Under pressure, Becker schools decide not to air Obama speech live

If you don’t want your kids exposed to different views, you should just send them to a private school.

What is “political” about a speech by the president to kids? Not allowing them to watch it seems… Unpatriotic.

And if it had been Bush, the Democrats would have done the same thing.

Lets keep ALL these idiots out of our schools.

Sounds like Julie thinks it would be okay for the KKK to come speak to our children at school. I disagree.

[...] Sherburne County module be connexion schools in the Fergus Falls Atlantic in … Read more: Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media. » Under push … Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: becker-school, district, fergus, fergus-falls, [...]

[...] Minnesota, reports the Minnesota Independent, Becker and Fergus Falls students might here a tape-delayed speech, allowing parents to opt out of [...]

Sounds like Mike learned logic and debate at parochial school. You know Julie did not think this but you say it anyway.

Take the politics out of it. Why wouldn’t we want the leader of our country to inspire our students on the first day of school? This is simply taking the easy way out.

[...] Under pressure, Becker schools bows out of live airing of Obama speech - Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media. [...]

[...] Under pressure, Becker schools bows out of live airing of Obama speech - Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media. [...]

So it’ okay to kick God out of our schools but not the President? Whatever happened to separation of Church and State? What makes Obama a better teacher than God? Please keep your obsession to Obama at home with you and let the teacher concentrate on teaching their curriculum.

It is a travesty if school leaders buckle to the right-wing pressure on this issue. Barack Obama is President of the United States. He should be afforded the respect and dignity of his office and if he schedules an event to encourage school children to do their best and reflect on their education, he should be supported. Many other similar events have been scheduled by past presidents.

Does anyone remember where George “W’ Bush was on the morning of 9/11/2001? Does anyone remember “My Pet Goat”?

Let ‘s grow up and pull together as Americans rather than be emotionally dragged around by FOX news.

Wow! Have conservatives become this hysterical? I remember when I was a young kid in school and Richard Nixon was President. Not everyone liked Richard Nixon, but if he addressed the country, people showed due respect to the President of the United States.

What is wrong with these people who show so much disrespect to the institution of the presidency? Just remember, you are teaching your children by example. What are you teaching your children? To show utter disregard to authority and disrespect to the President of the United States. Don’t be surprised when you have problems with these kids. They will say, “I don’t have to listen to you, you are not my boss.” And in their minds will be this example of you demonstrating disrespect to the President of the United States. If you don’t respect authority, why should they?

“So it’ okay to kick God out of our schools but not the President?”
……..is Obama reading from the Bible? No, nothing like it. Confused much?

“Whatever happened to separation of Church and State?”
…….whatever happened to logic, reason, and evidence? The is no application for the establishment clause of the first amendment here.

“What makes Obama a better teacher than God?”
…….don’t know where this comes from, but I’ll take a stab anyway….Because President Obama can speak English, and anyone can hear it, and most of the country can understand it. All are necessary requirements for viewing a video in school.

“Please keep your obsession to Obama at home with you…”
…….McCain lost. The other one left office in embarrassment. Get over it.

The NEA and the majority of teachers are liberal and voted for Obama. They can NOT be fair & objective & this is just an open door invitation to indoctrinating our children. His 1st speech might not be partisan, but will the 2nd or 3rd one be? This is NOT acceptable. He can air his speech directly to the children, on prime time, when parents can be home & discuss it w/their children, not liberal teachers. This is NOT okay w/the majority of people, regardless of their political party.

The political climate has changed over the last 20-30 years, & the liberal left is far left of center, and this President is not doing anything to unite us, but divide us even further. Even if it was Ronald Reagan speaking, I think it’s a BAD idea & smells very Hitler-ish. Sorry, to bring up that name, but he was directing the lesson plans of the schools then, and how similar does this sound like what he did in 1933?
Beware of wolves in sheep clothing.

“JULIE” I should not HAVE to send my child to a “PRIVATE” school, that is expensive, and just because I don’t want others politics pushed in my kids face I should not be forced to pay for a “PRIVATE” education… My kids are not allowed to pray at school, or at least out loud! How is this seperation of church and state??? I have no problem with my child hearing Obama’s message if it is really just an encouragement to stay in school, he is our President… I don’t agree with the current administration, however I believe as Americans we need to work together. But your suggestion that those of us that may not agree with this sort of seperation should go elsewhere at our own expense is silly! As an American our children have been promised by laws that they will not be subjected to political or religious issues in school, if this speech has no political views then GREAT! But if it does parents are within their right to disagree, and you stating that we should take our kids elsewhere is STUOID my friend!

Evidence suggests, Republican-Bob, that it’s you, my friend, who is STUOID.

Sounds like Mike is comparing the President of the United States to a member of the KKK. That’s just disturbing on so many levels.

Jesus Angela you are a bit scary . Are you for real . I would rather hang with a teacher then the likes of you any day. I bet you would carry your gun to a Presidential speech because that is your God given right . I hope none of those bleeding heart liberal teachers are on your death panel you crazy birther. Get a life and realize what a joke Rush Limbaugh and the Fox News channel are they won’t be holding your hand when you or your husband lose your job and your health insurance . Figure it out those rich pricks don’t know what it is like for you or me . They make well over a milloion dollars a year and you believe their bull . Figure it out . They pay less in taxes then you and me and as long as you are their sheep they are happy , O k i am done with my rant.

Let’s see, it wasn’t political when Reagan told regaled school children about the wonders of tax cuts and small government…
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200909030020

I attended a private school here in NE Minnesota and those of you suggesting that this debate would take a different slant if those who disagree with the President speaking to students were to just sent your kids to a non-public institution… All I can say is you’re absolutely wrong. My high-school hired an African American head football coach and there were kooky parents out there who did everything they could to drive him out of the school. They were saying that he was going to forego halftime pep-talk speeches and use that platform to indoctinate the kids on MLK Jr and Malcom X radicalism. When some kids just weren’t good enough to make the team, their ultra-rich parents went on the warpath suggesting that the coach was a reverse-racist and using affirmative action to fill out the squad. Does any of this sound remotely familiar? This was in 1978 folks.

I don’t care who’s President – If it’s GWB wanting to address students, I say let him speak and hopefully the kids will pay attention. To me, it doesn’t matter what partisan leanings the President has, I think it’s a sad state of affairs when a parent makes the decision to stand between a child and that child’s President. Children are Americans too. How will kids understand government and politics when the only viewpoints they receive come from ignorant and/or unglued parents. To those parents threatening to keep their kids home on Tuesday, go ahead, but I sure don’t want to hear you bitching about how your kids grew up to be improperly educated imbeciles and cry about what you percieve to be a sorry state of affairs in the public school system. For those parents saying that their kids are being “forced” into watching the President’s speech, I have my doubts that you even have children at all. Anyone who’s raised a child knows it’s virtually impossible to “force” a kid to pay attention to something, whatever its importance. Even if the kid comes from a totally liberal/progressive home environment, they’ll still drift off into daydreaming, drawing/doodling, or whatever and probably not be able to intelligently discuss specific points of the speech simply because they weren’t paying attention.

This is all just a tempest in a teabag. If the right-wingers honestly want to share their true feelings and beliefs without all of this nonsense and half-assed subterfuge, they should just call the President a n****r and be done with it. You know that’s what they’re dying to do.

Nice post, Northeaster!

Another example of the right wing media pushing a lie. The schools have no right to refuse to let the children hear their President. The President can do what ever he want to. If that means talking to children, what is the problem?

is dooley running for some other office then superintendent of schools? if he does it will, no doubt, be on the republican ticket. he’s definitely making a political choice of his own not to run the presidents speech.

We are losing our civility, that is our ability to accept that not everyone thinks the same and our ability to respond to each other with respect at the same time realizing “my position” isn’t the only solution. There is a benefit to diverse perspectives which we should all be open to hearing. There is not one person who has the right answers and solutions so we need to be life long learners honing the skill of higher-level thinking skills that bring better solutions through synergism. Instead of becoming caring human beings we are digging trenches to hide our fearful animal instincts.

Listen to President Obama’s speech and find someone who thinks different than you and is willing to practice civility. Have a respectful conversation face to face.

First of all it is my right to know what my children are being exposed to in the schools they attend, I also believe that the schools in this country lean very far left, look at the ivy league schools that won’t allow ROTC on their campuses! How is that patriotic, I am a combat veteran of the Iraq war, kids as young as 5yrs old have called me an infidel! That is indoctrination! and I believe that the current administrations views are socialistic and that adressing our nations children without parental consent is still a violation of my rights as a parent! Maybe it was just to encourage our kids or maybe it was also is a way to ease parents minds that it wasn’t a big deal so the next time there will be an agenda! kids are very impressionable thats why radical countries start them young! I also don’t appreciate our commander and chief apologizing for Americas behavior for our actions in the world! We owe no one an apology! It is the duty of all free men and women everywhere to fight tryanny and oppression no matter where it is in the world even at home! If any american thinks a little fat needs to be trimmed off the constitution ie: freedom of speech,religion,press, right to keep and bear arms, expression etc. Then America is not the place for you! I expect to be called names by some of you and that’s ok, because an honest mans pillow is his peace of mind!

Dean: Ivy League campuses are private institutions and receive no federal funding, therefore they have every right to make any decision they wish. If their students don’t like it, fine, they have ther options. You make it seem like Ivy League grads have no way of being comissioned into the military, but if ROTC isn’t an on-campus option (something the President has gone on record as supporting, BTW) then there’s always OCS or the service academies.

As for your old recycled talking point about the President apologizing, I challenge you to find a single example of that in the President’s speech. As for tyranny and opression, please enlighten us on how you are personally being oppressed or cite some specific examples of domestic tyranny.

You’re great at echoing the talking points, but give us all an example of how you can personally think on your own. You can’t even sum up your comment without stealing lyrics from John Mellencamp (an honest man’s pillow?) are you f’n serious?

Where was the outcry when Ronald Reagan and Poppy Bush addressed the schoolkids? When Dubya did? Are we trying to pretend that if a Republican president addresses the kids, it’s wholesome and American, but if a Democrat does, it’s some kind of sinister plot?

The growing ignorance,stupidity and just plain meanness of Americans is reason for despair. And those who promote it should be ashamed of themselves.

As for Steve Dooley, in general, all I can say is that his lack of concern for students and teachers, his self-serving “policies,” and his membership in the “good ole boys” club that is so prevalent in Becker was the cause for our family leaving the community entirely, and the cause for the current school board’s issue as to whether they plan to keep him on board or ask for his resignation. I am not at all surprised that he made this decision (not to mention all of the grammatical errors in his memo). It’s time Becker wakes up to the “leadership” (or lack thereof) they have in their community.

This only could be the result of two things… Right-Wing…Left-Wing Politics or Racism.

This is for the better education of America (not just for one individual but for all), too bad so many people are stuck in the past.

The crabs in the bucket statement keeps on playing in my head… we will never learn, God help us all!