Prince William County Public Schools Position on the President’s Speech to Students on September 8
Thursday, September 3, 2009As you may be aware from news media reports, the President has scheduled a Webcast message to students for noon on Tuesday, September 8. Many are asking about what will be happening in PWCS classrooms. There is no mandate or direction to principals or teachers from the PWCS administration to participate in this address from the President. Like many other similar information items we receive from the U.S. Department of Education, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), or other education-related organizations, they are passed along FYI as a potential instructional resource that teachers may choose to use if it is appropriate for their instruction and fits their lesson plans.
This position is consistent with the guidance of the VDOE. Schools that may have classes which choose to participate in the Webcast are encouraged to make reasonable accommodations for students whose parents may object to the viewing of the speech by their children during the school day. It is expected that the text of the speech will be posted on the White House Web site before it is given for parents and educators to review beforehand.
See related information:
Nice job, Dr. Walts, nice job. NOT! He certainly squirmed out of that one. Instead of explaining what was going on, and that the canned robo plans were not counter-revolutionary materials, he dumped the entire ball of wax squarely on the building principals and the teachers. Welcome back teachers, and bend over…we are going to get this over with first thing.
Dr. Walts should have made every attempt to assuage people’s fears. He could have reassured parents that any materials used would not be politically objectionable. He has that opportunity as superintendent of Prince William County Schools. Anyone who makes a quarter of a million a year could have done a lot better than this. Instead, the teachers and principals will be down in the trenches on the first day of school, when they should be setting the stage for the new year, putting out forest fires that should have been put out by the Instructor in Chief, Dr. Walts.
Having backbone should not be this painful. We are speaking of the President of the United States telling kids to do their homework, listen to their parents, teachers, bus drivers, and to be all they can be in the classroom and on the playground. Good grief.
Kelly, if I thought it was because of your answer @11:00 #49 I would agree with you totally.
My issue is not that he is leaving it optional. He really made a non-decision. My problem is he did not take the time to explain what was going on better. For instance, the Dept of ED materials are totally UN-unique. He could have explained that some teachers might opt to have kids do some personal goal setting and that this is standard practice in schools.
I simply think for his salary, he passed the buck. There are hysterical parents out there and the individual schools should not be expected to have to handle those kinds of touchy situations, especially on the first day.
On the other hand, he is light-years beyond Loudoun County School officials.
I wouldn’t be upset over the teaching materials. I suppose that is because I would know no one ever uses that crap. (and even if they did use it, so what.) There are so many other things to be upset over, that just would be one that flew under my radar.
Emma,
We know what President Obama will say in his speech because he laid out the outline to the speech in an interview w/ an 11-year-old boy reporter last month.
Anyone who watches this interview and still has concerns about President Obama speaking to our school children just doesn’t get it:
The more I think about it, the more irritated I get about Walts’ choice to allow teachers to make the decision. Some teachers won’t show the speech because, like many of the parents who called, they don’t like President Obama. Others won’t show it because they don’t want to have a confrontation with an angry parent on the first day of school. My guess is that very few PWCS teachers will turn on the television at noon on Tuesday.
I’m especially irritated because a small group of loud parents cheered on by Glenn Back, Michelle Malkin and Sean Hannity sent phone and email bombs to Walts and individual schools, and their hissy fit ruled the day.
The result is my child won’t have the chance for a shared classroom experience that might have given all children and teachers an extra lift on the first day of school.
The video didn’t embed in my post, so here’s the YouTube link. Hope this one works. Damon Weaver interviews President Barack Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP-695ATg-c
You BELIEVE it’s a small group who objects to this. You do not really know. Rasmussen (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll) found that the current approval rating for Obama is only 49%, so the disapproving group may be larger than you think.
Heaven forbid the teachers should have some autonomy in their classrooms. Let’s let our classrooms be ruled by SOL’s and government/institutional mandates, and nothing more. The teacher shall be nothing more than a mouthpiece for the government/school system.
No wonder so many of my friends homeschool their children.
You’re right, MH. My guess is that the Loudoun position is more CYA than anything else, but it sure does look bad on their county administration. I would hate to work there…
Emma,
Do you recall who foisted the SOLs upon Virginia’s teachers and tudents? One Gov. George Allen, in order to comply with Dubya’s “No Child Left Behind Act”. I hate SOLS as much as any parent. Let’s hope President Obama changes that requirement when the revises “No Child Left Behind” later this year.
Two polls have been conducted on the appropriateness of President Obama’s speech. One in Fresno, CA and the other in Missouri. The same questions were asked in each poll. Responders in both polls overwhelmingly support President Obama’s speech to school children. The 30% who don’t represent the Republican base. Similarly, Democrats have a solid 30% base (though recent analysis indicates the base has grown larger, but we’ll stick with 30% to compare apples to apples.). This means a majority of sel-indentified indepedent voters support President Obama’s speech as well. That data is clear when you read the results by party and ideological breakdowns.
California
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=05b6c4d3-9d83-49a9-a35a-de7a8dc72cd5
Missouri:
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=1a011de9-958f-4e83-b8e7-635489588b0b
Oops..I’m responding to Kelly3406 as well as Emma. Sorry.
There is nothing wrong with teacher autonomy and there is very little autonomy at that. What does that have to do with Walts playing the political cluck cluck game? He should have said more. He doesn’t have to take away autonomy to make a statement about the teaching material for goodness sake. He made a non-decision.
He could have used the opportunity to speak to the issue of setting the state for a positive new year and he could have addressed the teacher materials issue. He did not.
What teacher wants to deal with this issue the first day of school? Had Walts actually SAID something, the teacher could refer the parent to Walts’ statement. But, it still beats Loudoun County. They also caught lots of slack over their decision to opt out.
I had several phone calls from people laughing about my ‘omnipresence’ in the blogosphere. No, MH does not post on bvbl. I have gotten the distinct impression the owner of that blog does not want me there. 😉
Sorry to disappoint. I really don’t need to post on that blog. I can annoy enough of you staying right here, on home turf, when the black velvets come over to see what we are up to.
Oh, and for the record, Greg knows I am not over there. He could just tell you. But that isn’t as much fun for him.
@Casual Observer
The question asked in the polls that you reference were NOT posed correctly. The real issue is whether Obama will try to enlist the support of students for his initiatives (Health Care, climate change, etc). The “optional” assignment for students to describe how they will support Obama gave rise to these suspicions. The poll did not address the real issue.
In the words of Barney Frank, talking to you is like trying to talk to a table. Believe whatever you want, Kelly. If you should deign to read an actual transcript of President Obama’s speech on Monday, you’ll see no talk of Health Care reform and climate change. Never let the facts get in the way of a good lie, right? If Glenn Beck says it, it must be true!
Teachers can let the class watch the speech w/o doing any of the optional activities. Frankly, that’s would I would do if I were a teacher. It’s the first day of school, and it’s busy all ready. I’d ask the kids to think about their goals for the school year and then write them down in their writing journal (which all kids have).
Kelly,
The idea that Obama is going to “enlist” school children to help pass health care and climate change legislation is just plain ridiculous. There are REALLY important issues facing this country, the amount of brain energy spent on this issue instead of REAL problems is mind boggling to me.
Then perhaps you and Moon-howler should only start threads dealing with topics that you feel are worthy of brain energy. Why introduce a topic if you feel it’s a waste of time to discuss/debate it?
The bungling Obama administration has caused this level of distrust. No president in recent history has dropped in the polls as quickly as Obama has in barely 8 months in office. Some suggestions for gaining the public trust:
1. Stop lying to us about how we will be able to keep our own health insurance if there is a public option. Please own that that is absolutely not true. We’re not idiots, and we know that private insurers will not be able to compete with a public plan.
2. Stop lying about not wanting to prosecute those who were involved in government-vetted enhanced interrogation techniques (i.e. Nancy “we should do more” Pelosi), when it is obvious that you are using your attorney general as the pit bull in going after those individuals. Just own that you fully intend to prosecute them. We’re not idiots, and we can see that you are just trying to deflect any possible blame for these actions.
3. Stop lying about the cost of your healthcare “reform.” The CBO has said we cannot afford it. Again, we’re not idiots, we’ve seen the numbers, and your popularity poll numbers–and support for your reform efforts–are falling because we simply don’t believe you.
4. Stop treating dissenters as if they are all “extremists”–loose cannons who pose some imaginary threat to the country. Sure, there are crazies out there, but the vast majority of dissenters are simply exercising their first amendment rights, and your deliberate mischaracterization of their actions will only backfire.
Just be straight with us, Mr. President, and don’t assume that the great, unwashed, non-Harvard-educated masses are too stupid to notice the lies. We might just begin to feel that you are actually OUR President, working for the good of the nation and not simply trying to pay off debts to your liberal base. Then we might trust you to speak to our children without supervision.
I’m out. The lunatics are running the asylum.
I put up the thread, not Elena. Blame me.
Isn’t congress the body responsible for HB3200, thus the name HB?
Many of us didn’t like what was going on in the Bush administration. I don’t think most of our manners were quite as bad though.
As for Holder, he acts somewhat independently from the Office of the President. I am not sure I like the idea of digging up what past administrations have done either, but I also don’t know what’s been dug. After hearing about the wilding parties some of the out sourced guards are doing over in Afghanistan, maybe we had better take a look. The rest of the world sees ‘American’ and does not differentiate between CIA, military, and contractor.
I don’t think President Obama has treated dissentors at all. I think he has tried to appeal to reason. He is being lumped in with Congress. He is probably as frustrated with Congress and the tea party people.
Speaking of Tea Party People, as a group, they would get more respect if they learned some public manners rather than collectively providing Vaudeville entertainment any time 2 or more got together. I lump them right in with Code Pink people, Act UP, and other bad children.
Those who are genuinely concerned about rising taxes, health care, etc, should distance themselves from those acting out and find more socially acceptable ways to express their grievances and concerns.
I don’t deny their right to misbehave. I begrudgingly admit it is a free speech issue. However, my free speech is mouthing the word: THUGs,
I honestly don’t believe there is a single thing Obama could do…not a single hoop he could jump through…to get a lot of the people who are outraged about this speech to trust him. In fact, I believe that most of those people are looking for any reason not to trust him, so much so that this situation was created and magnified out of their irrational fears. God help our President when even this ridiculous situation is a battle he has to fight…
Diversity Gal, you are right.
I don’t think I can tolerate watching one more ignoramous parent on TV explaining to the nation why they aren’t wackos, when everything else screams that they are.
They are doing their child a disservice. I was always taught to respect the president when I was a kid. I know there were some in there that my parents didn’t vote for or like, but I was taught to respect them as authority figures and because they were in the office of President.