Greetings Kossacks!
Teachers in my local school district found an e-mail earlier this evening directing them to follow strict rules regarding President Obama's highly anticipated education speech on Tuesday, September 8.
The central point at one school was the following:
*The school district was directed from above that the speech may only be shown in social studies classes during the live broadcast, and teachers must send home "opt-out" slips to notify parents ahead of time as to their plans.
*Teachers outside of social studies may not show the speech, nor may the speech be shown on any date after September 8.
The school district is located in Athens, GA.
The district's webpage is found here:
http://www.clarke.k12.ga.us
E-mail addresses for the school board are found here:
mewbornd@clarke.k12.ga.us
paynev@clarke.k12.ga.us
nunnallyd@clarke.k12.ga.us
lucaswrighta@clarke.k12.ga.us
knightj@clarke.k12.ga.us
worthyc@clarke.k12.ga.us
sosebeech@clarke.k12.ga.us
huffd@clarke.k12.ga.us
Thorntono@clarke.k12.ga.us
The new superintendent, Dr. Philip Lanoue, can be reached at superintendent@clarke.k12.ga.us
Additionally, the Georgia Department of Education commented here:
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/...
Such a directive places severe limitations on teacher autonomy, especially considering that English/Language Arts curricula in Georgia specifically include the study of major speeches. Additionally, many high school students do not have a social studies class in a given semester, so many students will lose the opportunity to view the speech in a group experience by default. Moreover, there was no previous public outcry locally in regards to the President's speech.
The local newspaper is found at http://www.onlineathens.com
Please write a letter, contact board members, or even the superintendent to intelligently communicate why such a directive is counteractive to the mission of public schools in this great democracy.
Thanks!