Students as Captive Audiences for Politics

President Obama wanted to speak to our children without the parents being present, so he chose to give a speech at noon on a Tuesday to be shown to our children during school hours. I was one of the many parents that called the schoolboard and let them know my daughter would not be attending on Tuesday, should the school choose to broadcast this speech.

Overreacting?? Why would we do that? Are we prejudice because he's black?

No, we are not prejudiced because he is black, it's because he is a socialist. My husband (who also called) and I are capitalists. We live in Capitalist America, home of the brave, home of the free. President Obama is a socialist that seems to want to enslave the American citizens through more taxation and policies that we do not agree with. Now he wants to talk with my daughter without my presence. I found this unacceptable.

I don't have a problem with him speaking to her while I am there. I would love to answer her questions after we watch the speech together so I could have all of the information he had to deliver. I do not want to answer questions about something he said that was about something that made her uncomfortable, that she can't quite remember, but it was bad...

Luckily, the school system chose to tape the speech and show it during social studies. They also published a written transcript, a link to the actual speech to be viewed, and a list of questions the teachers would be asking the students.

After I read the speech and questions, I told my daughter to participate freely with the class discussion and the viewing of the president's speech. I liked the speech. I liked his delivery. I want my child to "use her skills to progress, study for a brighter future, and promote the preservation of America."

We need to be careful of our political views and those of others. Personally, I am very unhappy that the schools can give my daughter condoms, but not Tylenol, without parental approval. Without reading what the new regime had to offer my daughter, I was very uncomfortable with the idea of new information for the kids only. I wish I had been more involved when the rules were made to allow students to be active sexually, without parental knowledge. Looking at the skyrocketting teen pregnancy rates, I don't think the birth control classes are working.