They dont require the pledge of allegiance or prayer but a momentt with Obama yeah thats required
Dade kids can opt out of speech - South Florida - MiamiHerald.com
Miami-Dade parents will be able to ask schools to keep their kids out of class during President Barack Obama's back-to-school speech Tuesday.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YNz39n9lT8]YouTube - Broward require Obama speech[/ame]
Children in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties will have the option of not watching President Barack Obama's live back-to-school speech Tuesday, but Broward officials are holding firm on their decision that students should tune in.
Broward will broadcast the president's address live on the district's television station.
``I know that this is a quality teachable moment that we need to capture for our students,'' said Broward Schools Superintendent Jim Notter.
But Miami-Dade schools will not mass broadcast the speech, spokesman John Schuster said. Teachers who wish to show the address will have to use the live stream from the White House website. What students who opt out will do during the 15- or 20-minute speech is up to each school.
The Miami-Dade school district made its decision following a recommendation from its attorney -- and after several dozen parents called or e-mailed Friday objecting to their kids being forced to watch a speech they say could be political.
``The timing, to me, it's not kosher,'' said Sebastian Martinez of Kendall, who is choosing not to let his three kids watch the speech at Auburndale Elementary on Tuesday.
``For the first time, he's getting a downturn in the polls because of the healthcare plan. The timing it seems to me is political, and I don't like the idea of getting our children involved in politics,'' Martinez said.
Parents in Miami-Dade will receive an automated phone call over the weekend asking them to send a note to school Tuesday if they don't want their child to watch the speech.
The Florida Department of Education did not mandate a policy for schools statewide. In a statement, Education Commissioner Eric Smith told each district to decide and called the speech ``a unique opportunity where a sitting president is addressing school-age children across our country.''
CONTROVERSIAL
Tuesday's address will not be the first time a president speaks to children -- or the first time doing so has stirred controversy. A 1991 noontime speech to students by Republican President George H.W. Bush broadcast live on television and encouraging kids to work hard and say no to drugs drew criticism from Democrats in Congress.
In 1988, C-SPAN and an educational network broadcast remarks and a question-and-answer session junior high school students held with President Ronald Reagan, also a Republican -- which included questions about policies like taxes.
Critics of Obama's speech say this time is different because the White House released sample lesson plans for teachers to design activities around the speech.
The White House has since revised some activities, including changing one from writing letters to themselves ``about what they can do to help the president'' to letters about how to achieve educational goals.
Earlier in the week, Jim Greer, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, issued a statement saying the speech would be using ``taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda.''
Greer made appearances Thursday night on cable news shows. Conservative television and radio hosts have kept the issue in the limelight, and some school districts across the country have decided not to show the speech or to let parents opt their children out of it.
The White House has repeatedly said the speech, about personal responsibility and hard work, is nonpartisan and not mandatory. The text of the speech will be available online Monday.
Dade kids can opt out of speech - South Florida - MiamiHerald.com
Dade kids can opt out of speech - South Florida - MiamiHerald.com
Miami-Dade parents will be able to ask schools to keep their kids out of class during President Barack Obama's back-to-school speech Tuesday.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YNz39n9lT8]YouTube - Broward require Obama speech[/ame]
Children in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties will have the option of not watching President Barack Obama's live back-to-school speech Tuesday, but Broward officials are holding firm on their decision that students should tune in.
Broward will broadcast the president's address live on the district's television station.
``I know that this is a quality teachable moment that we need to capture for our students,'' said Broward Schools Superintendent Jim Notter.
But Miami-Dade schools will not mass broadcast the speech, spokesman John Schuster said. Teachers who wish to show the address will have to use the live stream from the White House website. What students who opt out will do during the 15- or 20-minute speech is up to each school.
The Miami-Dade school district made its decision following a recommendation from its attorney -- and after several dozen parents called or e-mailed Friday objecting to their kids being forced to watch a speech they say could be political.
``The timing, to me, it's not kosher,'' said Sebastian Martinez of Kendall, who is choosing not to let his three kids watch the speech at Auburndale Elementary on Tuesday.
``For the first time, he's getting a downturn in the polls because of the healthcare plan. The timing it seems to me is political, and I don't like the idea of getting our children involved in politics,'' Martinez said.
Parents in Miami-Dade will receive an automated phone call over the weekend asking them to send a note to school Tuesday if they don't want their child to watch the speech.
The Florida Department of Education did not mandate a policy for schools statewide. In a statement, Education Commissioner Eric Smith told each district to decide and called the speech ``a unique opportunity where a sitting president is addressing school-age children across our country.''
CONTROVERSIAL
Tuesday's address will not be the first time a president speaks to children -- or the first time doing so has stirred controversy. A 1991 noontime speech to students by Republican President George H.W. Bush broadcast live on television and encouraging kids to work hard and say no to drugs drew criticism from Democrats in Congress.
In 1988, C-SPAN and an educational network broadcast remarks and a question-and-answer session junior high school students held with President Ronald Reagan, also a Republican -- which included questions about policies like taxes.
Critics of Obama's speech say this time is different because the White House released sample lesson plans for teachers to design activities around the speech.
The White House has since revised some activities, including changing one from writing letters to themselves ``about what they can do to help the president'' to letters about how to achieve educational goals.
Earlier in the week, Jim Greer, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, issued a statement saying the speech would be using ``taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda.''
Greer made appearances Thursday night on cable news shows. Conservative television and radio hosts have kept the issue in the limelight, and some school districts across the country have decided not to show the speech or to let parents opt their children out of it.
The White House has repeatedly said the speech, about personal responsibility and hard work, is nonpartisan and not mandatory. The text of the speech will be available online Monday.
Dade kids can opt out of speech - South Florida - MiamiHerald.com
