And Greenwich, CT:

Superintendent's press release

Dear God, a North Carolina school district is the stupidest of the bunch.

A permission slip? They have to have bring a permission slip to watch the President of the United States give a speech about the importance of hard work just like they would if they were going to watch a movie featuring bare breasts or "F" bombs?

Can anyone, in their wildest dream, imagine such a thing happening if this had been George W. Bush doing this?

Quote: "Here's just a small sampling of some more schools and school districts that won't be showing the speech, available after the jump."

Eric, Are you sure this is just a "small sampling"? I was reading that the MSM is doing the same thing with this speech to the kids that they did with the August town halls -- i.e., covering the sensationalist crap and ignoring the majority of town halls (or schools) that are doing the right thing.

So here's my question: On what do you base your statement that the list presented above is "just a small sampling"?

This is crazy. Our large school district is not showing the speech. Individual teachers who decide to show it in their classrooms have to send a letter home letting students opt out. I don't remember this happening for any other public official ever, including our current governor who came into power during a recall of the previous governor by promising he could govern the state of California just fine by cutting taxes. His first official business was to cancel the "car tax". Here we are years later and the schools are surviving this year only because of the stimulus money from Obama's program. That stinkin' socialist is giving the schools money and he is going to taint the kids by telling them to do their homework and study hard. Go figure.

Last time I saw people this freaking crazy was when George Wallace wouldn't let those little black kids go to a white school. I guess their worst fears were realized. A smart little black kid grew up to be president.

Why do they hate America?

In light of the upheaval surrounding the President speaking to America's schoolchildren today, I found this article which shows a rather obvious "double-standard":

FROM THE ARTICLE: "Leave Our Kids Alone!"

Since the beginning of time, Presidents have given of themselves to speak to students in person and via the media. President George Bush and President Ronald Reagan both gave nationally televised speeches aimed specifically at American students. In 1989, Bush delivered a televised anti-drug speech, while Reagan delivered a 1986 commencement and Q&A session which was beamed over public television into 171 school districts. At the time, those speeches were never an issue and parents were happy their children could receive the attention of the leader of the free world. Never once in history has any school district or collective group of parents taken the position they DO NOT want their children hearing ANY message from the President of the United States...until now!

FULL ARTICLE: http://okwassup.blogspot.com

Let's see now......

There are literally thousands of school districts....

Yet somehow, at TPM. the 7 listed above are suddenly a 'growing number'......

Pardon me while I chuckle.

Another tempest in a teapot.

Hmmm let's see, what would happen if you told your 12yo daughter in no uncertain terms to NOT watch that speech by that cool smooth talking black President?

She's gonna watch. 17 TIMES

I'm pretty sure that this whole uproar is just meant to lay the groundwork for the Republicans to introduce "The Freedom From Information Act."

The most pathetic aspect of this story is that Obama and his milquetoast team still think they can appease and work with these people.

For proof of this sad reality just watch him capitulate on the public option.

Every one of these explanations is complete bullshit. How does "stay in school" not fit into your fuckin' curriculum?

Not only does this make me boiling mad on a conceptual level, I'm starting to take it personally. Where were these pious, liberty-loving, children-protecting wingnuts when my HS marching band was forced to play at a Nixon event? In 1973? No trace of controversy with that presidency, oh no, not at all.

I still remember the band director saying that no matter what our politics were, we were going anyway out of respect for the office of the Presidency.

The more I think about it, the more inclined I am to drive to one of those school districts and beat the crap out of someone, just to make myself feel better.

This is probably the best evidence that many Repugs are just delusional, desperate and just scared to death of Obama for no rational reason.

As the Whitehouse press secretary said, "If one student in one school goes from a D to a C (as a result of the speech)it would have worth the effort"

Well said. Makes the Repugs effort on this fall flat like a dead cat.

139,000 public school districts. Do the math.

I just hope someone is keeping track of these nimrod districts, to make sure they don't expose the delicate minds of their students to any speeches by future Republican presidents -- assuming there are any.

He should have just read "My Pet Goat".

Man. this is a stupid, stupid country.

For those few or many schools that are not showing the President's speech to children...what those administrators are are really saying is : Ignorance is BLISS...goodness sakes, we surely don't want an educated populous, then all the rhetoric would be useless as the fraudulent statements would be ridiculed rather than believed.

It is unfortunate that in this country where a major political party (GOP) has devolved into a state in which FEAR is the overriding principle on which they stand. For them to succeed, they need to keep the populous ignorant of the facts. This action is the point in fact.

Any school that refuses their students access to this President's address needs to be held accountable for their actions. Say what they may, this is repression of information.
Isn't that "reverse brainwashing".

"OK, kids, you're not going to be seeing the speech because that uppity negro isn't OUR president. Now, let's start the school day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance."

Would be interesting to correlate student academic performance at schools opting out and those opting in.

This whole school imbroglio is the most shocking bit of raw attack on their own country I've yet seen from the Republicans. If the President can't tell kids to stay in school, what kind of democracy does America actually have? What's the point of having elections if Republicans won't accept the results and will, in fact, work to undermine the government's ability to function.

It's anti-American, anti-education, anti-child and, of course, eyebrow-deep in raw racism. Personally I think it's close to sedition.

We WON! - Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County New Jersey

Massive local letter writing in an strong right-wing district had these suckers back down. Previous statement 9/4/09

Camdenton, MO:

http://www.lakenewsonline.com/news/x560176302/Camdenton-schools-responds-to-why-theyre-not-airing-speech-other-schools-decide

Horribly, our superintendat left a mumbling message on parents' phones last night, declaring that our public schools will not show the speech in real time, but rather will review it for educational content and possibly (but by the sound of it not likely) show it in the future. This is in Massachusetts! A number of parents are writing emails and calling his office, but it's too late... Our town (Waltham) voted for Obama in a
landslide. Lots of very angry parents here - will bring this up at
the next School Committee meeting no doubt.

I am ashamed to say that I live in the Tredyffin/Easttown School District, a suburban district outside of Philadelphia, where they have announced that they will not show the speech live, but will let their teachers review it to "see if it fits in their curriculum". I just sent an email to our superintendent and school board asking them how a speech from the President of the United States urging children to work hard and stay in school does not fit into the curriculum of ANY child? I am beyond furious that a school district in a wealthy area - our high school has been ranked in the top 100 nationally on many occasions - can be so stupid. I will be attending my first school board meeting in the very near future.