Guilford County students to watch Obama's speech
GREENSBORO — Guilford County Schools will take part in President Barack Obama’s national speech to schoolchildren at noon Tuesday.
Principals were told this week they should make the speech available to students. Accommodations will be made for students whose parents request they not take part, according to school system officials.
Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green made the call on how to handle the address. He said his office received many e-mails and phone calls about the speech, both in support and opposition to it.
“I think this is just going to be a tremendous opportunity,” Green said, adding that hearing the president talk about the importance of education should be a powerful motivator.
The White House has said the speech will focus on encouraging students to do well and work hard.
However, opponents argue the address oversteps the president’s authority, with some calling it a political scheme and others calling it indoctrination.
School board member Paul Daniels said Friday that the board discussed the matter via e-mail. Daniels disagrees with Green’s decision to make the speech available to all students, rather than letting teachers and principals decide.
Daniels supported making the presidential inauguration available to all students.
“This is a lot different. This is someone wanting access to our students for a specific purpose,” he said. “Which strikes me as something more than a civics lesson. … It does smack of big brotherism.”
Daniels said he hopes he’s wrong about the speech, and he will not request that his two daughters be dismissed from hearing it.
Guilford County Republican Party Chairman Bill Wright said parents are worried that the address could “get political” and that Obama may try to sell his health care policies or otherwise win over students to his cause.
“I think it’s good anytime the president can speak to kids directly. I’m trying to keep an open mind,” Wright said. As long as the speech is a “pep talk,” Wright said he’ll have no problems with it.
“At the same time, it can’t become political in any way,” Wright said.
Presidents including Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush have delivered similar speeches to schoolchildren in the past.
Rockingham County teachers and principals have been told they can incorporate the speech into their daily lessons.
However, teachers were told to use “extreme discretion” when deciding how to discuss the speech and what material they use.
Some argue that prompts provided by the U.S. Department of Education, such as, “How will he inspire us?” sound like communist rhetoric.
“The way we’re looking at it is try to tie it into the curriculum,” said Rodney Shotwell, superintendent of Rockingham County Schools. “I don’t want anybody to make it a political statement in their classroom.”
Shotwell said some of the tension may ease after the speech is released Monday, ahead of the event.
As in Guilford County, Rockingham County students can elect not to watch the speech.
The speech will be broadcast from Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., via C-SPAN and the Internet.
Staff writer Mark Binker contributed to this report.
Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: President Barack Obama
Related Links
Search News-Record.com
closeSearch News & Record Article Archives
Not all of the newspaper's content appears online.
*There is a fee for downloading some older articles.
