Daughter Told To Watch SOTU Tonight

Sorry. I have no link just my 13 year old coming in the door this afternoon informing me that her homework was to watch the SOTU speech tonight. Her history teacher said they were to watch it in it's entirety then report on what you found to be good points, list atleast 3 people who attended, and how you could help him make the U. S. a better place.

No mention of what you thought the bad points may be. Just report on what you liked and how you could help him achieve his goals.

I'm all about being a better citizen and teaching my children to do the same. But this assignment smacks of indoctrination to me.

And yes. If it were Bush or Clinton I would feel the same.

If they want a report they should allow good and bad opinions. Teaching the kids to only focus on the good and ignore the bad is not my idea of fair or honest.

I know one assignment that won't be handed in tomorrow morning. I feel it is the principled thing to do. The right thing for me to do.

We will sit down as a family and watch this tonight and discuss it together... But there wil be no "praise" paper turned in.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

If you feel that strongly (and I agree with the pros/cons idea) than that is how your daughter should write her paper. Choosing not to do the assignment does not make your point and hurts the student, in the process. That is not protest of the teacher's failing to teach the students to look at all sides of a situation, that is juvenile and sends your kid the wrong message. Don't like something? Just don't do it... Nah... wrong road to take, in this situation (IMO). If I had been taught that, I would have never made it through Univ. given all of the assignments I considered lame that I had to do. I think it's great that you know what your kid is being asked to do in school and that you intend to discuss politics as a family, but be very careful about walking the line between teaching her how to question for herself, while also teaching her how to succeed in school. Both are worth goals.

Originally posted by Kangaruex4Ewe
Sorry. I have no link just my 13 year old coming in the door this afternoon informing me that her homework was to watch the SOTU speech tonight. Her history teacher said they were to watch it in it's entirety then report on what you found to be good points, list atleast 3 people who attended, and how you could help him make the U. S. a better place.

No mention of what you thought the bad points may be. Just report on what you liked and how you could help him achieve his goals.

I'm all about being a better citizen and teaching my children to do the same. But this assignment smacks of indoctrination to me.

And yes. If it were Bush or Clinton I would feel the same.

If they want a report they should allow good and bad opinions. Teaching the kids to only focus on the good and ignore the bad is not my idea of fair or honest.

I know one assignment that won't be handed in tomorrow morning. I feel it is the principled thing to do. The right thing for me to do.

We will sit down as a family and watch this tonight and discuss it together... But there wil be no "praise" paper handed in.

They had us do the same thing when I was in middle school, nothing really new

there is nothing wrong with this assignment, you need to calm down and let your kid do her homework. Really take a deep breath, this isn't such a big deal.... Stop teaching your children to be afraid the world, instead of informed about it.

Here. If she finds 3 good points. Let her write them down. If she finds none and nothing but what she sees as bad points. Let her write them down. This teacher is not naive enough to think that all of these kids are going to agree with everything the president says. Some will disagree with everything. Some will agree with everything.

Let her write it how she wants. It's her paper. Perhaps she will find no points that she feels are good. If that is the case, then she needs to say that in her report.

That said, I am glad to see some one encouraging these kids to get involved with their government....Indoctrination? hardly....

Allow her to watch the speech. Let her write it on her own terms. If she finds points that she likes. Great. Let her write that. If she doesn't. Great let her write that.

Ask yourself. Does your daughter have a problem with this assignment? If not, then I think you should let it go. If she objects to doing this... Which I doubt she does... Then she has every right to conscientiously object to the assignment and any reasonable teacher would understand and give her a passing grade.... But... some how I think that you are the only one upset about it in your house...

As long as she is allowed to state her opinion and you or no one else tries to influence what her opinion is... Then great... LET HER DO IT! She has every right to her opinion. Are you afraid she might have a different one then yours or something? I am glad to see her being encouraged to get involved with our government and politics. She is our future... Wish her luck from ATS!

I had to do this back when I was younger and Bush was in office. I fell asleep and BSed my way through the report. I don't like how they don't make it part of the assignment to point out bad ideas like someone else said, but otherwise, I probably wouldn't worry too awful much. I understand where you're coming from, but it's probably not quite as bad as what you might think.


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After reading what the OP stated, it can be stated, that it is a good thing that you as a parent are paying attention to what all your child(ren) are being taught in school these days and what assignments that they are being asked to complete and turn in. However, it is curious as to why the such short turn around time on such an assignment, if the speech is tonight, and the teacher is expecting that the paper the next day. The other question should be asked, is this a study in civics or social studies, or history? And the grade level of the child. If the grade level is elementary school, the question is, does the teacher really expect students that are in grades 1 through 5 to really sit and watch a political speech and really understand what all the president is talking about? And what exactly is the lesson that the teacher is hoping that the child is suppose to learn from this speech?
Have you as a parent called and ask the teacher questions about such? Though sitting and discussing with your family is probably one of the best things that you could do, and then have your child write a report based off of that discussion, double checking it and having the child turn it in, and then look at the grade the teacher gives your child. If the teacher fails the child based off of political view points then you would have grounds to complain and demand that the child be put into another class.

Originally posted by Kangaruex4Ewe
We will sit down as a family and watch this tonight and discuss it together... But there wil be no "praise" paper turned in.

You are going in assuming nothing will be praiseworthy. Perhaps that's where the indoctrination starts?

This is an opinion now but why not let her watch it and come to her own conclusions on whether or not it was good or bad? I think a lot of times we do not allow our children to form idea's and options on their own for another reason or just because we disagree with the subject matter. Not saying you are doing so at all now, but I say let her watch it, let her develop her own thoughts on the subject. It is not an illegal endeavor it is just trying to get them to pay attention to what is going on in the world.

reply to post by washingtonsghost


Was I not calm? I felt pretty calm. The assumption that I am making my daughter scared of the world is amusing since she generally knows more about current events and the state of our economy than most adults. She is fully aware of the world around her and isn't timid about it at all.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


I remember doing the same thing in school. Didn't think anything of it. Sounds like the teacher is trying to get your kid interested in American Government. Besides, how in the heck is a 13 year-old going to know what the "bad points" are. Do you expect her to know about Health Care Reform, Social Security, bank bailouts, and foreign policy? I doubt it. More than likely, a child is much more apt to hear the president say something like "make people healthier" or "live better lives" than specifically point out a proposed policy.

At least the teacher didn't tell your child to also explain why she thought they were good points. That would be opening a can of worms and completely unreasonable.

Originally posted by Kangaruex4Ewe
Sorry. I have no link just my 13 year old coming in the door this afternoon informing me that her homework was to watch the SOTU speech tonight. Her history teacher said they were to watch it in it's entirety then report on what you found to be good points, list atleast 3 people who attended, and how you could help him make the U. S. a better place.

No mention of what you thought the bad points may be. Just report on what you liked and how you could help him achieve his goals.

I'm all about being a better citizen and teaching my children to do the same. But this assignment smacks of indoctrination to me.

And yes. If it were Bush or Clinton I would feel the same.

If they want a report they should allow good and bad opinions. Teaching the kids to only focus on the good and ignore the bad is not my idea of fair or honest.

I know one assignment that won't be handed in tomorrow morning. I feel it is the principled thing to do. The right thing for me to do.

We will sit down as a family and watch this tonight and discuss it together... But there wil be no "praise" paper turned in.

This is a good opportunity to educate both your daughter and your daughter's teacher.

I suggest you get your daughter to divide her report into 2 parts, one doing what the teacher said, and one picking out anything bad in the speech and explaining why those things are not good.

I also suggest you contact the teacher, and explain to her that it's more educational to teach kids to look at both sides of the argument, rather than only seeing one side.

If you simply tell your daughter it's ok to ignore set homework, you'll be setting her upfor failure later.

The SOTU should be required viewing in this nation as this speech sets not only the agenda but the tone for the upcoming year.

Whoever thinks that this should not be has issues. I hope the kid of the OP learns something about how things work.

Have her make 2 lists, one pro and one against and file it with the teacher. This will amaze the teacher.

Nothing wrong with it, kids need to watch and listen to everything said tonight so they can see for themselves the lies that were told to them in the future.

The state of the Union is bad.

Big government is the problem, not the solution... If the Government would get out of the way, every American willing to work would be millionaires in a relatively short period of time.

Taxes, debt, deficits, ridiculous bureaucracies, regulations, fees, fines, more taxes, and on and on and on, have impeded growth, driven business, manufacturing, corporations and jobs out of the country.

Our government is the Problem!

But, you will hear how government is the solution.

The biggest, most destructive lie ever told.

To those unemployed Americans needing jobs (if you speak Spanish), you should consider relocating to Mexico to go to work for John Deere which is relocating manufacturing there, or perhaps seek employment with Mexican trucking companies.

China and India is home to a massive amount of former US jobs, but don't bother trying there, they only hire natural born citizens.

No really, the state of the Union is completely F'd up!

But everything is getting better.

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck


See I thought it started at "How you can help him achieve his goals".

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck

You are going in assuming nothing will be praiseworthy. Perhaps that's where the indoctrination starts?

I read the OP and it seems they were going to watch with an "open" mind..
I see no issue with that...

reply to post by SirKnightE


Exactly, when I was in school we had the same assignment regardless of who was in office from middle school through college history courses. Actually, I had a night poli sci class and we had to watch it in class live and the during G.W. Bush's first term.

What's the big deal?

I like the idea that pointing out the negative things as well as the positive promotes the type of discussion we would hope is typical in schools

reply to post by LadySkadi


Star for you because you make sense. Good points.

Originally posted by Fractured.Facade
Nothing wrong with it, kids need to watch and listen to everything said tonight so they can see for themselves the lies that were told to them in the future.

The state of the Union is bad.

Big government is the problem, not the solution... If the Government would get out of the way, every American willing to work would be millionaires in a relatively short period of time.

Taxes, debt, deficits, ridiculous bureaucracies, regulations, fees, fines, more taxes, and on and on and on, have impeded growth, driven business, manufacturing, corporations and jobs out of the country.

--Big Govt prevents companies from avoiding from paying taxes and levies fees and fines when they break the law and uses regulations to keep the companies in cheque as any entity left unchequed sets this nation up for failure.

Our government is the Problem!

But, you will hear how government is the solution.

The biggest, most destructive lie ever told.

To those unemployed Americans needing jobs (if you speak Spanish), you should consider relocating to Mexico to go to work for John Deere which is relocating manufacturing there, or perhaps seek employment with Mexican trucking companies.
--- Big Govt ensures that people get jobs and forces companies to keep jobs stateside while keeping a spotlight on them.

China and India is home to a massive amount of former US jobs, but don't bother trying there, they only hire natural born citizens.

No really, the state of the Union is completely F'd up!
--Thank the Conservative dictaitorship for that for completely dismantiling every single protection out there that worked beautifully for nearly 50 yrs. It only became a problem when the individual worker had more power then the corporate bigwigs and they couldn't stand it.

But everything is getting better.

Answered in quote!