Obama's education address still seen as polarizing by some

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By Ernie Suggs

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

As he has done every year since he came into office, President Barack Obama urged students to work hard and consider education after high school as part of his annual back-to-school address.

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On Wednesday, President Barack Obama is to deliver his third annual back-to-school speech. Here, he is speaking Tuesday to students at Abraham Lincoln High School in Denver.

Ed Andrieski, AP On Wednesday, President Barack Obama is to deliver his third annual back-to-school speech. Here, he is speaking Tuesday to students at Abraham Lincoln High School in Denver.

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But once again -- most notably in 2009 -- the tone and purpose of the speech was up for debate by critics and conservatives who contend that the president is bringing politics into the classroom.

Several schools districts across the country, as well as some in Metro Atlanta -- including Gwinnett and Fulton county schools -- sent notices to parents informing them if they wanted to excuse their children from watching the speech, they could.

Some systems, such as Atlanta, Cobb, Clayton and DeKalb let schools and teachers decide individually whether to watch the speech and did not send notices of the speech to parents.

Obama delivered the 20-minute speech Wednesday at a Washington, D.C. high school. It was simulcast to classrooms across the country. But not everybody welcomed the address, saying it was too political, too polarizing and out of place in a school setting.

Keith Bromery, a spokesman for Atlanta Public Schools, which allowed the airing of the speech, said he didn't see how it was controversial.

“This is the President of the United States reinforcing education and working hard," Bromery said. "Encouraging students to do well.”

But some see it differently.

“Obama seems to be talking to everybody these days and I call it campaigning,” said Sue Everhart, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. “I would think that the time would be better spent in the classroom learning, instead of listening to the president on another one of his campaign speeches."

Perhaps sensing the political furor this speech produces, Obama was careful to stick with education and released the text Tuesday night to defuse any charges of politics.

“It starts with being the best student you can be,” Obama said. “It doesn't have to mean straight A's all the time, although that's a good goal to strive for. It means you have to keep at it. It means you have to work as hard as you know how. And it means that you take some risks once in a while. You wonder. You question. You explore. You color outside the lines every now and then.”

Toya Davidson, whose daughter is a fifth grader at Craig Elementary School in Lawrenceville, endorsed the idea of the speech. "A child growing up in the United States should have the opportunity to hear what the leader of the country has to say about education," she said.

Gwinnett County spokesman Jorge Quintana said the district policy has been in place for three years, which coincides with Obama’s years in office.

Quintana said the district does not keep data on how many students opted out in the past, noting that while the district provides the speech it is not mandatory to show it.

"Prior to Obama, I don’t recall getting a letter sent home asking if my child would like to opt out of watching the president," Davidson said.

Bob Sieling, who has two children at Roswell High School, said school districts are bowing to pressure from parents who are “becoming unreasonable.”

“I think the kids should listen to the president. Whether you voted for him or not, he is the president and we owe the position the respect,” Sieling said. “There is no reason for anyone to refuse their child to hear the presidents based on their personal political positions.”