Obama Tells Parents: 'Don't Blame The Teacher And The Government...If You're Not Doing Your Job' (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/11/obama-urges-parental-resp_n_96216.html)

GARY, Ind. — The standard Barack Obama venue lately has been high schools. Truman High School, Theodore Roosevelt High School, Jefferson High School.

The Democratic presidential candidate has been pitching an audience-pleasing message of economic populism to crowds of a few thousand packed into each gymnasium. But he gets some of his loudest applause when he segues to education _ and a bit of a lecture to mothers and fathers on how to be parents.

Sure, there is the usual critique of current government policies. But the cheering peaks with a dose of tough talk.

"Parents if you don't parent, we can't improve our schools," he said. "You've got to parent. You've got to turn off the television set in your house once in a while, you've got to put the video game away once in a while."

Obama, who aspires to be the first black president, dwells a little longer on the subject with predominantly black audiences, as he did Thursday in this economically struggling city in the south shore of Lake Michigan.

"You should have a curfew in your house so your children aren't out in the streets all night. You should meet with the teacher and find out what the homework is and help that child with the homework. And if you don't know how to do the homework, don't be embarrassed, find someone to help you."

"Fathers, be fathers," he added. "Be a part of your child's life. Be a part of your child's life and try to make them proud.

"And the last thing is, if your child is misbehaving at school don't curse out the teacher. You know who you are. It's not the teacher's fault that your child is misbehaving. That's some home training."

The crowd reacted raucously and Obama laughed. "You know what I say is true, though. Don't blame the teachers, and the government and the schools if you're not doing your job."

Full Story... (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/11/obama-urges-parental-resp_n_96216.html)

I love this man.

people were up in arms the first time Bill Cosby said such truisms

Obama knows better. How can the parents help the students if the students don't know who their daddy is or where he be at and their momma don't know nuttin'?


lYQ_xop_GfI

people were up in arms the first time Bill Cosby said such truisms

people dont like hearing the facts. it pisses them off, especially the parents who dont make an effort to parent their children.

really all things begin at home especially with education. if my parents hadn't encouraged me to read i dont know if i would have read as much as i have over the years. all that reading allowed me to learn a lot of things that i might not know if it wasn't for my parents.

if your kid acts like a terror at school odds are good you're not doing your job as a parent at home.

though if he keeps up the bill cosby like comments he just might piss off a lot of black people and that could hurt him. black people dont like being told these things, not sure why but it angers a lot of them.

Bill and Obama can say whatever they want, simply because they're black. I wish I was black.

people were up in arms the first time Bill Cosby said such truisms

Word. And I was ready to give him a medal too.

It seems like "so many" people get up in arms about shit like this because the people who do act the loudest and most obnoxious. More people need to learn not to be pussies and speak up and show these dumb shits that not everyone thinks like them. This goes for situations like that gay idiot who was "offended" by Jay Leno's benign gay joke, etc., etc., etc.

Shouldn't Obama be focusing on economics, trade, homeland security, civil rights, fiscal issues, etc. rather then lecturing people on parenting?

Oh wait I momentarily forgot - he's a Democrat. Nanny politics in motion.

Shouldn't Obama be focusing on economics, trade, homeland security, civil rights, fiscal issues, etc. rather then lecturing people on parenting?

Oh wait I momentarily forgot - he's a Democrat. Nanny politics in motion.

^All that stuff that you listed goes to shit if the citizenry is a bunch of glaze-eyed leech idiots instead of productive critical thinkers. Parenting is the first step to it all.

My sweetie has taught first and second grades at a couple different schools in the Boston area. Her current position is in a lily-white, hoity-toit area, where many of the parents NEED to hear Obama's speech. Interestingly, she had to be very careful when suggesting that a child was remiss in something at her former school - an inner-city school heavily populated with Haitians and Jamaicans. Those black parents were so concerned about their children's learning that sometimes they'd overreact when their kid just needed a little help or a little more attention to some area.

^All that stuff that you listed goes to shit if the citizenry is a bunch of glaze-eyed leech idiots instead of productive critical thinkers. Parenting is the first step to it all.


Yup, then we get presidents like Bush who bankrupt the nation, kill millions of people, and take away our freedoms.

Smart people don't vote for backwoods fascists..

Shouldn't Obama be focusing on economics, trade, homeland security, civil rights, fiscal issues, etc. rather then lecturing people on parenting?

Oh wait I momentarily forgot - he's a Democrat. Nanny politics in motion.

Haha... true colors coming out here...
Is this really an appropriate moment for a partisan dig?

M.

Shouldn't Obama be focusing on economics, trade, homeland security, civil rights, fiscal issues, etc. rather then lecturing people on parenting?

Oh wait I momentarily forgot - he's a Democrat. Nanny politics in motion.

Government involvement in economics and trade isn't the nanny state? What we do in the name of homeland security isn't exactly the nanny state, but the bully state is even worse. I'd rather have someone who offers positive advice on one of the most important things people do than someone who's screwing up economics, trade, homeland security, etc. and destroying civil rights in the process. The Bush administration has been outright inimical to civil rights, and McCain promises to follow suit. What does "Keating Five" McCain have to offer us on fiscal issues?

Obama is actually suggesting that people not rely on the government (in the form of teachers) to run their lives. That's pretty much the opposite of the nanny state, as you'd know if you had actually read before cutting and pasting someone's response from FreakRepublic.

though if he keeps up the bill cosby like comments he just might piss off a lot of black people and that could hurt him. black people dont like being told these things, not sure why but it angers a lot of them.

I don't know about that. Since he's black, he's got more of an open door to chastize them - in their minds, for the most part. It's like when I bust balls on Irish guys for the kind of stuff theyre known for. They see my last name and they laugh at themselves right along with me. I'm Irish, so we're all just poking at ourselves at that point.

He's right, and the criticism isn't just about black families. There are a lot of families that ignore each other and the kids end up with all kinds of problems because of it. Poor inner city white kids are just as prone to violence as any other kids are. The Irish and Italian kids in Boston are dangerous as all hell. It's not about race. It's about the home environment.

I like that he's not promising anyone anything that government shouldn't be involved in, and looking at government as being the watchdog to keeping the big money guys from screwing over the rest of us. Government is supposed to protect the citizens, and not just from criminals and terrorists. Also from corporations and corruption. That's a balance that needs to be readjusted again.

I don't know about that. Since he's black, he's got more of an open door to chastize them - in their minds, for the most part. It's like when I bust balls on Irish guys for the kind of stuff theyre known for. They see my last name and they laugh at themselves right along with me. I'm Irish, so we're all just poking at ourselves at that point.

He's right, and the criticism isn't just about black families. There are a lot of families that ignore each other and the kids end up with all kinds of problems because of it. Poor inner city white kids are just as prone to violence as any other kids are. The Irish and Italian kids in Boston are dangerous as all hell. It's not about race. It's about the home environment.

I like that he's not promising anyone anything that government shouldn't be involved in, and looking at government as being the watchdog to keeping the big money guys from screwing over the rest of us. Government is supposed to protect the citizens, and not just from criminals and terrorists. Also from corporations and corruption. That's a balance that needs to be readjusted again.

i dont know, when bill cosby did it, it created an uproar and black people were pissed off. it wasnt a huge thing but it was enough to be mentioned in the news a few times when it happened.

all he said was the rap music and the baggy pants and n word this and that isnt helpful to black people basically and said they needed to raise their standards. it was not met with a warm welcome.

so it wouldnt surprise me if obama got the same the reaction, to a greater or lesser degree. if black people didnt like it when bill cosby said it, they wont like it when obama says it. and obama being part white might not help at all in this case. im sure some will throw out the usual uncle tom, high yella and similar remarks over his comments. you may not hear about them now but if he keeps saying these things expect to hear them soon.

i dont know, when bill cosby did it, it created an uproar and black people were pissed off. it wasnt a huge thing but it was enough to be mentioned in the news a few times when it happened.

all he said was the rap music and the baggy pants and n word this and that isnt helpful to black people basically and said they needed to raise their standards. it was not met with a warm welcome.

so it wouldnt surprise me if obama got the same the reaction, to a greater or lesser degree. if black people didnt like it when bill cosby said it, they wont like it when obama says it. and obama being part white might not help at all in this case. im sure some will throw out the usual uncle tom, high yella and similar remarks over his comments. you may not hear about them now but if he keeps saying these things expect to hear them soon.

There are a lot of black people who are waking up to their own bullshit though, by the impression that I get. I'm not overly optimistic it'll be super-soon, but I bet their Great Awakening will beat that of white trash losers who blame all their troubles on stupid shit. :hmm:

There are a lot of black people who are waking up to their own bullshit though, by the impression that I get. I'm not overly optimistic it'll be super-soon, but I bet their Great Awakening will beat that of white trash losers who blame all their troubles on stupid shit. :hmm:

possibly. maybe if its jsut said enough times they'll finally get it into their heads that its not someone picking on black culture (if you can call gangster rap music and being proud to be ignorant culture) and thats it someone trying to point out the problems some black people have and how other blacks are enabling the behavior and finally do something about it.

it should be done on a larger scale but then you kind of lose the meaning since you have to be more generalized in your comments since this sort of thing happens in all colors. though its all the same, being ignorant, thinking everyone else is just out to get you and keep you down and making excuses for your bullshit behavior.

though to be fair being white trash isnt as widely accepted as being black trash. want proof? go outside and see how many kids are walking around eating mayonnaise sandwiches and then compare how many kids are wearing their pants to their knees and listening to 50 cent.

Shouldn't Obama be focusing on economics, trade, homeland security, civil rights, fiscal issues, etc. rather then lecturing people on parenting?

Oh wait I momentarily forgot - he's a Democrat. Nanny politics in motion.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16925235/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/earlychildhood.html

It's "Family Values" when Republicans try to run your family for you, but "Nanny Politics" when Democrats tell you to stop relying on the state to raise your children?

:rolleyes:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16925235/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/earlychildhood.html

It's "Family Values" when Republicans try to run your family for you, but "Nanny Politics" when Democrats tell you to stop relying on the state to raise your children?

:rolleyes:

Pwnt.

Well put, Boo.

On the issue of Obama vs. Cosby, I don't think the two are quite comparable. Cosby's comments were addressed specifically to black people, while Obama's were applicable to anyone. Cosby condemned black parenting and even black culture (e.g. language) in general, whereas Obama's comments were pretty limited to the parents' role in education. Cosby raised the spectre of black people in prison; Obama did not. "All parents need to be involved in their children's education" and "Black parents are raising unemployable criminals" are really not equivalent statements, nor should they be treated as such. Bringing up Cosby is just a big red herring, and Stone should be ashamed of the smear.

Its not a new concept.

I think the real problem is that, yes parents are responsible for how their kids turn out. But somewhere around age 5 or 6 kids go off to school. And parents, in spite of their best efforts are required to leave their youngin's with strange people who are trusted to mold their brains. And somewhere between age 6 and 18 they are spending about 30% of their lives at school. If their school is dirty, squalid and if the teachers don't care than the kids don't learn and their experienc can be hell.

In some cases kids are forced to put up with bullies, gangs and other bad stuff.

So what can a parent do then?

Not that Obama is wrong. Moms and dads do need to get up off their asses and do something with their kids. But they should not shoulder all the blame. Especially if you have an economy which forces both parents to work. And if the government does not give any money to squalid inner city schools. :|

I've always suspected PC white folks were more upset about what Cosby said than black people were.

i dont know, when bill cosby did it, it created an uproar and black people were pissed off. it wasnt a huge thing but it was enough to be mentioned in the news ...
all he said was the rap music and the baggy pants and n word this and that isnt helpful to black people basically and said they needed to raise their standards. it was not met with a warm welcome ...

so it wouldnt surprise me if obama got the same the reaction ...
I think that Americans of all subcultures are ready to discard some of the destructive elements of modern life. For instance, I think that blacks as a whole are ready to rise up and fulfill their righteous role in this society. I think that Americans are ready to take responsibility for their own actions again (the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction). It takes a great deal of courage to accept and build from criticism.

^All that stuff that you listed goes to shit if the citizenry is a bunch of glaze-eyed leech idiots instead of productive critical thinkers. Parenting is the first step to it all.

Parenting is definitely the first step but I would think as potential president he should be focusing on bigger issues like how to acheive "a broader political appeal, blending a socially conservative solution with his more liberal view that government can and should do more to improve the lot of Americans."

Haha... true colors coming out here...
Is this really an appropriate moment for a partisan dig?

M.



Government involvement in economics and trade isn't the nanny state? What we do in the name of homeland security isn't exactly the nanny state, but the bully state is even worse. I'd rather have someone who offers positive advice on one of the most important things people do than someone who's screwing up economics, trade, homeland security, etc. and destroying civil rights in the process. The Bush administration has been outright inimical to civil rights, and McCain promises to follow suit. What does "Keating Five" McCain have to offer us on fiscal issues?

Obama is actually suggesting that people not rely on the government (in the form of teachers) to run their lives. That's pretty much the opposite of the nanny state, as you'd know if you had actually read before cutting and pasting someone's response from FreakRepublic.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16925235/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/earlychildhood.html

It's "Family Values" when Republicans try to run your family for you, but "Nanny Politics" when Democrats tell you to stop relying on the state to raise your children?

:rolleyes:

Let me make myself perfectly clear. Government as we know it today is too f'ing big,too intrusive, this is Republicans and Democrats (although in my opinion the Dems are worse at it)Call it nanny politics or whatever people are not free when their choices are proscribed by committees of busybodies, even well-intentioned ones, who are, after all, no more smarter than the people they choose to control.


Even a person who doesn't pay much attention to what is going on today can tell CHANGE is needed. I was originally intrigued by the message that Obama was putting out, was even considering holding my nose and voting for him . There are many issues where that would have been a stretch for me but if real CHANGE was a possibility I could have and would have worn a nose plug. But as time has gone on I just see moreof the sameold sameold- packaged a little differently but not underneath very different at all. So again IF i vote at all it will be for some 3rd party candidate or I'll write in some other joke.

BTW Boo you used a poor example. Education is one thing NCLB not withstanding but lecturing people on how to parent? Give me a break

But he's telling them to get off the government's teat vis a vis parenting and education...

But he's telling them to get off the government's teat vis a vis parenting and education...

But . . . he's a Democrat!

Which makes it much more meaningful than when a Republican says it.

In general, Democrats just love pushing social institutions and safety nets, but blanch in terror at the thought of telling people that they need to take responsibility and be accountable for their own lives.

Republicans, in general, just whine about social institutions and safety nets -- though never daring to fully kill/defund them, because they know the chaos it would cause and they wanna to stay in office.

Obama acknowledging -- even chastising -- people to be responsible is actually quite powerful. Inspiring in a way, even. Anything that moves the American left away from victimization towards action and inspiration (more JFK than Walter Mondale) is a great, great thing.

But he's telling them to get off the government's teat vis a vis parenting and education...

Exactly: but Simone isn't showing all her cards. It has become apparent she dislikes Obama far more than she lets on, and she's demonstrated twice that her reflex is to be unfair towards him in her judgement. No surprise here that when he delivers a message to parents that is in accord with Simone's dislike of big government, instead of seeing the positive, she presents us with a knee-jerk partisan dig.

Simone, I don't have anything against you per se - you are a respectful debator with whom it is actually positive to have a meaningful exchange. But I have to call the shots the way I see them.

M.

In general, Democrats just love pushing social institutions and safety nets, but blanch in terror at the thought of telling people that they need to take responsibility and be accountable for their own lives.

Republicans, in general, just whine about social institutions and safety nets -- though never daring to fully kill/defund them, because they know the chaos it would cause and they wanna to stay in office.

.

You get it, thank goodness someone does

Exactly: but Simone isn't showing all her cards. It has become apparent she dislikes Obama far more than she lets on, and she's demonstrated twice that her reflex is to be unfair towards him in her judgement. No surprise here that when he delivers a message to parents that is in accord with Simone's dislike of big government, instead of seeing the positive, she presents us with a knee-jerk partisan dig.

Simone, I don't have anything against you per se - you are a respectful debator with whom it is actually positive to have a meaningful exchange. But I have to call the shots the way I see them.

M.


Which card would you like me to show?. I have a number of them up my sleeve.

Dislike? No I just don't want him to be president.

Unfair? There is nothing dishonest, dishonorable or unethical in my judgement.


Thank you for the nice words, though.

AT THE RISK OF BEING BORING I WILL REPEAT MYSELF

Democrats and Republicans both engage in nanny politics- Democrats more so.

I do have 2 reasons why I don't want Obama for president. Would you care to guess why?

Better yet why don't you try to expand on this as to reasons?

FROM OBAMA Official Website

Pennsylvania's Democratic voters on April 22 will choose between two candidates in the presidential primary. Both are qualified to become the nation's chief executive. They have more similarities than differences. But, The Morning Call recommends that Sen. Barack Obama be nominated, and we offer three reasons.

The first is the quality of his campaign. It has surprised the experts by moving him close to the finish line against bigger, more established political machines and it has communicated his basic ideas well.

The second is his message of hope and change. It conveys a vision of the nation's future that is in tune with the tenor and consensus of most Americans.

And third, and most important for the Democratic Party at this moment in history, there is Sen. Obama's ability to inspire.

How does the quality ,message and inspiration of his campaign provide a compelling reason, or demonstrate presidential material?

Obama, Clinton, McCain- maybe we should use the short straw method

When I hear these politicians and others like Bill Cosby, or even Ronald Reagan (stop asking your fellow citizens to do for you what you should be doing for yourselves) saying things like this, I wonder how many idiots must truly inhabit this country.

My parents raised 9 kids. From those kids came about 26 or 27 grandchildren, two of them being mine, as well as another half dozen or so great grandchildren. I, and nor have any of my siblings ever sought the advice of some politician to instruct me in parenting, nor have I ever asked any school administrator, or any other government agency how to be a parent.

If average people can't figure out the basics of procreation and what should happen next, we're in seriously bad shape. If we rely on politicians to raise our kids, or some imaginary "village" then we're doing our kids a grave disservice.

Thankfully, most parents don't pay any attention whatsoever to this tripe. They don't need to hear it because they already know; usually instinctively.

This is only designed to invoke a reaction to begin with, and make a politician look like some great and wise authority figure who knows something that the rest of us don't.

Obama's own daddy abandoned him and his baby's Momma, and maybe this contributes to the bitterness he carries on this topic, but in the end, he's done pretty damn good for himself for a so called "poor" black boy.

It's his wife who scares me.

Obama's own daddy abandoned him and his baby's Momma, and maybe this contributes to the bitterness he carries on this topic, but in the end, he's done pretty damn good for himself for a so called "poor" black boy.


Do you really feel you have cause to bring in personal bitterness into this. It sounds to me like the man just made a speech which touched upon the need for parents to take on a share of the responsibility for those children who run amok.
Not everything is an excuse to invoke amplified, exaggerated personal emotional
motives.


It's his wife who scares me.

She is quite intense. I would not say she scares me however. I don't think she has given us any grounds to be afraid of her.

M.

If average people can't figure out the basics of procreation and what should happen next, we're in seriously bad shape.
Then we're in seriously bad shape, because the majority of parents do seem unable to figure these things out.
If we rely on politicians to raise our kids, or some imaginary "village" then we're doing our kids a grave disservice.
So should politicians not be allowed to comment on this important topic, even to suggest that people find their own solutions? Entertainers offer similar advice, and so have you. Why shouldn't Obama? He wasn't saying we should rely on him for advice, as you mischaracterize it. If anything, he was saying the opposite. Aside from his identity as a politician you oppose on partisan grounds, what do you find wrong with what he actually said? What, indeed, would you say differently? How can your comments or SaL's be interpreted as anything but partisan sniping when they're entirely about who said something and not about what was said?

This is only designed to invoke a reaction to begin with, and make a politician look like some great and wise authority figure who knows something that the rest of us don't.

I don't see how you see this as self-evident, and I disagree. There are plenty of folks who DO need to hear this, whether it's from Barack, or Bill Cosby, because they don't naturally have the mindset that you and your family do/did.