How To Deal With This? Childs Teacher Said "It is good that Obama is president"

[ItsTime]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

I would request a meeting with the teacher and let the administration and school board know that you do not appreciate your child having a teachers political views thrust upon them.

[Anti Federalist]

Not to be picky or pry into your business, but WTH is your five year old doing in the government indoctrination camp?

[Lord Xar]

I would request a meeting with the teacher and let the administration and school board know that you do not appreciate your child having a teachers political views thrust upon them.

Co-Sign this x 1000000000000000

My daughter came home one day and said she had to pick up trash during lunch because some kids were making a mess. In other words, let everyone suffer for the failings of a few. Well, that didn't go over well. Next morning, the ol' lady went into the school and spoke with the teacher and outside supervisor & handled business.

If what you say happened, I would have went in and conveyed my feelings. My daughter is a treasure and I would not allow some agenda filled teacher to fill her head with collectivist mindset.

I feel you need to go in and express yourself.

pre/middle/high school are like a mini-academies for indoctrination and I am reminded of this constantly.

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

one word of warning.. expect retribution from these idiots if you go in and become a thorn in their side. They do not like being questioned at all.

[Seraphim]

Most authoritarians do not like to be questioned. That is why I find it so fun to do so. :)


one word of warning.. expect retribution from these idiots if you go in and become a thorn in their side. They do not like being questioned at all.

[Kludge]

Principal/counselor may be willing to put your kid in a class with a different teacher, too, if you ask.

[ssantoro]

Go get um!

[RileyE104]

Request a meeting with the teacher and principle.

Simply tell them that you would like it if the teacher did her job and kept her political opinions to herself, especially in such a young class.

No need to make a scene.
You get the first say, so quickly tell them that.
Then, explain that if it happens again you will be coming back in not as nice a manner.
After that, get up and leave. No need to hear their opinions. :)

[Romulus]

one word of warning.. expect retribution from these idiots if you go in and become a thorn in their side. They do not like being questioned at all.

That's the rub. So you get a meeting with a few Obumbles supporters. What fun they might have putting your child into solitary confinement or some crap.

That being said, I would NOT be cool with that. There is a lot of undo-ing that comes along with a publik edumacation when it comes to children.

[TCE]

one word of warning.. expect retribution from these idiots if you go in and become a thorn in their side. They do not like being questioned at all.

Actually, with schools, they love to be left alone. Complain enough and they'll give you pretty much anything reasonable. "No" from a school really means "you're going to have to work a bit for us to say yes."

[dannno]

Subscribed to thread. Keep us updated.

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

Actually, with schools, they love to be left alone. Complain enough and they'll give you pretty much anything reasonable. "No" from a school really means "you're going to have to work a bit for us to say yes."

That is actually not my experience at all. I have had all sorts of hassle because of standing up to these people.

[dbill27]

What context did the teacher use before she said this? Because they are 5 and 6 year olds, I might tell a 6 year old the same thing if the alternative was and is "No it's horrible that he's president, your life is going to be horrible because he's going to ruin the country for you etc"

[aGameOfThrones]

5year old: Remember when you told me that "it was good that Obama was president"?

Teacher: Yes...

5year old: Well, my mom told me to tell you that, yes, it is good that Obama is president. Now everyone can see he's not much different than Bush, but apparently you still can't.

Teacher: calls 911 for re-indoctrination(tasering).

[low preference guy]

In some states, there are mandatory fees that go from your paycheck to the union. So being Democrat is basically a prerequisite to teach, and that's one of the reason this kind of crap keeps happening.

[awake]

This is why public schools exist: to teach the young about the "great men" who run (ruin) this world. Someday they can be great men too.

[low preference guy]

What I would do is:

1. Demand the teacher be fired.
2. Send a copy of the letter written in point #1 to the teacher.
3. Don't ever let your child in the same classroom with that teacher.

If I had means, I'll take the child to another school.

[Anti Federalist]

That is actually not my experience at all. I have had all sorts of hassle because of standing up to these people.

Not to mention what one other poster already mentioned, how miserable can they make it for your child as well.

[brandon]

I wouldn't make a big deal about it. I'm not a parent and I'm not really sure how much a 5 year old is capable of understanding, but I would take this an an opportunity to explain to your child that grown ups can have different opinions about things and that your superiors are not always correct. Don't protect your child from other opinions. Teach them how to form their own.

[AuH20]

Not to be picky or pry into your business, but WTH is your five year old doing in the government indoctrination camp?

Yea. They probably make the poor kid sing this as well.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdPSqL9_mfM

[Southron]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

I would homeschool if at all possible.

[ItsTime]

Teacher - parent meetings are next week. I will probe into the content of the conversation.

She is going to a public school to see how it goes. You have to remember I live in a different part of New Hampshire, where Ron Paul is actually liked and some of the school board are libertarian leaning republicans. But so far I have been underwhelmed by what I have seen.

[awake]

"...since the State began to control education, its
evident tendency has been more and more to act in such a manner
as to promote repression and hindrance of education, rather than
the true development of the individual. Its tendency has been for
compulsion, for enforced equality at the lowest level, for the
watering down of the subject and even the abandonment of all formal
teaching, for the inculcation of obedience to the State and to
the “group,” rather than the development of self-independence,
for the deprecation of intellectual subjects. And finally, it is the
drive of the State and its minions for power that explains the
“modern education” creed of “education of the whole child” and
making the school a “slice of life,” where the individual plays,
adjusts to the group, etc. The effect of this, as well as all the other
measures, is to repress any tendency for the development of reasoning
powers and individual independence; to try to usurp in
various ways the “educational” function (apart from formal
instruction) of the home and friends, and to try to mold the “whole
child” in the desired paths. Thus, “modern education” has abandoned
the school functions of formal instruction in favor of molding
the total personality both to enforce equality of learning at the
level of the least educable, and to usurp the general educational
role of home and other influences as much as possible. Since no
one will accept outright State “communization” of children, even
in Communist Russia, it is obvious that State control has to be
achieved more silently and subtly.

For anyone who is interested in the dignity of human life, in the
progress and development of the individual in a free society, the
choice between parental and State control over the children is
clear." - Murray Rothbard, Education Free & Compulsory

[aGameOfThrones]

"...since the State began to control education, its
evident tendency has been more and more to act in such a manner
as to promote repression and hindrance of education, rather than
the true development of the individual. Its tendency has been for
compulsion, for enforced equality at the lowest level, for the
watering down of the subject and even the abandonment of all formal
teaching, for the inculcation of obedience to the State and to
the “group,” rather than the development of self-independence,
for the deprecation of intellectual subjects. And finally, it is the
drive of the State and its minions for power that explains the
“modern education” creed of “education of the whole child” and
making the school a “slice of life,” where the individual plays,
adjusts to the group, etc. The effect of this, as well as all the other
measures, is to repress any tendency for the development of reasoning
powers and individual independence; to try to usurp in
various ways the “educational” function (apart from formal
instruction) of the home and friends, and to try to mold the “whole
child” in the desired paths. Thus, “modern education” has abandoned
the school functions of formal instruction in favor of molding
the total personality both to enforce equality of learning at the
level of the least educable, and to usurp the general educational
role of home and other influences as much as possible. Since no
one will accept outright State “communization” of children, even
in Communist Russia, it is obvious that State control has to be
achieved more silently and subtly.

For anyone who is interested in the dignity of human life, in the
progress and development of the individual in a free society, the
choice between parental and State control over the children is
clear." - Murray Rothbard, Education Free & Compulsory



"After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small, complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd.The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.” ~Alexis de Tocqueville

//

[Uriel999]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

I'd contact the principal immediately. Teachers should not be making statements like that.

[Anti Federalist]

Yea. They probably make the poor kid sing this as well.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdPSqL9_mfM

Why not?

You have to respect authority.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agexr88YHFE

[Anti Federalist]

Teacher - parent meetings are next week. I will probe into the content of the conversation.

She is going to a public school to see how it goes. You have to remember I live in a different part of New Hampshire, where Ron Paul is actually liked and some of the school board are libertarian leaning republicans. But so far I have been underwhelmed by what I have seen.

As general rule NH schools are head and shoulders above the rest of the country.

That just takes you from awful to terrible.

Homeschool, if it is at all possible.

[AuH20]

Why not?

You have to respect authority.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agexr88YHFE

Jesus as an embodiment of authority? lol He was the biggest rebel to ever wear sandals.

[Anti Federalist]

Jesus as an embodiment of authority? lol He was the biggest rebel to ever wear sandals.

Silence, you, how dare you bring facts up!

[QueenB4Liberty]

the only time I ever went to public school was for high school and I remember my government teacher telling us she couldn't say her political affiliation here. But it's Texas. lol (I knew she was liberal, but she was a cool lady)

[QueenB4Liberty]

I wouldn't make a big deal about it. I'm not a parent and I'm not really sure how much a 5 year old is capable of understanding, but I would take this an an opportunity to explain to your child that grown ups can have different opinions about things and that your superiors are not always correct. Don't protect your child from other opinions. Teach them how to form their own.

I will also agree with this. At least your kid told you so you can set him/her straight. I knew taxation was theft from a very young age thanks to my parents. :D

[heavenlyboy34]

some good advice in this thread. Good luck and Godspeed in dealing with the gov'ment school regime, OP. :)

[devil21]

I remember when I was in elementary school my teacher basically frowned on the fact that my family hunted deer and said that we were bad people and whatnot. Basically the PETA line. I told my mom that night and the NEXT DAY there were several of my family members at the school office demanding to see the Principal. He dropped what he was doing and even caled the teacher into his office during class. I don't know exactly what went down in that meeting but safe to say that I got an apology, as did my family, and our personal hobbies were never called into question again.

Make a stink.

[AuH20]

Silence, you, how dare you bring facts up!

I'll counter your statist drivel with some very irreverent Megadeth. :) It's certainly not state sanctioned material.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufT2CN-JpS8

[Fredom101]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

Take your kid out of government brainwashing camps ASAP!!!

[Carehn]

Not to be picky or pry into your business, but WTH is your five year old doing in the government indoctrination camp?

Ya man. what this dude said. Pull your kid out of that crap

[Anti Federalist]

I'll counter your statist drivel with some very irreverent Megadeth. :) It's certainly not state sanctioned material.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufT2CN-JpS8

I'll raise you one "Peace Sells".


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umeZtszNShk

[AuH20]

I'll raise you one "Peace Sells".

Washington is Next. Focus on the lyrics between 1:53 to 2:25. It sums it all up and is very relevant to this thread.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFhgv-eTkXo

[gerryb]

I wouldn't make a big deal about it. I'm not a parent and I'm not really sure how much a 5 year old is capable of understanding, but I would take this an an opportunity to explain to your child that grown ups can have different opinions about things and that your superiors are not always correct. Don't protect your child from other opinions. Teach them how to form their own.

+1.

This, plus run for school board.

[PatriotOne]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

1. Resist the urge to address her agressively. She works with a bunch of 5 yr olds all day and is probably close to going postal anyways.

2. Give her the benefit of the doubt and ask her to reiterate the conversation. 5 yr olds aren't the most reliable people to relay conversations.

3. If she did say what your 5 yr old claims then calmly attempt to re-educate her. She meant no harm and suffers enough working with 5 yr olds all day! Ignorant yes..but a bad person...no.

[tremendoustie]

In my view, no person, let alone a liberty loving person, should hand their kids over to the government for indoctrination (and a godawful education), except as an absolute last resort (it's the only way you won't starve or be homeless).

I would eat beans and rice every day, and live in a shelter, if it meant I could homeschool (or private school) rather than send my kids there.

For many, early childhood experiences shape their worldview for the rest of their lives -- the time is highly formative.

I understand that some people are in difficult circumstances, and literally have no other option. But there are also many who think they don't have the option, but could make it happen if they tried (home businesses, part time work, swapping with other parents, etc).

Again, I don't want to make anyone feel bad, who truly has no choice.

[Freedom 4 all]

Why not?

You have to respect authority.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agexr88YHFE

I was really hoping that was a joke from the onion or something. Sad, just sad.

[Freedom 4 all]

In my view, no person, let alone a liberty loving person, should hand their kids over to the government for indoctrination (and a godawful education), except as an absolute last resort (it's the only way you won't starve or be homeless).

I would eat beans and rice every day, and live in a shelter, if it meant I could homeschool (or private school) rather than send my kids there.

For many, early childhood experiences shape their worldview for the rest of their lives -- the time is highly formative.

I understand that some people are in difficult circumstances, and literally have no other option. But there are also many who think they don't have the option, but could make it happen if they tried (home businesses, part time work, swapping with other parents, etc).

Again, I don't want to make anyone feel bad, who truly has no choice.

As long as you know the teachers it's not all THAT bad. I had a whole pile of teachers who helped shape my libertarian worldview and actually taught me to question perceived truths. And I was smart enough to ignore the ones who weren't like that.

[squarepusher]

meh, this this gets your feathers ruffled, I would be prepared for a lovely next 13 years

[TheeJoeGlass]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

Tell your kid about Obama's assassination list, then tell her to ask her teacher what that is?

[Roxi]

This reminds me of when my daughter was in Kindergarten in 07, while we were campaigning for RP. The teacher talked about voting for Hillary, and asked if the kids knew who their parents were voting for. My daughter said "My mom would never vote for Hillary, shes a socialist. Shes voting for Ron Paul" The teacher got huffy and said "you couldn't possibly even know what a socialist is" to which my daughter replied "YES I DO!" The teacher thought she would embarrass my daughter by saying "fine, explain to the class what a socialist is" and my daughter said "someone who likes to steal peoples money to give it to other people" Needless to say I got a call from the teacher and told her I was proud of my daughter, and that I didn't think it appropriate for her to be discussing her political views with 5 year olds.

Anyhow, I would definitely express my dissatisfaction at the discussion of personal politics in the classroom, however I would also talk to the teacher and find out what the context was, if a student asked her opinion, etc.

Oh and you can "see how it goes" with public school, but if you want to save yourself a lot of headache go ahead and start home schooling or find a Montessori (which is wonderful) school now. :)

[JustinTime]

This reminds me of when my daughter was in Kindergarten in 07, while we were campaigning for RP. The teacher talked about voting for Hillary, and asked if the kids knew who their parents were voting for. My daughter said "My mom would never vote for Hillary, shes a socialist. Shes voting for Ron Paul" The teacher got huffy and said "you couldn't possibly even know what a socialist is" to which my daughter replied "YES I DO!" The teacher thought she would embarrass my daughter by saying "fine, explain to the class what a socialist is" and my daughter said "someone who likes to steal peoples money to give it to other people" Needless to say I got a call from the teacher and told her I was proud of my daughter, and that I didn't think it appropriate for her to be discussing her political views with 5 year olds.

Anyhow, I would definitely express my dissatisfaction at the discussion of personal politics in the classroom, however I would also talk to the teacher and find out what the context was, if a student asked her opinion, etc.

Oh and you can "see how it goes" with public school, but if you want to save yourself a lot of headache go ahead and start home schooling or find a Montessori (which is wonderful) school now. :)

Maybe your daughter will be president some day?

[teacherone]

Oh and you can "see how it goes" with public school, but if you want to save yourself a lot of headache go ahead and start home schooling or find a Montessori (which is wonderful) school now. :)

aren't montessori/ waldorf schools full of socialist hippy types?

that was my experience at a waldorf school anyway--did my time in 7th and 8th grades.

was california---maybe it depends on the state.

[pauladin]

once they come out, start attaching ron paul 2012 slim jims to your daughter's homework.

[Krugerrand]

once they come out, start attaching ron paul 2012 slim jims to your daughter's homework.

+ rep.

[ifthenwouldi]

If you're going to micromanage your child's education, you might as well homeschool them. Otherwise, you're gonna have to learn to either let the "little things" go or correct them later.

[moostraks]

aren't montessori/ waldorf schools full of socialist hippy types?

that was my experience at a waldorf school anyway--did my time in 7th and 8th grades.

was california---maybe it depends on the state.

Any school can float that way. I would always suggest homeschooling if you are truly interested in holding education accountable. As for Montessori schools, I would recommend anyone do intensive research and know what and how lessons are handled and make sure it is a right fit. The Montessori Method is too dictatorial for my taste and has become largely co-opted by secular humanists. Buyer beware and learn what the individual school you are considering is like before charging in head first.

As for making a stink at school, just like Montessori schools, your mileage may differ but gov't schools generally don't like squeaky wheels and will often take their parental frustrations out on their charges. I was harassed constantly by teachers because my parents raised me to have their political views and it often conflicted with the school teachers. My experience with my children was the same and I finally started homeschooling when dh adopted eldest two children. Since then I have only myself and state requirements to deal with and it is very liberating. If this chaps your butt, you are in for a long 13 years...

[moostraks]

If you're going to micromanage your child's education, you might as well homeschool them. Otherwise, you're gonna have to learn to either let the "little things" go or correct them later.

Not really a little thing unless you view the position of President as largely irrelevant. Of course would be most helpful if the context of how it was said was put forth. Little children are sponges. The school system is structured so parental authority is undermined. People who embrace the gov't option should be aware of the agenda they have for their captives.

[Johnnymac]

I wouldn't make a big deal about it. I'm not a parent and I'm not really sure how much a 5 year old is capable of understanding, but I would take this an an opportunity to explain to your child that grown ups can have different opinions about things and that your superiors are not always correct. Don't protect your child from other opinions. Teach them how to form their own.

hmm ive seen a couple of people agree wth this, i do agree with this, but i wouldnt let it go, i would still wonder why my child is coming home and answering "my teacher told me that it is good that obama is president" after asking "what did you learn in school today"

[tasteless]

I'm imagining the OP making a big deal about this, and then the teacher going on some teacher forum making a thread "How to deal with this? A parent confronted me about saying "It is Good Obama is President"

[fisharmor]

...I'm not really sure how much a 5 year old is capable of understanding...

5-year-olds are as diverse as adults, actually.
The point that you don't know what an individual 5-year-old is capable of understanding is the entire point.
Nobody does, unless that person is actively working with that 5-year-old.

I get into this discussion pretty regularly with my fairly statist mother. "But you went to public school! You can't just write the whole thing off - you have to be active, and meet with the teachers, and..."
"And if I'm spending all that time working on my kid's education, why don't I just do it? You honestly think it takes 7 hours a day to teach one kid to read and do simple arithmetic?"

The point is that they're only getting about an hour of meaningful education every day. Everything else is programming. Bells, externally imposed schedules, sitting still during lunch, eating only in approved places, learning to go straight to authority figures instead of working out problems between yourselves, learning to loathe books, imposing societal distractions from real issues.

Kids start out with all sorts of differences. My 4-year-old understands a lot of things a lot better than you'd believe. We taught her the alphabet, and she started spelling spontaneously over a year ago. My 2-year-old? I'll be lucky if she's talking by age 4. The older one is shy around strangers: the younger one isn't even afraid of drowning.
Here we have a case of the exact same genetic stock, and about as polar opposite as you can get.

The point of school isn't education: it's to even them out. My older girl won't get accelerated attention in public school because she's probably not going to be socially capable of dealing with being in a class with kids 2-3 years older, and my younger girl is only going to get a 7-hour-a-day prison sentence, because she's behind and won't have a problem telling teachers to go fuck themselves when they're wrong. But they'd hold both to a standard of conditioning.

Given that the point is the conditioning, is it at all surprising that they don't have a problem telling them that Obama is a great president?

There isn't an easy answer, because getting your kid out isn't easy. I wish we were going through this 10 years from now, when people will have figured out a lot more of the details on how to do homeschool. Some details do exist now, but you're not going to find a packaged system without spending a lot of money.

[ItsTime]

Politely asked her what went on. She said it was just a general discussion about presidents and she makes a point to not discuss her opinions. I believe her.

[ihsv]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

Homeschool. Stop sending your kids to government indoctrination centers.

[LibertyEagle]

Why not?

You have to respect authority.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agexr88YHFE

OMG, that is disgusting!! :eek:

[MelissaWV]

Politely asked her what went on. She said it was just a general discussion about presidents and she makes a point to not discuss her opinions. I believe her.

I wouldn't disbelieve it, either, however there is a grain of truth in everything others have said on this thread. I was most directly confronted with school's effects when my niece came to visit near Thanksgiving. She wanted to put on a play about the pilgrims and Indians and the first Thanksgiving, with all the traditional historical inaccuracies. Ugh. I took it as a teaching opportunity. I'm not sure she learned much. She is "girlie" and is being groomed to be a vapid-but-lovely cheerleader some day.

Anyhow, your young one might benefit from some other insight into the presidency. At her age, it's not time to start spewing "Obama's a bastard and he's ruining this country so that it'll be a shambles by the time you grow up!" y'know? :p Of course you know, and that's the final point. You know what's best for your kiddo. If she's going to go on in public schools, just be prepared to counter the usual stupidity.

George Washington was the best, he could tell no lies, and he chopped down a cherry tree but then told the truth about it.

Abe Lincoln was tall and smart and ended the Civil War by freeing the slaves. He defeated the mean bad South.

Ben Franklin was a great inventor and he flew a kite outside in a rainstorm and discovered electricity.

The pilgrims landed and feasted with the Indians and everything was great and they ate turkey and potatoes and gravy and yeast rolls that come in a little foil container.

There are a zillion battles to come. The best hope is that your daughter will have such a thirst for the truth that most of these things are things she'll discover on her own :)

[madfoot]

Gonna have to go with brandon and gerryb here. Your child's teacher having different political beliefs from you isn't brainwashing. If it upsets you, get involved in the education community and make a difference yourself.

[low preference guy]

Gonna have to go with brandon and gerryb here. Your child's teacher having different political beliefs from you isn't brainwashing. If it upsets you, get involved in the education community and make a difference yourself.

LOL. If you're paying somebody to give you a service, and she wastes time and does something else, that shouldn't upset you. You should actually get involved and produce the service yourself as if the point of having somebody else do it IS NOT precisely to save you the work of doing it.

[KCIndy]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.


Teach your kid to respond, "Yeah, but it would have been even better if Ron Paul had been president!"

:D

[MelissaWV]

LOL. If you're paying somebody to give you a service, and she wastes time and does something else, that shouldn't upset you. You should actually get involved and produce the service yourself as if the point of having somebody else do it IS NOT so you don't do it.

To an extent, yes.

If you're "paying someone" for a service (and aren't the parents who DO think Obama being elected is a good idea paying, too?) that you're dissatisfied with, stop using that service. You will have to pay the price as far as then having to provide the service yourself.

The rub with public education is that it's (usually) funded by taxing everyone, which means you are taxed whether you use the service or not. I'm putting plenty of grubby little rugrats through their public education right now, whether I want to or not, and regardless of the fact I have none of my own :(

[madfoot]

I wouldn't disbelieve it, either, however there is a grain of truth in everything others have said on this thread. I was most directly confronted with school's effects when my niece came to visit near Thanksgiving. She wanted to put on a play about the pilgrims and Indians and the first Thanksgiving, with all the traditional historical inaccuracies. Ugh. I took it as a teaching opportunity. I'm not sure she learned much. She is "girlie" and is being groomed to be a vapid-but-lovely cheerleader some day.

Anyhow, your young one might benefit from some other insight into the presidency. At her age, it's not time to start spewing "Obama's a bastard and he's ruining this country so that it'll be a shambles by the time you grow up!" y'know? :p Of course you know, and that's the final point. You know what's best for your kiddo. If she's going to go on in public schools, just be prepared to counter the usual stupidity.

George Washington was the best, he could tell no lies, and he chopped down a cherry tree but then told the truth about it.

Abe Lincoln was tall and smart and ended the Civil War by freeing the slaves. He defeated the mean bad South.

Ben Franklin was a great inventor and he flew a kite outside in a rainstorm and discovered electricity.

The pilgrims landed and feasted with the Indians and everything was great and they ate turkey and potatoes and gravy and yeast rolls that come in a little foil container.

There are a zillion battles to come. The best hope is that your daughter will have such a thirst for the truth that most of these things are things she'll discover on her own :)

I went to public school (graduated recently) and would like to relate my own experiences here. I learned all these myths in elementary school, but in high school we took a much more balanced look at them. My 11th grade history teacher had us read Howard Zinn, and studying US history we had an accurate education on the Civil War. My teachers had their own political beliefs, but they encouraged critical thinking over anything else. I never felt indoctrinated at any point. Frankly, I'm not sure if it'd be appropriate to teach young kids that Columbus was a bastard and the Puritans were intolerant bigots. I think the pilgrim legends have their place next to Santa Claus and Cupid.

Point is, I don't think very many kids enrolled in K-12 public school will come out believing many of these things.

[madfoot]

LOL. If you're paying somebody to give you a service, and she wastes time and does something else, that shouldn't upset you. You should actually get involved and produce the service yourself as if the point of having somebody else do it IS NOT precisely to save you the work of doing it.

It's kindergarten. Jeez.

[Lucille]

http://www.k12.com/

[angelatc]

How would you deal with this if your kindergartener came home and the teacher told her that it was good that Obama was president? Because that happened to me today.

I think you need context. If the teacher said it was good that Obama is president because it means that little black kids now know that the goal is achievable, then she's right. If she said that it's good because all Republicans are evil and greedy, then a conference is indeed in order.