The Three R's in the Age of Obama: Rappin', Revolution and Radicalism
By: Michelle Malkin
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, September 25, 2009
When the White House announced plans for the president's nationwide address to schoolchildren two weeks ago, worried parents were dismissed as "kooks." We pointed to the subtext of "social justice" activism rampant in American classrooms. It's time for a big fat Told You So.
Out of the spotlight, politicized lessons continue to supplant core academics.
Earlier this year, at the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington Township, N.J., schoolchildren were instructed to memorize a paean to Barack Obama. A video uploaded to the YouTube account of Charisse Carney-Nunes, author of the children's book "I Am Barack Obama" and a self-described Harvard Law "schoolmate" of the president's, showed students lined up in the auditorium snapping their fingers and chanting in unison:
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said all should lend a hand to make the country strong again.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today, equal work means equal pay.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said take a stand, make sure everyone gets a chance.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama.
Yeah! Barack Hussein Obama.
Hello, Mr. President, we honor you today
For all your great accomplishments, we all do say hooray.
Hooray, Mr. President, you are No. 1
The first black American to lead this nation.
Acknowledging the historic nature of Obama's presidency ("the first black American") is one thing. Deifying him with creepy spiritual references ("red, yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight" is cribbed from the famous hymn "Jesus Loves the Little Children"; cheering "you are No. 1") is quite another. Burlington Township school officials said Thursday the recording and dissemination of the video was "unauthorized," but acknowledged that the Obama praise session was part of the students' official curriculum.
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Lost in all the chanting for change is the core commitment to impart actual knowledge. For progressives in the Age of Obama, setting high academic standards is secondary to the self-improvement of the "whole child" and "service" to the cause of social justice.
Out: readin', writin' and 'rithmetic. In: rappin', revolution and radicalism. Mmm, mmm, mmm.
FrontPage Magazine - The Three R's in the Age of Obama: Rappin', Revolution and Radicalism
By: Michelle Malkin
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, September 25, 2009
When the White House announced plans for the president's nationwide address to schoolchildren two weeks ago, worried parents were dismissed as "kooks." We pointed to the subtext of "social justice" activism rampant in American classrooms. It's time for a big fat Told You So.
Out of the spotlight, politicized lessons continue to supplant core academics.
Earlier this year, at the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington Township, N.J., schoolchildren were instructed to memorize a paean to Barack Obama. A video uploaded to the YouTube account of Charisse Carney-Nunes, author of the children's book "I Am Barack Obama" and a self-described Harvard Law "schoolmate" of the president's, showed students lined up in the auditorium snapping their fingers and chanting in unison:
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said all should lend a hand to make the country strong again.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today, equal work means equal pay.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said take a stand, make sure everyone gets a chance.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama.
Yeah! Barack Hussein Obama.
Hello, Mr. President, we honor you today
For all your great accomplishments, we all do say hooray.
Hooray, Mr. President, you are No. 1
The first black American to lead this nation.
Acknowledging the historic nature of Obama's presidency ("the first black American") is one thing. Deifying him with creepy spiritual references ("red, yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight" is cribbed from the famous hymn "Jesus Loves the Little Children"; cheering "you are No. 1") is quite another. Burlington Township school officials said Thursday the recording and dissemination of the video was "unauthorized," but acknowledged that the Obama praise session was part of the students' official curriculum.
---
Lost in all the chanting for change is the core commitment to impart actual knowledge. For progressives in the Age of Obama, setting high academic standards is secondary to the self-improvement of the "whole child" and "service" to the cause of social justice.
Out: readin', writin' and 'rithmetic. In: rappin', revolution and radicalism. Mmm, mmm, mmm.
FrontPage Magazine - The Three R's in the Age of Obama: Rappin', Revolution and Radicalism
