Politicizing the Department of Education: Obama’s Lesson Plan
Lindsey Burke /
It’s back-to-school for American families, and the Obama administration is marking the occasion with an unprecedented venture. In a move that steps far beyond the role of the federal government in education policy and shows a disregard for the guidance of parents in their children’s political formation, the Department of Education has released lesson plans for teachers in grades pre-K-12 to accompany an upcoming speech on education by President Obama on September 8th.
The lesson plans – one plan for pre-K-6 students and another plan for students in grades 7-12 – provided specific activities and assignments for children to do before, during, and after the president’s speech. The pre-k-6 plan instructs teachers to ask children “Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials…” It further directs teachers to have children consider the following while listening to Obama’s speech:
- “What is the President trying to tell me?”
- “What is the President asking me to do?”
- “What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?”
The plan continues, (more…)