for implementing what the President says they should be doing.

There is not a court in America that would hold a 14 year old girl accountable for having sex with a 40 year old man with the argument that she was capable of making an adult decision with that type of person, esp if the man was in a position of influence over the girl. We would call it rape, even if she was a "willing" participant. This seems very similar to me.

Here are a few of the instructions to American's teachers that are of utmost concern to me as a parent and as an American:

PreK-6 Menu of Classroom Activities: President Obama’s Address to Students Across America
Produced by Teaching Ambassador Fellows, U.S. Department of Education
September 8, 2009

Before the Speech:
· Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama and motivate students by asking the following questions:
Who is the President of the United States?
What do you think it takes to be President?
To whom do you think the President is going to be speaking?
Why do you think he wants to speak to you?
What do you think he will say to you?...

· Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important?

During the Speech:

· As the President speaks, teachers can ask students to write down key ideas or phrases that are important or personally meaningful....
What is the President asking me to do?...

· Students can record important parts of the speech where the President is asking them to do something....What specific job is he asking me to do?...

After the Speech:

· Teachers could ask students to ... discuss main ideas from the speech, i.e. citizenship, personal responsibility, civic duty.
· Students could discuss their responses to the following questions:

What do you think the President wants us to do?
Does the speech make you want to do anything?
Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?...


Extension of the Speech:

Teachers can extend learning 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.
· Write goals on colored index cards or precut designs to post around the classroom.
· Interview and share about their goals with one another to create a supportive community.
· Participate in School wide incentive programs or contests for students who achieve their goals.

· Graph student progress toward goals.

Consider and Ponder.

XtnYoda, shalomed

H/T Drudge