This was e-mailed to me this morning- Why is the lunacy of the extreme fringe right wing allowed to control the conversation in the country? Does anyone think The Director of Teaching & Learning will feel foolish on Wednesday morning after all is said and done?
EASTON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
EDUCATION CENTER * 1801 BUSHKILL DRIVE * EASTON , PA 18040-8186 Phone:
610-250-2400 ext. 35036 Fax: 610-250-9730 STEPHEN FURST, DIRECTOR OF TEACHING & LEARNING (K-12)
September 5, 2009
To Members of the Easton Area School Community:
In response to the numerous telephone calls and e-mails from members of the Easton Area community expressing concern over President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday and the national firestorm of protest that has ensued, the Easton Area School District Administration has decided to secure a recording of Tuesday's Presidential address for administrative review rather than allow our staff members to show it at their discretion in their classrooms. Also, given the short notice of this event, we could not guarantee that every student would have the opportunity to view the President's speech; therefore, acquiring a copy of the speech for possible future use by our teaching staff, in a manner consistent with school district policy, seems to be a more prudent and equitable initial approach to dealing with this controversial issue.
During the week of September 7th, the District Administration will review the Presidential speech and accompanying lesson plans to ascertain if their use is appropriate for classroom presentation and, if deemed necessary, will decide on a venue and procedure for future use by our staff members. This proactive approach to viewing the Presidential speech should not be interpreted as a slight to our President or the judgment of our staff members; rather, the District Administration is attempting to balance the benefits our students will gain from viewing this speech during the school day against the potential disruption that may occur to the educational process on Tuesday, September 8th, and beyond.
In the meantime, we encourage families to discuss this issue as they deem appropriate and view the speech should they so decide, as we believe that our parents are presently in the best position to deal with and manage this situation for the benefit of their children.
Totally agree with your comments Donald. As if Easton doesn't have anything else to worry about. They just settle a secretary strike and now they add more controversy by doing something stupid like this. How much more idiocy can the EASD administration exude?? He's our PRESIDENT for God's sake! I've heard that this administrator, in particular, has paranoia attacks often which result in knee jerk reactions. Come to your senses Easton! Let the kids watch their president discuss staying in school and getting good grades!!!! Thanks for posting your blog.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. It's a sad time in this country that it has become so partisan that POTUS has been accused of pushing an agenda for talking about pursuing an education. I might be corrected, but Easton, Bethlehem, and Allentown have high dropout rates especially among minorities. An African American president is an excellent role model for a speech. Guy
ReplyDeleteAs an update to your rant on how the Easton Area School District handled the viewing of the Obama speech, once the opinions of parents and community members were heard and considered on their merits, it was decided that ALL Easton Area schools would show the Obama speech to their students unless a parent requested otherwise for his/her child.
ReplyDeleteDoes it really seem foolish for educational leaders to actually LISTEN to the concerns of the taxpayers before making a decision rather than simply delegate the responsibility to the principals and teachers?