Obama speech causes furor

Students in Laguna Beach public schools didn’t hear an address from President Barack Obama on their first day of school Tuesday.

After hearing from parents who threatened to pull their children out of school if the speech was aired, Supt. Robert Fraisse decided to tape the speech and make it available to teachers the second week of school. Parents who don’t want their children exposed to the presidential message may be able to “opt out” of the showing.

In response, other parents and community members are accusing the district of allowing political divisiveness to interfere with education.

At Tuesday’s school board meeting, Fraisse said that while he agreed that the president’s speech — stressing the importance of education and young people’s contributions to America — was an inspiring message that he “dramatically wanted to support,” he felt impelled to delay airing it.

Polarization among parents

“As was the case with other school systems across the nation, we heard a very polarized set of parental inquiries,” Fraisse said. “Some insisted we make the speech a district priority, while others indicated that they would keep their children home from school if it was shown.

“In order to [ensure] the common interest of having our first day of school be an engaging, upbeat and positive experience for our students was met, we came up with another option that would [appease] all parties,” he said.

Fraisse said concerns regarding the schools’ technological capacities, possible legal ramifications from disgruntled parents, and interference with teachers’ current lesson plans and the obstacles that could potentially create for curricular goals, led him to postpone showing the speech.

“We decided to tape the speech, review it in the days ahead and get legal advice on opt-out requests so that we can show the speech as applicable in the upcoming weeks of school,” he said. “We think this is the best option, especially for younger students who may need to ask questions. This way we can stop the tape for discussions, which we couldn’t have done with a live feed.”

Republican side

Fraisse said the schools also plan to incorporate the similar “stay in school” speeches given by former Republican Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan into the discussions.

Mary Carter, a parent and local organizer on the Obama campaign, addressed the board to express her astonishment and disappointment.

“While working on the [Obama] campaign, it was the children who were most excited and wanted to be so involved,” she said. “They would have wanted to see the president’s speech. I ask that you be more careful in the future when making such important choices concerning our children.”

Speech excerpt

The speech, given Tuesday at a school in Arlington, Va., described Obama’s personal struggles as a youngster in school and how he overcame problems to succeed in life.

“Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

“I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was 2 years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.

“But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world — and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

“And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.”

To read the full text of the speech, visit www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/