By Mark Anthony Neal, NewBlackMan
President Obama's planned address to the nation's school children on Tuesday has generated criticism as some of his political opponents argue that he is using the opportunity to, at best, infect America's classrooms with partisan politics and, at worst, indoctrinate them with a radical and "socialist" agenda. Never before has such an address been subject to the kind of scrutiny that the president's rather innocuous call for good grades and a stay in school mentality has. There is little doubt that the uproar over the president's address is just further evidence of efforts by some to try to delegitimize the presidency of Barack Obama -- like those in the birthers movement -- and a desire by political opponents to deny Obama any political goodwill in the midst of a heated debate over health care.
I'd like to suggest that some of the apprehensions surrounding the president's speech are also the product of a general feeling among America's parents that they have lost control of the message when it comes to instilling their children with homegrown values.
The idea of a sitting president addressing school children should be openly embraced by all citizens as an opportunity for the ultimate civics lesson. Yet some parents are planning to boycott schools the day of the president's speech and some school districts are offering parents the chance to opt-out of the nationwide event. As one parent recently told "The Michael Berry Show," a conservative talk radio show in Houston, TX, "my rights as a parent are being circumvented so this president can speak to my children. My children will not be going to school." Rights as a parent being circumvented? Is the president discussing religion or some other issue that is clearly out of bounds in the nation's public schools? What gives? Why is the president given a power that Oklahoma State Senator Steve Russell describes as a "cult of personality... something you'd expect to see in North Korea or in Saddam Hussein's Iraq?" What explains such irrational responses?
I disagreed strongly with many of President Bush's domestic and foreign policy initiatives, especially his version of educational reform, "No Child Left Behind." Even as I waged battles with various school officials over "NCLB" and its impact on my children, I can't imagine that, at any point, I would have been fearful of my children hearing a speech by the president behind such a policy. Like most parents, I send my children to school every day with the expectation that I have instilled them with an understanding of our family's values and respect for others. Of course it's an everyday battle, but whether it's at the dinner table, while doing homework or while riding in the minivan after school, I, like many parents, use such opportunities to debrief, hopefully developing children who have the regular ability to accept information that is valuable to them while rejecting and respectfully disagreeing with that which is not. It's an act of faith that is a regular part of good parenting; we simply can't control all of the information that targets our children.
President Obama is an easy target for the fears many of us have about our children being bombarded daily by media images and subliminal advertising that we feel powerless to protect them from. Politics and irrational behavior aside, for those parents who are concerned and disturbed about the president's address, the Disney Channel and X-Box are far more likely to indoctrinate their children.
Mark Anthony Neal is Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African & African American Studies at Duke University and the parent of two daughters, ages 11 and 6.
President Obama's planned address to the nation's school children on Tuesday has generated criticism as some of his political opponents argue that he is using the opportunity to, at best, infect America's classrooms with partisan politics and, at worst, indoctrinate them with a radical and "socialist" agenda. Never before has such an address been subject to the kind of scrutiny that the president's rather innocuous call for good grades and a stay in school mentality has. There is little doubt that the uproar over the president's address is just further evidence of efforts by some to try to delegitimize the presidency of Barack Obama -- like those in the birthers movement -- and a desire by political opponents to deny Obama any political goodwill in the midst of a heated debate over health care.
I'd like to suggest that some of the apprehensions surrounding the president's speech are also the product of a general feeling among America's parents that they have lost control of the message when it comes to instilling their children with homegrown values.
The idea of a sitting president addressing school children should be openly embraced by all citizens as an opportunity for the ultimate civics lesson. Yet some parents are planning to boycott schools the day of the president's speech and some school districts are offering parents the chance to opt-out of the nationwide event. As one parent recently told "The Michael Berry Show," a conservative talk radio show in Houston, TX, "my rights as a parent are being circumvented so this president can speak to my children. My children will not be going to school." Rights as a parent being circumvented? Is the president discussing religion or some other issue that is clearly out of bounds in the nation's public schools? What gives? Why is the president given a power that Oklahoma State Senator Steve Russell describes as a "cult of personality... something you'd expect to see in North Korea or in Saddam Hussein's Iraq?" What explains such irrational responses?
I disagreed strongly with many of President Bush's domestic and foreign policy initiatives, especially his version of educational reform, "No Child Left Behind." Even as I waged battles with various school officials over "NCLB" and its impact on my children, I can't imagine that, at any point, I would have been fearful of my children hearing a speech by the president behind such a policy. Like most parents, I send my children to school every day with the expectation that I have instilled them with an understanding of our family's values and respect for others. Of course it's an everyday battle, but whether it's at the dinner table, while doing homework or while riding in the minivan after school, I, like many parents, use such opportunities to debrief, hopefully developing children who have the regular ability to accept information that is valuable to them while rejecting and respectfully disagreeing with that which is not. It's an act of faith that is a regular part of good parenting; we simply can't control all of the information that targets our children.
President Obama is an easy target for the fears many of us have about our children being bombarded daily by media images and subliminal advertising that we feel powerless to protect them from. Politics and irrational behavior aside, for those parents who are concerned and disturbed about the president's address, the Disney Channel and X-Box are far more likely to indoctrinate their children.
* * *
Mark Anthony Neal is Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African & African American Studies at Duke University and the parent of two daughters, ages 11 and 6.
No black man has ever addressed schoolchildren as President.
That's really what this is about: Should white kids ever have to listen to and take advice from a black man?
Conservative pols are making hay out of existing discomfort, blowing it way out of proportion. For this we can thank them, because they make it easy to see where they stand on this issue.
September 8, 2009 7:57 PM | Reply
Parent's reluctance to allow their children to listen to the President of the "whole" United States speaks to a sad day in America. You won't allow your children to listen role models, family men/women or someone that stands for something; watch out for the pervert living in your neighborhood whom you trust.
Where do you think the increase in crime is coming from? Let me tell you, wayward children. Those that are listening to their friends disobey their parents, breaking and entering into homes illegally, curse out the teachers, who do you think they're listening to?
September 10, 2009 5:23 PM | Reply
I'm glad such a fuss was made. It's good for the exercise of local autonomy on the part of the school districts that didn't show the speech. Now people can vote with their feet, conservatives moving into those school districts and liberals moving out. Identifying which school district are shich can tell everyone where to move so that we can all finally trust our neighbors using The Big Sort.
http://www.thebigsort.com/maps.php
September 11, 2009 4:02 PM | Reply