Parents object to Obama in class

President Barack Obama will deliver a televised speech to America's school children at 11 a.m. local time Tuesday, Sept. 8. By mid-week, Kilgore school officials were already receiving correspondence from parents who don't want their children to listen to the speech.

White House spokesmen say the speech is about being persistent, succeeding and staying in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

Jody Clements, KISD superintendent, said he's receiving emails from parents requesting their children not be allowed to view the speech.

"I have told the principals at each campus to let the teachers make the decision as to whether they use the speech as part of their teaching curriculum," said Clements.

Clements went on to say that KISD will not interrupt its planned scope and sequence to show the speech live in classes Tuesday.

Much of the national opposition seems to be centered on asking students to study "the presidents and Barack Obama" as if he is apart from the other presidents. Clements did not say what local parents object to.

"While this may be the first day of school for many of the nation's children, it is not for Kilgore ISD. Our teachers and students are already deep into the instructional delivery of the district's instructional content and we want to do whatever we can to protect the lessons and activities they already had planned for that day," said Clements.

"We look forward to hearing this message from our President but we are choosing to allow parents to decide when and where to deliver that message to their children. Once the video has been archived and provided in a format for replay, we'll provide parents with access to the link on the Kilgore ISD website (http://www.kisd.org)," he said

The main two schools involved will be Kilgore High School and Maude Laird Middle School. Kilgore Intermediate and Chandler Elementary School will have limited resources to view the speech, but it can be arranged for those teachers who want to show the speech.

"I have received very little information on what the speech is about and was also told school districts would be receiving a curriculum for the speech that teachers could use, but as of Thursday, KISD had received nothing from the federal government or the Texas Education Agency in regards to President Obama's speech," said Clements.

Any parent who does not wish their child to view this speech should send a note expressing their wishes on Tuesday. That child will be excused from the hearing the president speak.

"Teachers are not required to show the speech to their students," said Clements. "If they choose not to view the speech as part of their daily curriculum, teachers don't have to."

Superintendent Stacey Bryce, Sabine ISD, said his district is making the speech available to students, but it will be presented as part of the daily curriculum only if it falls during a scheduled class that might include a discussion of the topic or the president.

"We have not received any negative input about the President's speech," said Bryce.

The speech is scheduled to be only 20 minutes in length.