As President Barack Obama prepares for his speech to
schoolchildren Tuesday, Morgan Hill Unified School District
leadership are preparing contingency plans for parents who don’t
want their students involved.
As President Barack Obama prepares for his speech to schoolchildren Tuesday, Morgan Hill Unified School District leadership are preparing contingency plans for parents who don’t want their students involved.
Obama plans to give a 20-minute back-to-school speech at 9 a.m. Pacific Time Tuesday. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning, according to the federal Department of Education.
Many right wing activists have cried foul, with a Republican Party of Florida chairman asserting that Obama is using taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate children to his socialist agenda. A student address on American history by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 was met with similar hostility by Democrats.
Things are calmer locally.
A district office secretary said a few curious, but not upset, parents had called Friday, and they were referred to their child’s school for details. How the speech will be handled is up to each principal.
Generally, upper-grade elementary students will be watching the live telecast, according to e-mails from principals.
“We have had a few calls from parents asking that their child be excused,” San Martin/Gwinn Elementary School Principal Barbara Neal wrote. “None have been upset, (they’re) just requests. We are honoring all such requests. I will be taking students who wish to opt out to the library with me during the speech.”
Jackson Elementary School students in grades third through sixth will be watching the speech, according to Principal Garry Dudley. At Barrett Elementary School, Principal Lisa Atlas left the decision whether or not to attend the viewing to the fourth through sixth grade teachers. Atlas said the telecast will be set up in the multi-purpose room, much like the school did for Obama’s inauguration in January. On Friday evening Atlas said she hadn’t gotten any calls about the speech.
Interested parents can read answers to frequently asked questions about the speech and view an advance copy of it at http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html.
The speech will be broadcast live at http://www.whitehouse.gov/live and on C-SPAN.
