My wife is a teacher and she said sarcastically:

[gopiscrap]

Yes, let the birthers, tea baggers, birchers, after birthers and alll the rest of those idiots keep their kids home on Tuesday...that way I'll know which kids to flunk..she was just joking..but she had good point..should these be excused absences or not? She said that when Bush spoke to school kids and ours were in school you could damn well bet that wouldn't be considered as excused!

[DebbieCDC]

1. I like Mrs. gopiscrap's attitude

:evilgrin:

[gopiscrap]

97. We need to do a Seattle/Tacoma

Everett/Olympia DU get together

[The Wielding Truth]

2. You mean "ours weren't in school"?

[gopiscrap]

3. Thanks I was in a hurry and

I WAS carrying on three different conversations

[The Wielding Truth]

102. Oh, no prob. Just clarifying. 3 conversations. I'm proud of you.

[Rincewind]

4. A suggestion,

on the day of the President's speech, when the nut cases keep their inborn offspring home, give a pop test that accounts for 60 or 70 percent of the semesters grade. No make up test allowed. I know your wife can't/wont do this, but it's fun to think about.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

6. DON'T PUNISH THE KIDS

HAVING THE PARENTS THEY HAVE IS PUNISHMENT ENOUGH

[demmiblue]

21. Word!

[DrZeeLit]

76. EXACTLY!!! We should agree that we would rather have an educated population than an ignorant one.

We've seen the damage IGNORANCE can do. Look at all those pathetic people with their complete misunderstanding of our system -- those that think the government isn't running Medicare.

We must continue to take the high road. Even if we don't win the hearts and minds of every one, by exposing one child to education == to reading, history, geography, math, science, the arts, and even physical education -- if one child sees the world beyond his or her parent's narrow strip of hatred and ignorance, then we have accomplished a great deal.

I'm not saying indoctrinate or brainwash -- I'm saying teach and open up the world of the mind and imagination. And attempt, as often as possible, to do that teaching with love and joy. Because I believe life-long learning can be fostered through the positive attitudes of teachers in the early years of school, and to a certain extent even the later years.

Even today, my "best" evaluations are the ones when my students write: she has such a passion for what she teaches that she made me want to learn.

Invite them IN -- do NOT shut them out.

[kentuck]

11. I have another suggestion...

The parents that support the President and his right to talk to students should keep their kids home from school that day. They can watch it at home. Then, the racists won't have to worry about their kids being brainwashed. Fair enough?

[gopiscrap]

99. Yes she wouldn't do that...but...

sometimes she would like to wring the parents neck and give them a pop quiz on life!

[Tim01]

5. HA HA Flunk the republican kids, that is funny. Ha ha, nt

[AuntPatsy]

10. ..................

:dilemma:

[Ikonoklast]

33. Afraid your kid's gonna flunk?

Ha. Ha.

[gopiscrap]

98. OMG This thread has gotten way out of hand

[Old Studentka]

119. Today's Republican kids.....

...do not need a teacher to flunk 'em! Thanks to their wingnut parents, they are perfectly capable of flunking on their own!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

7. They have no excuse - truancy

[Duer 157099]

8. Well I told my son to take note of which of his friends are absent

and tell me who they are, because I will strongly discourage him from remaining friends with them.

Sorry, the lines are being drawn, and we just have taken too much shit already.

[gopiscrap]

9. I agree!!!!

I generally won't allow my daughter to play with Republican children if I can help it!

[create.peace]

12. oh please don't punish the kids, i think children

are natural liberals, and you may be the only examples, they need to see happy healthy liberals!

[Duer 157099]

15. Well, if I *were* happy and healthy... lol

But no, after 8 years of Bush, I'm about as angry and miserable as I could possibly be, and it gets worse every day when I see shit like this happening.

[create.peace]

20. well, then at least they need to see a real family, who talks and doesn't toe the rightwing line! nt

[Duer 157099]

26. Actually, I'll make a note of who they are and then make sure

that The Daily Show or Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow or Bill Mahar or Bill Moyers are on the TV every time they come into my house.

There, that's a compromise I can live with.

[create.peace]

32. great idea!!!nt (you could record them and replay)

[AuntPatsy]

39. I love that new strategy..

[PatSeg]

95. Good idea

Many children rebel against their parents' beliefs. We have quite a few liberals here who were raised by conservatives. We shouldn't judge the children by their parents' actions.

[Sugarcoated]

13. Are you for real?

[Retired AF Dem]

30. I feel sorry for your daughter

kids are kids they are neither Democrats or Republicans. Thier parents are.

[gopiscrap]

57. But more often than not they live the

vales their parents live...don't want selfish asshole values rubbing off on my child

[armyowalgreens]

103. They keep their parents values because people like you won't let them escape ignorance.

Maybe if they were exposed to something other than their own parents views, there would be a greater likelihood that they would learn.

[emilyg]

54. We do.

Don't instill hatred in children.

[lostnfound]

74. Wow.

It seems sad to extend the adult divides down into the ranks of innocent children. It makes me think of the kids whose parents wouldn't let them play with a new friend because the new friend was the 'wrong color' or ethnic background etc. Kids CAN overcome their upbringing, and a long running friendship with a 'Democratic' child could be just the thing to open eyes, over time. Instead, do you want that 'Republican child' to grow up thinking that Democrats are just unfriendly?

[LeftishBrit]

94. There is no such thing as 'Republican children' (or Democratic children, or Labour children, or

Tory children, etc.)

Kids don't vote.

And I think it unfair to punish or exclude children because of the beliefs or attitudes of their parents.

[AuntPatsy]

14. Surely this was sarcasm?

[Duer 157099]

16. No n/t

[AuntPatsy]

24. As far as our youth goes..they are ever learning...sadly the parents have proven they refused

valuable lessons along the way...

I trust minds can change..and with the right friend around...perhaps the parents won't win?

[Duer 157099]

29. Well I've reconsidered my strategy

as posted above

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6468853&mesg_id=6469144

[gopiscrap]

18. I said she said it sarcastically

but she is serious about issuing an unexcused absence if that is the reason given for the child not going to school that day.

[AuntPatsy]

23. Sorry the post was not directed to the op..

[AuntPatsy]

28. By the way. I hope she does go through with issuing the unexcused abscense...

this obvious form of out and out racism should NOT be allowed to be taught in our school public systems...shame on any principle who has agreed to allow racism to stand strong...shame on them...

[demmiblue]

35. A) She has no authority,

B) How the hell do you know anything about that child? How do you know that that child is racist?

Perhaps that child is an out-and-out liberal who is following his/her parents' order?



:wtf:

[AuntPatsy]

38. What difference does such make...wtf back at ya..in this day and age if you don't have

a valid excuse your unexcused even if you are dying????YOu MUST have a Dr's note..spare me your outrage..and if you believe stupidity to be a valid excuse I feel sorry for you..Let the child put the blame where the blame LIES..on the parents period..

[demmiblue]

43. It makes a lot of difference.

I have no outrage. Nor did I say anything about having an excuse.

I simply said that you (meaning anyone) does not know how the child feels.

But if you want to chastise the child, go right ahead.

FYI: a child is not responsible for their parent's actions or political views.

[AuntPatsy]

45. Sorry but in the real world..you know the one..the one where the rules applied as I just stated abov...

racism IS NOT in the books for excused absences..you do realize do' you not the doors that will now be opened if this goes virile?....Omg, people will be keeping there kids home for many more stupid reasons..if you think for one moment that the public schools will not step back in horror over what they have let loose if they excuse this..well....think again..they get money on the kids being in school not out ....


and for the recored...a wtf is outrage to me..

[demmiblue]

47. Take care, AuntPatsy...

you will read this differently tomorrow.

And it is all good. Thank you for your passion.

[AuntPatsy]

49. Well it is late and I am exhausted after this week but can't seem to sleep so if I offended out of

hand I apologize but for what I believe you to be saying..at the moment..I feel my post accurate...

[demmiblue]

52. You just take care of yourself...

no need to apologize. We all believe what we say to be true! I am tired, also!

[AuntPatsy]

56. You just calmed me down...thank you..I needed that..strange...on line too and I hate the internet..

and yes I know I am online..only when I need to unwind..

[noamnety]

17. I understand.

Sometimes Obama's biggest supporters do exactly the opposite of what he preaches.

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. Jesus Fucking Christ. Let the kids be kids. You're teaching your son to treat other kids

badly because of the political ideology of their parents? What a fucking piece of work you are.

As the parent of a gay teenager, I find your thinking totally offensive and off base.

My daughter just started her senior year yesterday, at a new high school. She was way bummed at the end of the day, and went back and forth from anger to tears. "They like to point and giggle" was how she described it.

I hope the kids that your son shuts out of his life become popular and get good grades, then shun him like you taught him to shun them. I really hope that.

[Duer 157099]

31. Here, see my reply above

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6468853&mesg_id=6469144

[cherokeeprogressive]

34. YOU won't make a note of who they are, unless you plan on attending your son's school that day.

Otherwise, it'll still be up to him to do the dirty deed.

Do you think I or any other kid ever went to a friend's house to watch what their parents had on the television? Hardly. I didn't spend much time in front of a television at that time in my life, and I would hope your son doesn't either. Lastly, when I walked into the living room of a friend's house and the parents were there, I couldn't wait to be somewhere else.

Nice backtrack though.

[Duer 157099]

36. OK. Whatever n/t

[AuntPatsy]

37. I am so sorry your daughter has to face that in highschool no less..

I just cannot imagine what she must have gone through..Hope life gets easier for her...I have raised four children and I have to say...though they were not the easiest to raise they would have stuck up for anyone they thought was being maligned simply because they either looked acted or spoke differently....

And I promise you one thing..no one back then after attempting to meet any of them head on, the small two girls included dared do so again without trickery which by the way never worked on them either, as far as I know they never lost a confrontation...and they always stuck up for the one's oppressed..loved that about them..

Wow, you just made me respect my kids more though they are no where near perfect as adults...they do have great qualities..and never pin pointed anyone without knowing them first...which is what I banged into them since the day they could speak...

My husband was raised racist to the core and still has his moments some days strongly but I balanced his input out and though he swore he would never accept umm...a non full white grandchild...I dare anyone to insult his grandchild with him or I in hearing...wooh...wouldn't want to be the one thinking he would find it homourous....

[cherokeeprogressive]

41. I use her as an example for the homophobes I encounter from time to time.

Who in their right mind would make the "choice" of being gay, knowing what they'd have to face after making that "choice"?

Her grandfather, my dad, is pretty bigoted sometimes, but say something about his gay granddaughter and you're at the very least going to be wrestling with a 75 year old man, and will probably be sore afterward to boot.

[AuntPatsy]

48. That is the exact one I have used on my husband who sorry to say is like that but

I think after thirty years of perseverance perhaps he is a little less. I like to think he is...Perhaps that is what all of those oppressed need to have love them...someone who once thought the same as those going after those they now have grown to love..they will protect even more so for some odd reason...perhaps guilt?



I firmly believe in Karma though sometimes the damage someone leaves cannot in my mind ever truly find justice...as in your daughter..regardless. she will live her whole life forward and never forget..that to me is more than sad...which is why I have a hard time with full forgiveness...

[Dreamer Tatum]

60. +1,000,000 nt

[emilyg]

42. You're joking? Right?

[csziggy]

63. Let them stay friends but don't let your kids go to their houses

No telling what kind of brainwashing the parents of those other kids might inflict on yours. Even just the chance that they might have Fox News or one of the wing nut talk shows on would worry me - look at what it has already done to those kids' parent.

[boppers]

69. Seeing somebody on a TV is brainwashing?

Whose argument are you trying to bolster, here?

[csziggy]

79. How do you think the moron parents got convinced that Obama's speech would be subversive?

Watching just once may not do it, but the people I know that do watch Fox or listen to right wing radio do not do it just once. They watch or listen every day, often all day long. They no longer think any other source of information is valid and will not accept news or opinion from any where else. THAT is how they get brainwashed into believing all this crap.

I don't have kids, but I was raised to get information from every source available and taught to compare the different sources to evaluate the validity of the data. I'd think past a certain age if a child has been taught to do those things, they can be exposed to Fox News without damage, but I would hate to have a very young child subjected to it before they are taught critical thinking and comparison for validity of the content.

[gopiscrap]

101. You know it wasn't so much that we didn't let our kids play with

kids from Republican families, it's just that almost all of our social circle are progressive/liberal..there's just not that much interaction...when I was a child it was different...didn't seem as polarized as today.

[BlooInBloo]

64. Stupid. That helps to guarantee that their kids will grow up like their parents...

The goal is to make FEWER of them, not more.

[Dorian Gray]

71. You really want to punish

children for their parent's belief? That seems unfair. They are children, aren't they?

[Hosnon]

89. Oy. Big picture folks, big picture. nt.

[woo me with science]

91. Bookmarking this post

as an example of how DU-ers can be as hateful and freeper-ish as the freepers.

[treestar]

105. Look at it from the opposite pole

If those kids are around yours, they may pick up from your kids, not the other way round.

Your kids have liberal parents and will learn to think for themselves. The poor children with Repuke assholes for parents have to depend on the outside world for real information.

[DainBramaged]

111. There are many here who want us to continue taking shit

either because they are phony liberals or they are just too precious and purer than the rest of us.

I am sick of the politically and purer crowd here.

[JVS]

118. And let us unleash a tidal wave of noogies, wedgies, and pink bellies upon them until they...

renounce their parents!

[Mimosa]

121. Please leave the kids alone!

It's not very grownup to use your kids to 'squeal' on other kids. Kids themselves aren't inclined to be political.

'Lines being drawn'(to quote Duer) against kids is pointless. And sad.

[demmiblue]

19. Oh, bullshit.

Joking or not, she does not have a good point.

Sad, really.

Also, it is not up to her if they are excused absences or not.

[gopiscrap]

22. Actually the school district has not given

that speech as authorization to be absent..so right now it would be an unexcused absence

[demmiblue]

27. You need to reread your OP.

[Zebedeo]

40. Disgraceful

Your wife should be fired for even joking about flunking kids for no reason other than the political philosophy of their parents.

That the thought would even come to her mind reveals that she is ethically unqualified to hold a position of power over anyone.

[demmiblue]

44. Honestly, I kind of think that this OP...

may be full of it.

I agree with what you are saying.

Makes for good DU... in a bad way.

[Zebedeo]

46. I hope you are right

and I am glad to see others in this thread who agree with us.

[demmiblue]

55. I am pretty much convinced.

[Dreamer Tatum]

62. As am I. This was an OP in search of a high five.

If a teacher thinks this is a "war" that justifies even the thought of discriminating against children for the beliefs of their parents, then that teacher needs to find something else to do before that rage actually hurts someone.

[Zebedeo]

90. See post #73

Although it is encouraging to see several posters on this thread who have an understanding of the ethical responsibilities of teachers, it is disheartening to see a number a posters who do not.

[AuntPatsy]

50. Now I am saying your not only disgraceful but out and out ignorant...

what the wife said she said in private with her husband..glad to know your one of those people who think humans should not be human when in a certain proffession...my goodness...another one lost to the choir...

I wonder sometimes what people like you would do if you could seriously read people's minds...heart attack perhaps? NO one is perfection and if you believe any human being alive to be perfection in itself..your deluded...

[gopiscrap]

58. Thank you

for rest of you sqwaking about my wife..she said it in jest with a serious question behind..since the disctrist has not authorized an absence for this purpose she feels justified to issue an unexcused absence if the parents claim that is the reason the child is not in school that day.. for the rest of who have your undies on too tight...lighten the fuck up!

[MikeH]

61. Just to let you know

Just to let you know that the poster Zebedeo is the resident fundamentalist Christian on the Religion/Theology forum.

[Zebedeo]

86. And that makes me

EEEEEEEEVILLLLLL! Be afraid. Be very afraid . . .

[Zebedeo]

88. Where do I start?

"She said it in private with her husband." That hardly provides an excuse for her monstrous idea. The fact that the thought even occurred to her to retaliate against schoolchildren entrusted to her care based on her political disagreement with their parents shows that she needs to be removed from her position of authority. A teacher should never have a mindset that she can wield power over kids by giving them bad grades when their academic work does not merit bad grades. That's the sign of a sociopathic teacher who has no understanding of her ethical responsibilities.

No, I don't think any human being currently on the planet is perfect (least of all me). But if I were a teacher, I would be dedicated to treating my students fairly, and the thought would never occur to me to retaliate against a student or group of students for the political positions of their parents, or even for the students' own political positions. It's just such an outrageous violation of the trust put in the teacher by the students, their parents, the school and society in general. If you still don't "get it," do this exercise: Imagine that the roles are reversed. The teacher is a conservative and she jokes about flunking all the kids in her class whose parents are liberal. Haw, haw, what a funny joke! :sarcasm:

[lib_wit_it]

114. Obviously, you have no understanding of how some people use humor and have no business judging the

OP or his wife, especially over this.

[CoffeeCat]

53. I assumed his wife was joking around...

...after all, he and his wife are on the same page politically. The joke was more about
agreeing with Dem philosophies and finding the Republican shenanigans repulsive.

My husband and I joke around about stuff like that all of the time. We don't really
mean it. The other day, we joked around that our homeowners association should have a
test to ferret out all of the right-wing nut jobs. It's just fun to commiserate with a loved
one.

I sometimes think that people take messageboard stuff waaaay too literally, and people end up
getting attacked for frivolous reasons.

This guy was joking around--and clearly his wife wasn't serious--but some take it as an opportunity
to hop on their soapbox and express their moral outrage.

Oh please.

[gopiscrap]

80. Thank you somebody who figured it out

The rest of you soap boxers, pull the stick out of your ass and breathe deeply and get some air for the first time in a long time! On a serious note though...she will take note of who isn't there for that reeason and make sure that when she talks with the parents, she's just a little more carerful in how she treats them...no joking around..just business.

[Zebedeo]

85. Ho, ho!

What a funny joke! I suppose you would also think it is funny to joke about killing kids whose parents have a different political viewpoint. Woo hoo! If we kill all the kids of Republicans, then there will be no more Republicans in the next generation! Just kidding! See how funny that was?! Ah, it's great to be able to share such funny jokes with like-minded people. What's more fun than fantasizing about committing atrocities against those with whom we have political disagreements? It's so wonderful to be able to enjoy a good belly-laugh at the expense of kids.

[varelse]

92. The only person who has mentioned killing children is YOU

"Atrocity" is a strong word for refusing to excuse an absence from school.

[Zebedeo]

100. After all, it's just a joke, right?

So since it's just a joke, why not make it about slaughtering the little fascists, instead of flunking them? Either way, it's just a harmless joke, right?

And yes, the "joke" told by the teacher in the OP was about "flunking" the kids, not "refusing to excuse an absence from school," as you twisted it.

How would you feel if the shoe were on the other foot, and a conservative teacher found out which of her students had liberal parents, and then joked about "flunking" those students? Would you like to know that your kids' teacher was "joking" about flunking them, thus hurting their chances of getting into the college of their choice, and maybe setting them on a course for a very different and worse future, all to retaliate against you because you are a liberal? Seriously, think about it.

[varelse]

106. Joking about killing children is the same as joking about flunking them

:eyes:

[CoffeeCat]

108. Debate FAIL...

Two parents, who are Democrats, making a joke about failing the kids of Republicans--is similar
to joking about killing kids?

If you're trying to make some kind of point...you totally failed.

Bizarre.

[treestar]

104. This was at home!

Fired! For a joke stated at home!

How could that be enforced!

[lib_wit_it]

112. Over-react much? Fired for even joking to her husband about her feelings regarding parents keeping

their kids home because otherwise they will hear a speech from President Obama. Fired for thought crimes? Ridiculous!

[brettdale]

51. Parents are going to keep their kids at home

So they dont see Obama's speech?

Surly not all right wingers are like this???????????????????????????????

[noamnety]

59. I dunno.

We got DUers advocating keeping kids home if the speech isn't run at school, even though their kids could just watch it online after school is out. Seems like the level of pigheadedness is running about equal at the moment.

I haven't seen anyone here joking that those kids should get flunked, but probably on FR they are.

[The Animator]

65. Couldn't resist a little photoshop fun...

[mnhtnbb]

93. ROFL. This is so funny. You should start a thread with it.

:rofl:

[cherokeeprogressive]

66. That your wife would say something like that, even in private, betrays her lack of objectivity

and I'd be loathe to let her teach my kids anything whatsoever.

Joking or not, she had NO good point. There is no justifiable reason for flunking someone who missed a television broadcast at school because their parents wished that they not see it. She showed her disdain for those who hold opinions counter to hers.

I say this as a former teacher.

[The Animator]

67. Heaven forbid a teacher actually have an opinion? Am I hearing that correctly?

She didn't say this to her class, she was joking with her husband... in private...

And even if she didn't say it out loud, would she still be in deep water for even thinking it? I can appreciate objectivity, or short of that, at least the appearance of objectivity. But you cannot honestly expect me to believe that you've never express frustration about some bonehead that happens to disagree with you.

This might not even be about political differences either... she is an educator, being confronted by willful ignorance. Parents are supposed help teachers by encouraging their children to think... not keep their kids out of school for fear that they MIGHT think.

[gopiscrap]

81. Thank you that was part of her underlying point

and to cherokee...she has been a teacher for 24 years and was teacher of the year one year in the State of Washington and runner up in the nation that year!!! Parents flock to get their kids in her class!!!

[gopiscrap]

82. Dude get a grip....you take yourself way too seriously

She would never flunk a kid for even campaigning for a Repub in her class..she said it as a sarcastic joke...toparrott right wing thought..just so you know she has taught for over 20 years...been teacher of the year in Washington and 1st runner up to that honor nationally...parents flock to get their kids in her class!!!

[reggie the dog]

68. If the parents call in for the kid

it is an excused absence. What time is this going to be on TV for the kids? What network? I teach English on Tuesday here in France but I imagine that with the time difference it will not be possible to show my students.

[gopiscrap]

83. 2pm Eastern, 11 AM Pacific (Daylight time)

[lib_wit_it]

115. In our school district, it would not be an excused absence. A written excuse is required by law, eve...

if the parent had called in. And not wanting the child to see less than an hour of the president on television would not be a legal excuse to miss a day of school, nor a half day.

[Dorian Gray]

70. It's not always the children's fault

so they shouldn't be punished for the decisions their parents make.

[1Hippiechick]

72. To make this an excused absence opens the door for idiots to protest any/every item in curriculum.

Opens the doors to Repukes for book burnings, etc., and sets us back.

[noamnety]

77. I wonder how many are consistent in this view

At schools where it's not being shown, some parents are talking about keeping their kids home to watch it live.

I suspect some think those kids should be excused, while others who stay home in protest should be punished.

[1Hippiechick]

84. Something to ponder. For me, it still goes back to the curriculum - if parents keep their kids home

b/c they are opposed to a classroom/school event that is or is not happening, and that absence is counted as excused, it opens the door for parents to keep their kids out of school via protest for whatever. Then, what happens to the child's attendance/education? There have to be attendance rules and regs w/definitions of what constitutes un/excused absences, and there has to be a limit to the number of absences. While I don't agree w/the speech not being aired in the classroom, I equally don't agree to keep a child out of school to stay home and watch it. What happens to the other classroom work in other subjects that will be missed that day? The speech will air on the news or be on YouTube. And, another opportunity to educate one's child about the ugly reality of politics and racism in our country. How ironic that his speech is about education!

[davidpdx]

73. I hope she wasn't joking

Let the red neck ignorant inbreed parents keep their kids home. Flunk'em, who the fuck cares. They can work at a gas station.

[gopiscrap]

96. No she was joking

she is actually very loving towards all the kids she has...they come from a tough crowd...about 1/3 economically diadvantaged, 1/3 military and a third middle to upper class...she wouldn't do that, but she did have 4 of 27 parents say they were keeping their kids out and whether they do that or not is another question...however she has no qualms about giving an unexcused absence and lowering the grade in some way because the district has not made it a policy to excuse any child from school that day because of the speech.

[Myrina]

75. Give 'em a homework assignment:

For all the ones being kept home: Read and report on the entire Constitution and Bill of Rights, 1000 words.
And it must be read outloud with their parents in order for them to get the 'unexcused absence' removed from their record.

[geek_sabre]

78. I think there is a serious problem with any teacher

"taking note" of students who's parents may or not be republican. While you may not give harsher grades because of it, it is very possible that even the slightest bias towards a student by a teacher will be picked up by them, and they will resent it, and either shut them out or misbehave.

The bottom line is, kids are kids. The parents have the last say over whether the kids go to school or not, and the kids shouldn't be singled out because of it. I can accept it being an unexcused absence, but it shouldn't affect their grade, and the teacher and their classmates' parent's shouldn't judge the kids for the beliefs of their parents. Kids have enough issues dealing with bullying among their peers, do we really need teachers and parents bullying as well?

Imagine bigot teachers and parents "taking note" of which students participated in the National Day of Silence.

[Mimosa]

122. You said it best, Geek_Sabre n/t

[recycled]

87. I really, really, really, really wish

that people who should know better didn't call others 'idiots,' et. al. Some people are indeed ignorant, and that includes unconscious racists. But in any case, the children should never be treated a certain way because of their parents.

[varelse]

107. I don't have a problem with your wife joking about this

but she needs to keep her own politics out of the equation when she's acting in an official capacity as a teacher. I have no doubt that after 24 years experience as a teacher, she knows this and will not cross the line. I can only wish that all teachers (and school administrators, and bus drivers, etc) would recognize the boundaries as clearly.

[guruoo]

109. I'd just burn it to DVD and then run it in class a day later than expected.

[lib_wit_it]

113. Love your idea!

[Skittles]

110. MS. GOPISCRAP IS MY KIND OF GAL

YES INDEED

[joshcryer]

Mind blown by this thread. I hope you are sufficiently anonymous because someone might try to get...

...your wife fired.

[joshcryer]

116. dupe

dupe

[yodoobo]

117. This is one really nice side effect

Is that moving forward, kids and families will know who the enemy is, and who they should avoid.

Before, they could usually blend in, but now with this historic speech as a catalyst that will no longer be possible.

These right wing idiots will successfully self identify themselves because they are unable to control their hatred.

[Mimosa]

120. Eeek: punishing kids for their parents actions is wrong

I was shocked by the OP. It made me sad. I was just a tyke in parochial or public schools during the era civil rights movement. Even in my own non-racist family there were disagreements. Maybe the culture wasn't as polarised as it is now. I don't know because grownups didn't seem to try to impart their views to us kids, excepting a few very liberal nuns. *lol* My mother was an NAACP supporter and had friends of all ethnicities. My grandfather thought MLK took things too far. The two argued over the breakfast table at times but not often.

Kids will hear things but ultimately will make up their own minds as we did. If a teacher treats a child with bias because of a stupid action of the parents she will feel she has been treated unfairly. Not so good a way to reach or teach a child.

Politics need to be kept out of the classroom, learning needs to be in it. I thought it was a bad idea for Obama to address the kids mainly because my schooldays were before any president thought to pay special attention to kids. When I first read about it I anticipated the negative reaction which has happened.