Friday, September 4, 2009

Students Ordered To Watch President Obama

In Tempe, Arizona, at Tempe Elementary School District No. 3, students will not have an option to opt out of President Obama's speech on Tuesday.

Text from a letter offered to parents of these students, written by Dr. Arthur W. Tate, Jr., Superintendent of Schools:


The United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has informed school districts that President Obama will deliver an address to the Nation’s school children on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time. This will be a live broadcast which can be accessed at the White House website: www.whitehouse.gov. The President’s message will also be broadcast on C-SPAN. The President will talk to the children about “persisting and succeeding in school.”


Parents who wish to view the President’s message can easily do so by using the White House website or C-SPAN. As indicated in the promotional literature, our President will use this unique occasion when talking to our students to “challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning.”


I have directed principals to have students and teachers view the President’s message on Tuesday. In some cases, where technology will not permit access to the White House website, DVDs will be provided to classes on subsequent days.


I am not permitting parents to opt out students from viewing the President’s message, since this is a purely educational event. Parents and interested individuals should access the White House website to learn more about the President’s address. Should you have questions or concerns, feel free to email me at: atate@tempeschools.org.


Dr. Arthur W. Tate, Jr.


Superintendent of Schools


H/T to J. D. Hayworth at KFYI 550 AM Phoenix.

20 comments:

innominatus said...

>>>I am not permitting parents to opt out students from viewing the President’s message

Somebody needs to be reminded of who is really in charge. Crazy.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Tate is a liberal ass who's also afraid of not collecting his Average Daily Attendance money. I agree with Inno...

Parents are gonna have to explain to him who pays who. In the old West they would have explained it with a rope in their hands, and he would have listened carefully and respectfully.

j summett said...

Thank God I do not live there!

I live in a small town, and thankfully the Obama Kool Aid hasn't made it here. I have been told that the speech will not be shown in our school.

I can honestly say that if I lived in Tempe, my kids would have an extended Labor Day holiday!

Pedaling said...

oh, my!
i would storm that office so fast....

i would suggest a large group (hey even a community organized group, if i dare say) gather and let them know who is in charge!

remember, there is POWER in numbers!

dear lord, What has happened to my home state?

Mikki said...

Wow!! That guy's got some nerve. I suppose my kids would develop some mysterious illness on Tuesday if we lived in his school district.

tammy said...

You can bet I'd be organizing a protest if I lived in Tempe.

Thankfully neither one of my boys' principals are going to be broadcasting it. My oldest son's principal said the social studies teachers may choose to highlight certain aspects of it and discuss it, but his teacher said on Friday that they would not even be doing that.

I'm wondering if since there's been such a stink about it (and rightly so) that he will change what he was going to say now and leave out all the propaganda and make it so innocent sounding so that the liberals can point fingers and say how ridiculous we all were for protesting.

One Ticked Chick said...

Whoa! Dr. Tate sounds like an arrogant fool. I hope the parents in Tempe send a message to him by keeping their children home on the 8th.

Soloman said...

Hey inno... there are a few people who need reminding of who's in charge. We can start with clowns like these... maybe the message will work its way up the ladder?

Thanks for stopping by.. BTW I enjoyed your NASCAR post!

Soloman said...

Nickie - back about 10 years ago when I moved here, Arizona still resembled the old west.

Now since Cali has gone to hell we've had an influx of lefty loons move here (I'm sure you don't miss 'em!), voting in their lefty reps and passing their lefty laws. It's insane... gonna have to move to Montana soon...

Soloman said...

j summett - I don't live in Tempe, and of course there's the fact that I don't have kids. However, I still look out for the kids, because when I'm an old crabass somebody had better be taking care of our freedom!!

Soloman said...

Pedaling - like I mentioned to Nicki, it's the California lefty takeover going on here. Craziness.

Soloman said...

{cough.. cough} Mikki - I {cough} agree. Glad I'm not a Tempe resident..

Soloman said...

Tammy - there have been quite a few changes to the planned "agenda" of the speech. The people spoke and the WH got a clue. Seems that's happening a lot lately, doesn't it?

Soloman said...

Hey TC - what happened to your pic? Are you now the symbol formerly known as "One Ticked Chick?"

Either way - Tempe has Arizona State University, and it is a bastion of liberalism within a rather conservative Phoenix metro area. Well, Tempe along with Scottsdale, which is like Beverly Hills East. However, having said all that - Tempe parents probably like this posturing, since many residents there are employees of the U.

Steve: The Lightning Man said...

My stepson goes to school in Tucson, thankfully not in Tempe....I'd rather have him watch paint dry than watch propaganda....

jay son said...

how many people know the pic is from pink floyd's the wall? the little guy is us, the big guy is the school master. well done soloman. i watched it a hundred times on the old video discs my sister and her husband had, they were as big as lp's.

Soloman said...

Steve, I used to be a painter, so I'll take that as a compliment?

Soloman said...

Yeah j summ - wheen I heard J.D. talking about this on the radio while I drove home Thursday, I couldn't help but think of The Wall. And I remember the old Video Discs - my dad owned a video store back in the 80's and he still has a player and some movies in that format. Those are gonna be collector's items someday..

Anonymous said...

My daughter goes to Rover Elementary. I asked for an "opt out" for her during The One's speech and was denied by the principal. I couldn't arrange my schedule to come pick her up before the speech and told her not to watch it. I decided that if she was being forced to watch the speech I would prevent her from hearing it. I instructed her to wear ear plugs during the speech. Her teacher reprimanded her and told her to take them out as that was showing, "disrespect to Obama".

She overlooks the fact that Obama has been direspecting the will of We The People from day one.

Anyway, I sent a letter to the Tempe superintendent, associate superintendent, and all 5 governing board members requesting an "opt out" option next year. I am expecting it to fall on deaf ears.

Anyone have suggestions on how to organize the parents in the Tempe district to oppose Obama's speech next year?

Anonymous said...

Let me set the record clear...

I am not in any way shape or form an Obama lover. I am a conservative through and through. I voted for Regan, Bush both Jr and Sr. Heck I even campaigned for Oliver North in 1994. I cursed the day he was elected to office and count the days he has left.

But I have to shake my head in disgust. Some of you are attacking Dr. Tate for his decission - you are being nothing less than ignorant. And instructing your kids to be ignorant as well. Your are promoting Ignorance rooted from ignoring is a selective state of unawareness. Instead would it not be better to have your child watch the speech - indeed watch it your self.... and then engage your child in conversation as you share your thoughts and ideas on the subuject. As Aristotle shares his wisdom with us we garner... "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" I have three kids of my own. Are we not sending our kids to school for an education? Have any of you posted here even bothered to read / listen to the president's message before posting on this blog. Be more concerned over the quality of their text books, the commitment of the teaching staff, and the role of sports, music, and extra-curricular activities in the Tempe school system.