Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Creepy Meter Dinging Off the Chart: Obama to Address Schoolchildren

Well no, thank you, White House; I do NOT need you to make my lesson plans for me next Tuesday. We will NOT be watching Dear Leader on the classroom television monitor. The inauguration was more than enough, thank you. In my class, we will be discussing and quizzing on Chapters 7 - 10 of To Kill a Mockingbird that day.

The suggested list of activities for Obama's speech to school children includes:

As the President speaks, teachers can ask students to write down key ideas or phrases that are important or personally meaningful. Students could use a note-taking graphic organizer such as a Cluster Web, or students could record their thoughts on sticky notes. Younger children can draw pictures and write as appropriate. As students listen to the speech, they could think about the following: What is the President trying to tell me? What is the President asking me to do? What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?

I realize this is a PreK-6 lesson plan (and there are more "activities" at the link), but isn't this odd? Have children "draw pictures" and free associate to the speech? Where's the civics lesson? What's he going to talk about? How long will he talk? If I'm planning a lesson, I'd need to know this.

It's got my creepy-meter dinging off the charts.

And the old question - what if Bush did this?

Michelle Malkin links to the wacko liberal teacher video that was circulating a while back - the one that berated a child for pulling for John McCain during the election. Is this the kind of teacher we want to turn loose with this "lesson plan"?

Pundette read through the comments following the posting of the "lesson plans" and finds that many parents will be keeping their children home that day rather than subject them to what they see as indoctrination. It bolsters the case for home schooling, I'd say.

I'm not sure what the purpose of this speech is, or what he's trying to accomplish. Children, especially elementary school children, are so easily manipulated and this just seems weird to me that he's going to televise himself into their classrooms to deliver WHAT message? Public service? Study hard? That's fine, I guess, but it's weird. Is it a manifestation of his massive ego that he thinks he personally must deliver this message via this speech rather than let his example of public service speak for him?

Oh wait. That example of service isn't working out so well, is it?

All I know is that in my classroom there is an "off" button on my TV and OFF it will be. We will be engaged in other, more scholarly endeavors.

8 comments:

Steve Burri said...

It's got my creepy-meter dinging off the charts.

Who manufactured your meter? Mine is industrial strength, but blew a gasket during the primaries.

BrideOfRove said...

It IS creepy. Creepy enough that I emailed the school, which I hate doing.

yukio ngaby said...

The scariest part for me is the script the teachers are to work from asks:
"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?"

I mean these are question to ask a class? I don't see a "should" in there at all. As in SHOULD we do what the President Obama is asking of us? Why?

Jacobson at Legal Insurrection also has a few comments and he puts it very succinctly when he says "This whole line of reasoning and questioning is backwards. It may have become lost in the mania, but HE works for US, not the other way around.

"Instead of asking what we can do for President Obama, shouldn't we be teaching children to ask what President Obama can do for us?"

Red said...

One day, hell. This kind of indoctrination goes on everyday. This is just sickening.

snaggletoothie said...

Most Americans are disgusted by the thought that a leader would so openly aim at indoctrination and, yes, brainwashing. People seem to want to believe that Barry O doesn't intend this rather evil thing. But look Barry over. Look at the parts of his history kept buried by the MSM. He knows what he is doing. And he does not find it disgusting. He would if he had traditional American values at his core. But his loyalty is to other values.
I think we are past the point where we can hope against hope that he will be OK. He is who he is.

Bob Belvedere said...

I second snaggletoothie's comments. Spending a half-hour looking over O's history would confirm that he is a committed Leftist.

And 'three cheers' to you Pat for looking out for the souls of your charges and respecting their parents.

Anonymous said...

The economy if falling apart due to his b.s. Countrymen are at each others throats because of his b.s. He's gotten us more involved in Afghanistan...The list goes on.
Does this dumb s.o.b. have that much time on his hands to talk to school children?

Remember the crap the Bush took just for being in a classroom at the very moment 9-11 happened.

G.R. said...

Why not go to an elemetary school to talk to the kids to get them to go home to tell them how horrible they are, because they aren't supporting Obama's socialism. After all, the tactic Obama is using here is something you would see a kid in elementary school do.

"Billy doesn't like me, so I'm going to tell Joey, who is Billy's friend, to tell Billy to like me."
Same principle!