Emily Gray Junior High School will not be airing the president’s speech to kids on Tuesday, and I couldn’t be more disappointed.
Like just about every other public school in the country, Emily Gray has a U.S. flag flying in front of it. But it’s also the alma mater of both Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and former Arizona State Senate President Tim Bee, who now runs the Tucson office of Gov. Jan Brewer.
With all of that, and its reputation for superior education, you’d think it would have a better perspective on democracy.
Instead, the school gives the appearance of having its Socratic instincts shut down by the loudest voices.
As the grandmother of an Emily Gray student, I have had high expectations. This is one school, I believed, that understood the ephemeral nature of rote facts imparted to pre-teens in the modern world, and focused, instead, on the crucial importance of learning how to learn. A school that could be depended upon to support developing building blocks for their charges’ future contributions to our society and our democracy—analytical thinking, informed and reasoned debate, personal responsibility, the importance of having goals and the persistence to achieve them—the essential tools of our fast-changing, modern world.
So what possible harm could come from lending an ear to the elected President of the United States of America? Apparently a withering racket inflicted upon teachers and administrators of Tanque Verde Unified School District.
The District responded by issuing an elaborate “opt out” policy last week. Administrators have deemed the speech, by the elected leader of the free world, “political.” Students whose parents don’t want them to hear it can opt their kids out with note or a phone call. The policy makes a point to note that, even if teachers choose to air the speech, they will not use suggested guidelines prepared by the Teaching Ambassador Fellows of the U.S. Department of Education. Those, too, are seen as being politically biased, by no less an influence than the Arizona State Superintendent of Schools.
The district appears to have left it to each teacher to decide whether or not to air the president’s speech. (“You’re on your own with this mess, folks.”) At Emily Gray, not a single teacher stepped up to the challenge. As a result, my granddaughter has no option to “opt in” to hear and discuss it. And that’s a shame.
It’s a shame because what she learns from all this is that intimidation works. That Democracy is not stronger than cowardice. That misinformed or threatening rhetoric has more power than study and analysis. That for all the hands-on science experiments, hands-on social science is off limits in education.
What she does not learn is the heat of the crucible of defending her beliefs—the very thing that might best teach her the importance of analytical thinking, informed and reasoned debate, and the persistence required to achieve and maintain democracy.
Tanque Verde Unified School District policy on the president’s speech here.
Emily Gray announcement here.
Guidelines by the Teaching Ambassador Fellows of the U.S. Department of Education here.
This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2009.
I wish Tom Horne were as worried about the state of AZ schools (ranked 50th in the nation in per pupil spending) as he is about Obama’s speech.
Why the hell are the bullies being allowed to win? Didn’t we learn better coming through the traumas of school? Don’t we know that the bullies have to be stood up to, no matter what?
The tyranny of the oafish minority. Good grief. And, again, good people doing nothing. By letting them get away with this behavior, they’re only encouraged to do more and worse.
Linda,
At least your granddaughter is lucky to have you teach her the values you promote. Meanwhile, To Any Parent Who Phoned the School or Wrote to a Teacher Protesting Obama’s Upcoming Speech to School Children:
Do you truly believe our President has the ability or the agenda to “brainwash” American students through an Internet broadcast on the topic of education? Do you know he is not the first President to speak specifically to school-aged children? Did you (or your parents) protest when Ronald Reagan or Bush 41 did it?
Your complaints about our elected President trying to involve our children in the democratic process and encourage them to value education are alarmingly ignorant, culturally biased, and insulting. Because of your numbers and your threats to teachers and administrators, all you’ve managed to do is teach MY children about the unproductive and hateful nature of partisan politics. We had ENOUGH of that during the Clinton administration.
There needs to be a new War in this country and that is a War on Partisan Politics. STOP THE MADNESS!
I wonder, is it the conservative talk show hosts that prompted your actions or seeded your opinions? Talk about propaganda! (Have your child look up the word “propaganda” in the dictionary because clearly, YOU don’t know the meaning.)
According to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, in the September 8 speech “the President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.”
Scary stuff, eh? Good God!
Because of the controversy and the number of calls (on both sides of the issue) our school district (TVUSD) has stated on its website that it will remain “apolitical” and therefore has made no directive to stop teachers from broadcasting the speech. “If there would be reason to have this event be a legitimate part of a classroom curriculum, teachers will notify their principals no later than 9 a.m. Friday, September 4 and parents will be notified on Friday if their teacher will be using the address as part of their curriculum on Tuesday.” An Opt-Out form will also be available for parents who don’t want their children to participate, and these students will not suffer any academic of behavioral consequences.
The Junior High Principal followed with a message reading “no Emily Gray teachers will show the address on Tuesday, September 8. After the initial broadcast and after viewing the material, should teachers determine the broadcast to be of educational value in their curriculum, they will notify parents of their plan to show the broadcast.”
Well, I, as my daughters’ most important and consistent teacher, am going to view it and record it, and show it to them. Anyone, particularly an extremely intelligent and successful person—the product of the finest education America has to offer—who is willing and able to talk to my girls about the importance of their education, is welcome in our home. And he should be in our schools as well.
That right-wing bobble heads boycotted this speech is not surprising; we’re all used to bashing them back. But, that no teacher in this particular school had the courage to show the speech should raise some red flags. We never seem to place any blame for our overall appalling public school system on the teachers. Yet, most of the public school teachers I know are extremely status quo people, who have pretty much given up. I don’t believe it’s the salaries, which don’t seem all that low to me. I think it’s the mind-numbing process of becoming certified that guarantees to filter out any progressive thought. We’re left with teachers who are OK with jumping through hoops, rather than rocking the boat.
This President is blowing what chance he had of being great. Don’t blame it on conservatives. No President in history has lost so much support so quickly from both sides of the isle. Make him take responsibility for something, Van Jones is his fault, not Glen Beck’s. Green job Czar? That is Obama’s fault.
When my little brothers and I returned from the federal residential schools, my grandmother pitched a blanket-tent, and one by one we each sat in the tent with her. Inside the tent, she lighted a pipe with mountain tobacco, blowing the smoke into our hair, and making us inhale the smoke. She needed to cleanse us from the ‘alien’ things that the schools were teaching us.
Maybe I could share my ‘rub out the alien things’ with a few parents.
Text of President Obama’s speech to school children tomorrow:
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/0…
So when will we see the end of the unpatriotic and unAmerican behavior from the right? It’s appalling both Democrats *and* legitimate Republicans. Nothing but corporatist-driven Libertarian-Anarchist chaos (yeah, I know, a peculiar conflation, but there’s the “destroy government, abandon regulation, throw out all the laws and rules!” thing running through these mobs.)
So what are the wingnuts going to do when it comes to schools who won’t cancel the speech and have the staff cowering behind their desks like kicked puppies? March on the schools with assault weapons and racist banners?
Some of these people will wake up to the way they’ve been duped, oe day. Unfortunately, so many of them never will. Amazing how so many can be taken in by fat greasy middle aged rich white guys, especially if they have a TV show on Faux News.
Fat, greasy, middle-aged, rich, white guys???? Assault weapons??? I take it you are a weak, chaulky, immature, unemployed, anti-white? You speak about racism, yet you are the one using “white guys” with a negative over-tone. I assure you that I am patriotic and an American! I do not believe that socialism works and I do not believe that people that make more money should pay a higher percentage in income taxes. If you went to college and worked hard and got a 4.0 grade point average, and a friend of yours partied and stayed out late and didn’t study was getting a 2.0 grade point average, would you like it if someone said…”It is only fair that since you have a 4.0 GPA and your friend has a 2.0 GPA, you have to take a 1 point GPA reduction so that you and your friend can both have a 3.0 GPA!” Even if the other person was working hard and struggling…wouldn’t it be better to take the time to tutor them rather than just give them the extra GPA credit? Same concept!
I believe that the move toward socialism is not good for America. I believe that Obama is making a push to get as many radical changes passed before THE PEOPLE can fully understand them. There have been too many laws passed that create a larger government and require more tax dollars! There are countless agencies and laws on the books that drain from the real focus on America! Real leadership requires fiscal responsibility and keeping things managable.
I don’t believe that people that disagree with Obama should be made out to be “racist”, “unpatriotic”, or “unAmerican.”
For these and many other reasons, it should always be a parent’s right to decide what influences they allow their children to have. You must not have children, or you would embrace this concept. I don’t think that the teachers are hiding under the desks like kicked puppies. They are respecting the wishes of the most important teachers of our youth…the parents!
Wow! I still thought this was America. When did we forget to respect the office of the Presidency. At least the last three presidents have given school addresses. No one protested those. I feel that as American’s that we should be able to respect each others difference; republican, democrat, white, black, or purple. We need to stop the hate in this country or it will tear us apart. I feel that it is okay to have strong political feelings but not to the point of separating us from each other. We need to start pulling together and show the world that we are still a place of hope and freedom.
Illogical thinking is often emotional and/or has no connection to reality/truth.
This is what I was taught.