I pledge allegiance to Obama and Hollywood?

[ULTRAMAN VH]

Parents upset over 'leftist propaganda' video
Education » Principal apologizes for showing 'I Pledge' to students.
By Lisa Schencker

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 09/02/2009 10:07:30 AM MDT


A school principal has apologized for showing a video at an assembly that a politically conservative group leader is calling "radical, leftist propaganda."

Children at Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington were shown a short video called "I pledge" on Aug. 28. The video opens with an image of President Barack Obama and part of a speech in which he says, "Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other." The video then features celebrities making pledges about how they will help the president and the world -- and that's where some say the problem lies.

Many pledges, such as supporting local food banks,


smiling more, and caring for the elderly are noncontroversial. But other pledges, such as "to never give anyone the finger when I'm driving again," "to sell my obnoxious car and buy a hybrid" and to advance stem cell research cross the line, some say.

"Showing the video in a public school is completely inappropriate," said Jennifer Cieslewicz, whose daughter is a first-grader at the school. "I don't believe a video such as this that promotes certain values should be shown to elementary students, especially without parents being aware. "

Chris Williams, Davis School District spokesman, said school principal Ofelia Wade and school PTA leaders decided to show the video as part of an assembly about the school's theme for the year, service. He said the PTA board chose the video and Wade did not see it before it was shown in the assembly.

"It got to a point where she turned to her assistant and said, 'Oops, I wish I would have seen this before. I don't think I would have shown it,' " Williams said. He said Wade could see how some adults might find the video political.

"She acknowledges she was wrong and apologizes for it and says she's sorry," Williams said. Attempts to reach school PTA leaders Tuesday

The Chalkboard blog
Reporters for The Salt Lake Tribune education desk cover issues from early education and parenting to K-12 and higher education in Utah..
The latest post:
See principal's apology Wednesday, September 02, 2009
evening were unsuccessful.

Williams said Wade plans to send a letter home to parents Wednesday about the issue.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of conservative Utah Eagle Forum, said the video was blatantly political. She said other offensive pledges included, "I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama," "I pledge allegiance to the funk, to the united funk of funkadelica," and pledges to not use plastic grocery bags and not flush the toilet after urinating.

"It's very inappropriate to show a radical, leftist propaganda piece that political to children," Ruzicka said. "If parents want their children to learn about those things and do them in the home, wonderful, fine, but it's not the place of the school to show a one-sided propaganda piece to children without parents knowing about it."

Cieslewicz said such values should be decided in the home, not at school.

"They shouldn't be troubling our youth with the woes of the world and making them feel like we're in slavery or they have to worry about how many times they flush the toilet or if they have a plastic water bottle," Cieslewicz said, referring to pledges in the video to "end slavery."

Ruzicka said she contacted local media about the video after receiving complaints from several parents. Ruzicka said she worried the video's messages would confuse children whose parents might choose to use plastic bags when shopping or who want their children to flush the toilet after every use. Also she said she didn't like a pledge "to be of service to Barack Obama" as he is here to serve Americans, not the other way around.

Ruzicka said she'd like to see the school district send a link to the video to all parents before an upcoming back-to-school night so they can voice their opinions and discuss it with their children. Williams said it's unlikely the district will send out a link, but parents are welcome to access the video on YouTube.


Salt Lake Tribune Home Page - Salt Lake Tribune (http://www.sltrib.com)

[LoungeMachine]

and??

[Satan]

This is Utah. A state where the majority of the population believes that Obama descended from angels who were too lazy to fight me when I got into a little spat with my dad and my big brother JC.

[ULTRAMAN VH]

This is Utah. A state where the majority of the population believes that Obama descended from angels who were too lazy to fight me when I got into a little spat with my dad and my big brother JC.

I Pledge poll
Should the video "I Pledge" be shown in an elementary school?
Total Votes = 37486
Yes
4.873 %
No
95.12 %

Well according to the above poll, citizens of Utah must be wising up. They don't seem to happy with The Messiah and his hollyweird cronies indoctrination tactics.

[LoungeMachine]

and??

[Nitro Express]

This is Utah. A state where the majority of the population believes that Obama descended from angels who were too lazy to fight me when I got into a little spat with my dad and my big brother JC.

Yeah but Obama is half white so that means he's only half of that lower race. Brigham Young himself said that negros were decendants of dirty ol' Cain and that is why they were still being punished. It can be infered that Mormon doctrine views black people the mortal version of lesser spirits. Of course this started to change when the church caught shit in the 1970's and the old geezer running it had a revelation saying black men could hold the priesthood. Much like the federal govt. threatening assets confiscation and jail inspired them to give up polygamy. It seems like those Mormon prophets get inspired when they get in trouble and suddenly have a revelation.

[Nitro Express]

Utah won't give a black Democrat the time of day but they sucked Dick Cheney's dick to the end. Guess who was the commencement speaker at BYU? The Dick. The claim to uphold the US Constitution but if a white ass Republican destroys it, they think it's great. So a black democrat isn't allowed to fuck us but bend over and spread it wide for a white republican fucking. Spread it wider if the church leadership wants to fuck you.

[LoungeMachine]

I Pledge poll
Should the video "I Pledge" be shown in an elementary school?
Total Votes = 37486
Yes
4.873 %
No
95.12 %

.

Gee, about the SAME percentage that if polled, would say they wouldnt want EVOLUTION taught in Utah public schools.

:rolleyes:

Any thoughts/opinions of your own Utradouche?

What is the point of this thread?

:yawn:

[ULTRAMAN VH]

The point Lounge Singer, is that the last thing children need, is a bunch of millionaire hollywood actors and actresses pushing their distorted fantasy land values on young children. The time that was spent watching that crap could have been delegated to more important topics like reading, writing and arithmetic. Yeah, I need a moron like Ashton Kutcher telling my kids to pledge allegiance to Obama. The arrogance of the hollyweird twits is beyond amusing. The last time I checked The Pledge of Allegiance was to the United States of America, not President Obama.

[Satan]

The point Lounge Singer, is that the last thing children need, is a bunch of millionaire hollywood actors and actresses pushing their distorted fantasy land values on young children. The time that was spent watching that crap could have been delegated to more important topics like reading, writing and arithmetic. Yeah, I need a moron like Ashton Kutcher telling my kids to pledge allegiance to Obama. The arrogance of the hollyweird twits is beyond amusing. The last time I checked The Pledge of Allegiance was to the United States of America, not President Obama.

Funny how repukes didn't have any problem with their kids pledging allegiance....no actually worshipping the Chimp......

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[hideyoursheep]

The point Lounge Singer, is that the last thing children need, is a bunch of millionaire hollywood actors and actresses pushing their distorted fantasy land values on young children.


The last thing children need, is to take advice from the adults who have fucked up this country so horribly to begin with.

..but that's just MY opinion..

[bueno bob]

Funny how repukes didn't have any problem with their kids pledging allegiance....no actually worshipping the Chimp......

That was the singularly most disturbing horror film I had ever seen in my life and reason enough to smash organized religion in all forms. Absolutely fucking obliterate them. ALL of them.

Private beliefs are fine, but when it gets "organized", it ALWAYS leads to this.

[LoungeMachine]

STFU Gar.

:gulp:

[kwame k]

Ah Clay, you're supposed to be a Middle Eastern God and yet you're going Allah gangsta. Like your lies, you can't keep your aliases straight.

[bueno bob]

Gawd I'm a pathetic asswipe......

I prayed to God to make sure He doesn't forgive of you of that.

Ha ha.

[standin]

It seems like those Mormon prophets get inspired when they get in trouble and suddenly have a revelation.


That's expected. Generally, "troubling issues" are when reflection occurs most intensely.

That is not saying we should only reflect on our ethical paths when "troubling issues" arise, even when times are good taking an account of the state of being is most important.

A ethics compass should always be used, and the means do not justify the ends.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3118/2579242117_961170a99c_o.gif

[Seshmeister]

Saying to children they shouldn't give the finger to other drivers is ""radical, leftist propaganda."

Americans are crazy and funny. :)

[GAR]

um.. did somebody delete another Allah post?

OH Hi LoungeMachine! LoungeMachine is back - hey, how could I tell he's back? Could anyone guess?

[kwame k]

um.. did somebody delete another Allah post?

OH Hi LoungeMachine! LoungeMachine is back - hey, how could I tell he's back? Could anyone guess?

As Nick stated, your worthless posts are being moved to one big toilette, metaphorically speaking. Comprehend much, Clay?

[Guitar Shark]

The arrogance of the hollyweird twits is beyond amusing.

Can you please direct me to your posts where you complain about such Hollywood actors as, say, Charlton Heston, Arnold Schwarzennegger, and Fred Thompson using their celebrity to promote their political beliefs?

I am sure they exist, right?

[Nickdfresh]

um.. did somebody delete another Allah post?

...

Who gives a fuck?

[jhale667]

um.. did somebody own me AGAIN?


You woke up this morning, didn't you? :fufu:

[standin]

:biggrin:

[bueno bob]

um...did somebody delete my spam again?

You could always log on as Yoda or Jar Jar again...

Oh wait...

[ULTRAMAN VH]

Can you please direct me to your posts where you complain about such Hollywood actors as, say, Charlton Heston, Arnold Schwarzennegger, and Fred Thompson using their celebrity to promote their political beliefs?

I am sure they exist, right?

I personally don't recall the three above named actors pushing political, indoctrination styled infomercials on children. If they have please verify it. I do recall Arnold making great strides in campaigning for the growth and importance of The Special Olympics, minus the use of political indoctrination techniques.

[jhale667]

...the use of political indoctrination techniques.

What are you so afraid of? Geez, people get their panties in a bunch over the dumbest sh*t...

Obama Schoolchildren Speech Drives Right-Wingers Batty

Yesterday, I noted that Florida's GOP Chair Jim Greer had heard about President Barack Obama's intention to address the schoolchildren of America on the occasion of the start of a new school year, and went quite mental, warning darkly that the address was nothing more than a dastardly inculcation into socialism and a viral spread of liberal propaganda. Naively, I imagined this would be a derangement confined to a few weird nobodies, but, duh, I forgot: everyone is crazy now. So, this matter has thus become a Thing. Let's dispense with the highlights!

Glenn Beck hit this early, in a hurry, announcing that he would be countering Obama's address by airing a "special one-hour broadcast next Tuesday on television on the indoctrination of your children." Naturally, new wacko-target Van Jones figured into Beck's remarks, along with a warning that the "republic is under attack" from a video that encourages kids to do homework and stuff:

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The National Review's Mark Steyn told Rush Limbaugh's audience Wednesday that the video address was Obama's attempt to extend his "cult of personality." It should be noted that Steyn was willing to concede that the tactics didn't quite rise to the level of Saddam Hussein. Restraint! The conservative fringe may paradoxically refer to Obama as a socialist or a fascist, depending on the direction the wind is blowing that day, but they've thus far drawn the line at Baathist.

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Newsbusters' Mark Finkelstein likened the move to Maoist China, the regime that taught Dick Cheney how to stop worrying and love the waterboard!

Say, here's an idea. Pres. Obama's quotations on a variety of topics could be assembled in a small book, and every citizen given one -- free of course -- by the government. Citizens would then be encouraged to meet and discuss "what can we infer the President believes is important" in every aspect of life.

Right, or, you know, alternately, the White House could just do a video where the President talks about the importance of setting educational goals and advises against dropping out of school.

Michelle Malkin worried that for the first time in human history, schoolchildren would be motivated hypnotically to rise up and seize the means of production through the assignment of pointless busywork:

So when the Department of Education directs schools to gather children 'round the TV monitors for Obama's pep talk and then do this...
* Create posters of their goals. Posters could be formatted in quadrants or puzzle pieces or trails marked with the labels: personal, academic, community, country. Each area could be labeled with three steps for achieving goals in those areas. It might make sense to focus on personal and academic so community and country goals come more readily.

* 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.

...parents have every right to worry about their children being used as Political Guinea Pigs for Change.

No, Michelle, they pretty much don't! If we could all think practically for a moment, let me tell you how all of that stuff is going to play out. Students will be invited to maybe do some of this work, but within 24 hours, it will all be mostly forgotten about and never brought up again. Students will be concentrating on the actual schoolwork for which they receive actual grades. Teachers won't have the time to monitor the progress of any of this because they'll be too busy teaching to a battery of evaluation tests, to save their jobs and their schools' funding. A few students, real brownnosey types, might follow through with these ancillary assignments because they figure that doing so might help them get into college. They'll be wrong about that.

Oh, and there are also examples of fringey types equating the outreach effort to the Civilian National Security Force and "Hitler youth brigades" and admonishing, "Leave our kids alone!" It's like the right wing blogosphere went home, dosed themselves with mescaline and sat around watching History Channel reruns on mute while Pink Floyd's The Wall played in the background.

And now, conservatives are encouraging parents to keep their kids home from school that day. From Newsmax:

The fascist in chief is taking his special brand of brainwashing to the classroom. Keep your kids home. I think this man is a threat to our basic unalienable rights. I don't want him indoctrinating my children. Seriously.

Seriously!

Anyway, here are a lot of actual facts, that Jake Tapper rounded up by doing sensible reporting.

The part of the busywork materials that scared so many right-wingers, where kids are encouraged to "Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president," has been changed. Instead, kids are encouraged to "Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short‐term and long‐term education goals." Tapper reports: "The idea, [White House spokesman Tommy] Vietor said, was that students should think of how they could help the President in terms of reducing the national dropout rate."

And the content of the speech? Uhm...it's all pretty innocuous, actually!

"The goal of the speech and the lesson plans is to challenge students to work hard in school, to not drop out and to meet short-term goals like behaving in class, doing their homework and goals that parents and teachers alike can agree are noble," a White House spokesman tells ABC News, "This isn't a policy speech. This is a speech designed to encourage kids to stay in school."

And the kicker? Watching the speech will be an optional activity. You know... like so many other aspects of totalitarian regimes!

Anyway, that's the state of the world today. If President Obama reminded people tomorrow to brush between meals, thousands of people would allow their teeth to rot right out of their heads, because OMGZ TEH SOCIALISM! The upside to all of this is that after Tuesday, every teacher in the world will know precisely what students are going to need remedial help.


Obama Schoolchildren Speech Drives Right-Wingers Batty (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/03/obama-schoolchildren-spee_n_276544.html)

[jhale667]

:rolleyes:

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O'Reilly Encouraged An Obama Address To Schoolchildren

Yesterday, I ran down the myriad ways that the conservative fringe are agogging and aghasting at the prospect of President Barack Obama speaking to children and encouraging them to do their homework and not drop out of school, which is precisely the way Karl Marx suggested the a proletariat paradise could be achieved. You'd think that a president had never addressed America's children before. And you'd think that no one had ever previously imagined that President Obama might attempt to impart some inspirational advice to America's kids. But, if you thought that, you'd be wrong! In fact, as one emailer reminded me yesterday, at the beginning of August, one prominent media figure openly advocated for Obama to address America's children. That figure? Fox News's Bill O'Reilly.

In the August 9 Parade Magazine, O'Reilly had a column titled "What President Obama Can Teach America's Kids." This being Parade, it is about as anodyne as an opinion column can be. But, leaving that aside, O'Reilly's piece is a thoughtful and sentimental take on how the experiences Obama had lived could translate into lessons that children could benefit from -- things like "forgiveness" and "persistence." One of O'Reilly's suggestions reads as follows:

A child does not go from taking English lessons in Indonesia to editing the Harvard Law Review without doing some tough work. The President earned his present job by performing in school and, later, in his various jobs. He was smart enough to lay a foundation for success. Early on as a kid, he understood the big picture.


"Barack Obama loves his work," Saunders says. "And this is a great example for children. They must understand that work is very important and will ultimately define their lives."

One can't help but notice how neatly this proposal dovetails with the content of Obama's planned Tuesday address, which the White House is making publicly available on Monday. And I'd have to think that O'Reilly would likely defend the idea of Obama making this address, having encouraged it. Unfortunately, when the O'Reilly Factor took up the matter Wednesday night, the show was under the stewardship of Laura Ingraham, who refused to accept any premise other than the most absurd and diabolical, turning loose Monica Crowley to call the planned address "surreal" and "Orwellian." Meanwhile, Alan Colmes registered quiet and unobtrusive objections.


O'Reilly Encouraged An Obama Address To Schoolchildren (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/04/oreilly-encouraged-an-oba_n_277553.html)

[LoungeMachine]

I personally don't recall the three above named actors pushing political, indoctrination styled infomercials on children. .

How about Reagan, Bush sr., and The Chimp?

All 3 gave these same addresses to our school children while in office.

:gulp:

moron.

Let's hope the avg. 5th grader turns out smarter and better informed than you

[GAR]

A ethics compass should always be used, and the means do not justify the ends.

They do in ObamaWORLD

[GAR]

In a rare display of transparency promised on the campaign trail, today press secretary Robert "UhUhUhm" Gibbs has announced that the President's Tuesday back-to-school speech addressing children will in fact be released beforehand for review in its' entireity.

Over 1,600 pages of it has been amassed thus far, scheduled for 45 minutes before broadcast, with more pages being added at the last minute.

"Plenty of time for any concerned parent to review beforehand," chuckled Mr. Gibbs, gleefully.

[Nitro Express]

Even when I was in grade school I know most anything that came from the White House was bullshit. I remembr they pushed that presidential physical fitness program hard which was not a bad thing. I got a patch with a form letter from Gerald Ford for something or other.

[kwame k]

By The Associated Press – 2 hrs 28 mins ago
The prepared text of President Barack Obama's back-to-school address scheduled for Tuesdays, as released in advance by the White House:
OBAMA: Hello, everyone — how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday — at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.
I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer — maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper — but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor — maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine — but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life — I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that — if you quit on school — you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.
Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home — that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer — hundreds of extra hours — to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.
And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education — and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you — you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust — a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor — and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you — don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down — don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090907/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_school_speech_text)

[ULTRAMAN VH]

What are you so afraid of? Geez, people get their panties in a bunch over the dumbest sh*t...

Obama Schoolchildren Speech Drives Right-Wingers Batty

Yesterday, I noted that Florida's GOP Chair Jim Greer had heard about President Barack Obama's intention to address the schoolchildren of America on the occasion of the start of a new school year, and went quite mental, warning darkly that the address was nothing more than a dastardly inculcation into socialism and a viral spread of liberal propaganda. Naively, I imagined this would be a derangement confined to a few weird nobodies, but, duh, I forgot: everyone is crazy now. So, this matter has thus become a Thing. Let's dispense with the highlights!

Glenn Beck hit this early, in a hurry, announcing that he would be countering Obama's address by airing a "special one-hour broadcast next Tuesday on television on the indoctrination of your children." Naturally, new wacko-target Van Jones figured into Beck's remarks, along with a warning that the "republic is under attack" from a video that encourages kids to do homework and stuff:

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The National Review's Mark Steyn told Rush Limbaugh's audience Wednesday that the video address was Obama's attempt to extend his "cult of personality." It should be noted that Steyn was willing to concede that the tactics didn't quite rise to the level of Saddam Hussein. Restraint! The conservative fringe may paradoxically refer to Obama as a socialist or a fascist, depending on the direction the wind is blowing that day, but they've thus far drawn the line at Baathist.

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Newsbusters' Mark Finkelstein likened the move to Maoist China, the regime that taught Dick Cheney how to stop worrying and love the waterboard!

Say, here's an idea. Pres. Obama's quotations on a variety of topics could be assembled in a small book, and every citizen given one -- free of course -- by the government. Citizens would then be encouraged to meet and discuss "what can we infer the President believes is important" in every aspect of life.

Right, or, you know, alternately, the White House could just do a video where the President talks about the importance of setting educational goals and advises against dropping out of school.

Michelle Malkin worried that for the first time in human history, schoolchildren would be motivated hypnotically to rise up and seize the means of production through the assignment of pointless busywork:

So when the Department of Education directs schools to gather children 'round the TV monitors for Obama's pep talk and then do this...
* Create posters of their goals. Posters could be formatted in quadrants or puzzle pieces or trails marked with the labels: personal, academic, community, country. Each area could be labeled with three steps for achieving goals in those areas. It might make sense to focus on personal and academic so community and country goals come more readily.

* 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.

...parents have every right to worry about their children being used as Political Guinea Pigs for Change.

No, Michelle, they pretty much don't! If we could all think practically for a moment, let me tell you how all of that stuff is going to play out. Students will be invited to maybe do some of this work, but within 24 hours, it will all be mostly forgotten about and never brought up again. Students will be concentrating on the actual schoolwork for which they receive actual grades. Teachers won't have the time to monitor the progress of any of this because they'll be too busy teaching to a battery of evaluation tests, to save their jobs and their schools' funding. A few students, real brownnosey types, might follow through with these ancillary assignments because they figure that doing so might help them get into college. They'll be wrong about that.

Oh, and there are also examples of fringey types equating the outreach effort to the Civilian National Security Force and "Hitler youth brigades" and admonishing, "Leave our kids alone!" It's like the right wing blogosphere went home, dosed themselves with mescaline and sat around watching History Channel reruns on mute while Pink Floyd's The Wall played in the background.

And now, conservatives are encouraging parents to keep their kids home from school that day. From Newsmax:

The fascist in chief is taking his special brand of brainwashing to the classroom. Keep your kids home. I think this man is a threat to our basic unalienable rights. I don't want him indoctrinating my children. Seriously.

Seriously!

Anyway, here are a lot of actual facts, that Jake Tapper rounded up by doing sensible reporting.

The part of the busywork materials that scared so many right-wingers, where kids are encouraged to "Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president," has been changed. Instead, kids are encouraged to "Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short‐term and long‐term education goals." Tapper reports: "The idea, [White House spokesman Tommy] Vietor said, was that students should think of how they could help the President in terms of reducing the national dropout rate."

And the content of the speech? Uhm...it's all pretty innocuous, actually!

"The goal of the speech and the lesson plans is to challenge students to work hard in school, to not drop out and to meet short-term goals like behaving in class, doing their homework and goals that parents and teachers alike can agree are noble," a White House spokesman tells ABC News, "This isn't a policy speech. This is a speech designed to encourage kids to stay in school."

And the kicker? Watching the speech will be an optional activity. You know... like so many other aspects of totalitarian regimes!

Anyway, that's the state of the world today. If President Obama reminded people tomorrow to brush between meals, thousands of people would allow their teeth to rot right out of their heads, because OMGZ TEH SOCIALISM! The upside to all of this is that after Tuesday, every teacher in the world will know precisely what students are going to need remedial help.


Obama Schoolchildren Speech Drives Right-Wingers Batty (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/03/obama-schoolchildren-spee_n_276544.html)

I am not way off base, you are. This post is about Obama and his hollyweird cronies pushing a video/infomercial on children. If I am not mistaken, you are referring to The Presidents speech to school children on Wednesday. Do you dive into empty swimming pools often?:umm:

[ULTRAMAN VH]

How about Reagan, Bush sr., and The Chimp?

All 3 gave these same addresses to our school children while in office.

:gulp:

moron.

Let's hope the avg. 5th grader turns out smarter and better informed than you

Again, this post is about the "I Pledge" video starring Obama and his hollywood cronies, not the Wednesday address, Lounge Singer. Yes I am sure the above Presidents did address students at one time or another, but Reagan addressed students on behalf of the tragic Challenger accident which claimed the lives of American astronauts including school teacher Christine McAuliff. I don't believe anyone had a problem with that.

[Nickdfresh]

I personally don't recall the three above named actors pushing political, indoctrination styled infomercials on children...

Oh right! Charlton Heston raising is fucking musket above his head chanting out "they can take my gun from my cold motherfucking hand" when no one is actually trying to take his guns isn't political? Arnold using his movie star mojo to become the govenator? Is it horribly political for Arh'nold to encourage fitness in school kids on behalf of the first Bush Administration?

Riiiigggghhhhttt....

Because Gov/Pres. Ronald Reagan never made similar fluff...

Incidentally, I love both Chuck Heston and Ah'nold in the movies, and could care less. It's funny how Republicans have such tight panties over 'what them lib'ur'uls is doin' in Hally'woood.''

[Nickdfresh]

Again, this post is about the "I Pledge" video starring Obama and his hollywood cronies, not the Wednesday address, Lounge Singer. Yes I am sure the above Presidents did address students at one time or another, but Reagan addressed students on behalf of the tragic Challenger accident which claimed the lives of American astronauts including school teacher Christine McAuliff. I don't believe anyone had a problem with that.

Oh fucking please! You're such a transparent and hypocritical asshole on this, it's not even funny! Obama isn't allowed to address students on why and what they pledge for, but Reagan can be fearless leader after the Challenger accident? Yeah, okay, Ultrapantyliner...

[Terry]

As if dumb-ass kids these days are capable of even BEING indoctrinated by something shown in a school...they can't even score well in the basics.

Maybe Obama should "brainwash" these kids into picking up garbage off the side of the road. If we're gonna have a nation of semi-literate children, at least we could have a clean nation of idiots.

[ULTRAMAN VH]

Oh right! Charlton Heston raising is fucking musket above his head chanting out "they can take my gun from my cold motherfucking hand" when no one is actually trying to take his guns isn't political? Arnold using his movie star mojo to become the govenator? Is it horribly political for Arh'nold to encourage fitness in school kids on behalf of the first Bush Administration?

Riiiigggghhhhttt....

Because Gov/Pres. Ronald Reagan never made similar fluff...

Incidentally, I love both Chuck Heston and Ah'nold in the movies, and could care less. It's funny how Republicans have such tight panties over 'what them lib'ur'uls is doin' in Hally'woood.''

Um, Heston's chant was not video taped and played for school children. There is quite a difference between the promotion of physical fitness among children and telling them not to flush the toilet after taking a piss, don't you think? :mad0248:

[Nitro Express]

Um, Heston's chant was not video taped and played for school children. There is quite a difference between the promotion of physical fitness among children and telling them not to flush the toilet after taking a piss, don't you think? :mad0248:

Maybe Obama is going to start the soylent green school lunch program.

[GAR]

I took that middle-east lady next door's trash out yesterday, all the females over there are menstruating at the same time.

So today I shat a Persian carpet: so many jam rags, so little iron but whoa - so much fiber my G-d!

[Nickdfresh]

Um, Heston's chant was not video taped and played for school children. There is quite a difference between the promotion of physical fitness among children and telling them not to flush the toilet after taking a piss, don't you think? :mad0248:

Really? Tell me the difference Ultrafaggiepants. What's the difference in the lesson of civics in regards to keeping yourself in shape and not giving people the finger in traffic? It's the same theme on basic civics and personal responsibility. If this were Bush, you'd be creaming your thong over it...

[standin]

http://www.classbrain.com/artmovies/uploads/bush.jpg

[Blaze]

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