Mom Angered to Find Obama Speech in Son's Middle-School English Text

[Are_grits_groceries]

A Wisconsin mother is furious that her tax dollars helped buy a middle-school textbook that includes a passage from Barack Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention -- but has no mention of John McCain.

The woman, who spoke to FOXNews.com on the condition of anonymity because she feared business reprisals, became upset after her 13-year-old son told her his advanced English class in Racine, Wis., had read about Barack Obama in a textbook, "McDougal Littell Literature, Grade 8."

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/14/parent-angered-obama-speech-middle-school-english-text/comments/

There goes the Gettysburg Address....

[Critters2]

1. Imagine Fox News carrying this.

:puke:

[ddeclue]

2. WHY? Did John McCain make a speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention also?

:rofl:

[FLyellowdog]

7. Wasn't he still a POW then.?..Oops. No. Wrong year.

Sorry.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. LOL

And what's about all this shit about FDR?

Where's the Alf Landon chapter?

[LiberadorHugo]

4. Considering that most Republicans after the late 19th century were shit...

Lincoln is probably the only viable way of making a textbook fair and balance. Too bad he was a flaming librul too.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Low intelligence voter. Willful ignorance. Idiot attention seeker.

Anonymity....cause she knew everyone would peg her for the moran she is...

[napi21]

6. Is this lady NUTS, or is she just plain stupid? What was McNuts doing in 2004?

AT BOST he was giving speeches in the Senate along with 99 other Senators! WHY would he or any of his Senate speeches be mentioned in a textbook?

For THAT MATTER, I doubt any of his speeches from 2008 will be included in any future textbooks either!

[TahitiNut]

10. (cough)

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/TahitiNut/556

[LWolf]

17. Nuts are a favorite with me.

;)

[renate]

8. well, I can see her point--seriously

I'd be just as upset to see part of a current Republican politician's political speech in a textbook. Even if the excerpt of Obama's speech was 100% awesome, the textbook people should have found another example. (Textbooks are written so far in advance that they probably didn't have any idea he'd be the 2008 nominee, of course.)

On the other hand, I've heard from parents here on DU that there's a lot of right-leaning stuff in textbooks, so this seems only fair.

[rucky]

9. It wasn't a partisan speech. Far from it.

and he wasn't running for president when he gave it. If anybody from the "fair and balanced" world have any issues with the content of the speech, I'd like to hear them. Instead they blame the messenger and, ironically, ignore the message.

[petronius]

23. Personally, I'd be just as not upset if a well-written Republican speech was included

IMO, current events are especially good at capturing the attention of students, and it trains them to pay attention to the world outside the classroom. So, if a speech is eloquent and offers opportunities for analysis and discussion, then I'd be happy to see it included...

[dkofos]

11. Faux news watcher. How fucking lame can you get. 13 is to young to vote.

[Mz Pip]

12. So it's not okay

to read about a speech in a textbook in a lit class? It was a good speech.

I'd love to see her reaction to Eisenhower's speech on the dangers of the military industrial complex.

[Lint Head]

13. There is no longer a fairness doctrine because the Re-Pubic-Rats

Made it so. :dem:

[Generic Brad]

20. I don't the Fairness Doctrine applies to text books

[saltpoint]

14. What a miserable example she's setting for her son and his classmates.

I hope the teacher of the course and the faculty textbook committee stand their ground on the selection of that textbook.

The speech is wildly defendable on its own merits.

The woman sounds like a moron.

[Beregond2]

15. What was the context? I doubt it was partisan.

Are all speeches now off-limits in textbooks?

[ColbertWatcher]

16. Why do you say "There goes the Gettysburg Address...."? McCain was there too. n/t

[codjh9]

18. Uh - yeah, lady, that's because Obama made a helluva GREAT SPEECH, and McCain hasn't! n/t

[PeaceNikki]

19. HA! A comment on that story:

by mccainpalinmeme Kentucky

How does this happen? Who is watching out for our children in school? Parents, you better read your children's textbooks. And you know that college education you have worked so hard to give your young people, are they being taught by terrorists?

:rofl:

[Mariana]

21. I bet they teach about eeeevil-ution in that school, too.

:nopity:

[LWolf]

22. I'm not surprised.

In the last 10 days at the school I teach at:

A parent was chatting with the office. She told them that her 3rd grader requested a rifle for xmas because "The Democrats are coming, and we'd better get ready."

A student told the whole class that "Somebody needs to make sure Obama dies."

A colleague got a long, incoherent, but exceedingly nasty attack email from a mom who didn't like students being asked to research candidates' publicly stated positions. A current events assignment.

I got a forwarded email from another parent "teaching" me about how Obama is a dangerous muslim.

Republicans are getting aggressive in the face of probable defeat.

[Heather MC]

24. whaa whaaa whaa, when I was in highschool my history book had JERRY FALWELL IN IT!

NO Malcolm X
No Martin Luther King
Nothing about the Dems
but Big fat fucking thank God he is Dead Jerry Falwell

Trust me lady your kid is receiving a superb education shut and be greatful