"My Education, My Future" (Source: whitehouse.gov)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2009 AT 3:37 PM "My Education, My Future" Posted by Jesse Lee

At noon on Tuesday, September 8th the President will be welcoming America’s students back to school – after all, sometimes they need a little extra motivation after a glorious summer. The President has spoken often about the responsibility parents have for their children and their education, but in this message he’ll urge students to take personal responsibility for their own education, to set goals, and to not only stay in school but make the most of it. To help make sure as many school districts, classrooms, and students are able to get this message we have launched a resources page where you can find out almost anything you’d want to know. There’s information on how you can watch it on TV or on the internet, classroom activities that teachers can engage their students in around the speech, even the satellite coordinates for school districts that want to access the feed. We’ve also put together a couple PSAs to help get the word out, one from the President and one for those students who might find NASCAR drivers a little more exciting than the President:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/
http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf
http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/7-12.pdf
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html
http://www.ed.gov/iamwhatilearn/index.html
http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml

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Note: Click on http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/ to view everything on the page.

Note: The following text SNIPPET is a quote:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/

THE PRESIDENT’S BACK-TO-SCHOOL MESSAGE TO AMERICA’S STUDENTS
Help get America’s students engaged! On Tuesday, September 8 — the first day of school for many students — the President will talk directly to students across the country on the importance of taking responsibility for their education, challenging them to set goals and do everything they can to succeed. We want to make sure that as many schools and classrooms nationwide can participate in this special opportunity, so we are making the President’s address and all the information that comes with it available as widely as possible. Whether you are a teacher, a school board member, or a member of the media, find information below to help you watch and be engaged with the President in welcoming our students back to school.
When

Tuesday, September 8th, at 12:00 PM (EDT)
How to Watch

The President’s message will be streamed live on WhiteHouse.gov/live, and broadcast live on C-Span
Downloadable video of the speech will be made available on this page later that day as it becomes available
For school districts hoping to access the satellite feed, it will be available beginning at 11:00 AM (EDT) using the following coordinates:
* Galaxy 28/Transponder 17, Slot C (9 MHz)
* Uplink Frequency 14344.5 Horizontal
* Downlink Frequency 12044.5 Vertical
Classroom Engagement Resources

Menu of classroom activities for students in grades preK-6 to stimulate discussion on the importance of education in students’ lives
Menu of classroom activities for students in grades 7-12 to stimulate discussion on the importance of education in students’ lives
A video contest for students will be launched soon - details will be available at http://www.ed.gov
Additional Resources

Watch the PSA with NASCAR drivers below, and spread the word (find the direct link and the code to embed it in your website by clicking the triangle in the bottom right of the video):

/media/9980/attachments/20_usc_3403_090409.pdf

www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=853

Press Release

September 4, 2009

Parents Get Out of the Way – We Want Your Children

www.LC.org

Obama and DOE Violate Federal Law Enlisting Kids in Schools to Push Agenda

Washington, D.C. – In what is an unprecedented and an illegal political move, President Obama has announced that on Tuesday, September 8, he will bypass parents and directly target their children in an effort to implement his political agenda. Millions of parents are justifiably outraged. Federal law expressly forbids the Secretary of Education or any officer from exercising “any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution, school, or school system.” 20 U.S.C. § 3403. The President must cease this illegal activity.

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently sent a letter to school principals encouraging them to cease academic instruction and have classes tune in to a live speech Obama will give to children during school hours on Tuesday at noon. The DOE even provided lesson plans, sample activities and questions that teachers can use to promote the event. The letter encourages teachers to “build background knowledge about the president by reading books about Barack Obama.”

Although, due to the backlash, some of the most offensive language has been softened, students as young as kindergarten will, nonetheless, be asked: “Why is it important that we listen to the President?” and then, initially, were to be asked to write about “what they can do to help the president.” Their writings would later be used “to make students accountable to their goals.”

DOE Secretary Duncan is no moderate. He is a former Chicago politician who chose Kevin Jennings as Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Jennings was the founder of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network), a radical group that promotes forced acceptance of homosexuality and transsexuality in schools to children as young as five.

Parents are urged to demand that schools not participate. If the school allows Obama and the DOE to indoctrinate school children, parents ought to opt their children out of this illegal program.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: “Obama has pushed his political agenda to the extreme by forcing himself on America’s children. Obama’s political agenda on healthcare and his expansive vision for government is being rejected by the American people. Now Obama is after our children, who, like some socialist members of Congress, have not read the healthcare bill. Americans do not appreciate the President’s attempt to use our children as political pawns in his game of chess. Mr. President, you must abide by the rule of law and stop this illegal activity. Our children do not belong to you.”

It's isn't necessisarily the speech that concerns me. It is the instructions to teachers on what to do after the speech.

Menu of Classroom Activities (Grades 7‐12)
President Obama’s Address to Students Across America
During the Speech
•
Teachers might conduct a “listening with purpose” exercise based on the following ideas: personal responsibility, goals, and persistence. Teachers might ask pairs of students to create a word bank at the top of a notes page that has been divided into two columns. On the right‐hand side, students could take notes (trying to capture direct quotations or main ideas) while President Obama talks about personal responsibility, goals, or persistence. At the end of the speech, students could write the corresponding terms from the word bank in the left‐hand column, to increase retention and deepen their understanding of an important aspect of the speech.
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Teachers might conduct a “listening with purpose” exercise based on the themes of inspiration and challenges. Using a similar double‐column notes page as the one described above, teachers could focus students on quotations that either propose a specific challenge to them or that inspire them in some meaningful way. Students could do this activity individually, in pairs, or in groups.
Transition/Quick Review
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Teachers could ask students to look over their notes and collaborate in pairs or small groups. Teachers might circulate and ask students questions, such as:
What more could we add to our notes?
What are the most important words in the speech?
What title would you give the speech?
What is the thesis of the speech?
After the Speech
Guided Discussion:
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What resonated with you from President Obama’s speech? What lines or phrases do you remember?
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Whom is President Obama addressing? How do you know? Describe his audience.
•
We heard President Obama mention the importance of personal responsibility. In your life, who exemplifies this kind of responsibility? How? Give examples.
•
How are the individuals in this classroom similar? How is each student different?
•
Suppose President Obama were to give another speech about being educationally successful. To whom would he speak? Why? What would the president say?
•
What are the three most important words in the speech? Rank them.
•
Is President Obama inspiring you to do anything? Is he challenging you to do anything?
•
What do you believe are the challenges of your generation?
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How can you be a part of addressing these challenges?
Video Project:
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Teachers could encourage students to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s “I Am What I Learn” video contest. On September 8, the Department of Education will invite students age 13 and older to submit a video no longer than two minutes in length, explaining why education is important and how education will help them achieve their dreams. Teachers are welcome to incorporate the same or a similar video project into a classroom assignment. More details will be released via www.ed.gov.
Menu of Classroom Activities (Grades 7‐12)
President Obama’s Address to Students Across America
Transition/Quick Review
•
Teachers could introduce goal‐setting activities in the following way to make the most of extension activities:
“When you set a goal, you envision a target that you are going to reach over time. Goals are best when they are “Challenging,” “Attainable,” and “Needed” (CAN). For example, a good goal might be: ‘I want to boost my average grade by one letter grade this year so I can show colleges that I am prepared.’ But, every good goal also needs steps that guide the way. These steps keep you on track toward achieving your goal. For example, my first step might be improving in all of my subjects by one letter grade. My second step might be completing 100‐percent of my homework in all of my classes during the first week of school. My third step might be taking an extra hour to study for all of my tests during each marking period. My fourth step might be attending a tutoring session or getting an adult to help me whenever I do not understand something. My last step might be the most important: asking an adult in my life to check on me often to make sure that I am completing each of my steps. Your steps should add up to your goal. If they don’t, that’s okay; we fix them until they do!
Let’s hear another example of an academic goal for the year and decide what steps would help to achieve that goal…
Now I want you to write your personal academic goal for this year and the steps that you will take to achieve it. We can revise our steps each marking period to make sure we are on track.”
Extension of the Speech
Teachers could extend learning by having students:
•
Create decorated goals and steps on material that is the size of an index card. The index cards could be formatted as an inviting graphic organizer with a space for the goal at the top and several steps in the remaining space. Cards could be hung in the classroom to create a culture of goal setting, persistence, and success, and for the purpose of periodic review. (See the “Example Handout” section.)
•
Create posters of their goals. Posters could be formatted in quadrants, puzzle pieces, or trails marked as steps. These also could be hung around the room, to be reviewed periodically and to create a classroom culture of goal setting and for the purpose of periodic review.
•
Interview and share their goals with one another and the class, establishing community support for their goals.
•
Create incentives or contests for achieving their personal goals.
•
Write about goals and the steps to achieve them in a variety of genres such as poems, songs, or personal essays.
•
Create artistic representations of goals and the steps to achieve them.
Menu of Classroom Activities (Grades 7‐12)
President Obama’s Address to Students Across America
Example Handout
(Please see below.)

Rather than a strengths and weaknesses assessment by each student, perhaps they should analyze the speech in light of this passage from Federalist #46

Were it admitted, however, that the Federal government may feel an equal disposition with the State governments to extend its power beyond the due limits, the latter would still have the advantage in the means of defeating such encroachments. If an act of a particular State, though unfriendly to the national government, be generally popular in that State and should not too grossly violate the oaths of the State officers, it is executed immediately and, of course, by means on the spot and depending on the State alone. The opposition of the federal government, or the interposition of federal officers, would but inflame the zeal of all parties on the side of the State, and the evil could not be prevented or repaired, if at all, without the employment of means which must always be resorted to with reluctance and difficulty. On the other hand, should an unwarrantable measure of the federal government be unpopular in particular States, which would seldom fail to be the case, or even a warrantable measure be so, which may sometimes be the case, the means of opposition to it are powerful and at hand. The disquietude of the people; their repugnance and, perhaps, refusal to co-operate with the officers of the Union; the frowns of the executive magistracy of the State; the embarrassments created by legislative devices, which would often be added on such occasions, would oppose, in any State, difficulties not to be despised; would form, in a large State, very serious impediments; and where the sentiments of several adjoining States happened to be in unison, would present obstructions which the federal government would hardly be willing to encounter.

1) In light of the President's address to the students of the United States, who attend public schools under the jurisdiction of state and local government, are the citizens who protest this speech the type of "obstructions" anticipated by James Madison in Federalist #46?

2) What has happened in the United States that has made the federal government significantly stronger than what James Madison espoused in this essay?

3) Do you envision any sentiment so strong (a disquietude among the people so significant) in several states which would impede the federal government to such an extent as to be so serious that the federal government would ever refrain from encroaching on powers reserved to the states? Are the citizens involved enough in this system of government as to influence the federal government's actions? Should they be?

4) In the current health care debate, in light of Federalist #46, are the protests of the people legitimate? Do citizens have a responsibility to push back against their government? If so, why? If not, why not? Please frame your answer in light of Federalist #46.

At least dealing with these questions, they would learn something about civics and history of American political thought. Isn't this supposed to be about civics?

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