WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - A presidential speech is causing a local uproar over politics and parenting.President Barack Obama's speech "My Future, My Education" will be shown in North Carolina schools on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Some New Hanover County parents are speaking out against the presentation. They're concerned about the content and say it cuts into class time.
School officials want parents to know the message has nothing to do with politics.
"This is a politically benign yet very, very powerful statement that the President is making." said Elizabeth Redenbaugh with the New Hanover Co. Board of Education. "He is telling students to stay in school, to study hard, to get educational goals, and to take responsibility for their education. And that's a message I want every single child in New Hanover County to hear."
Parents in New Hanover, Columbus, Bladen and Pender counties can sign a notice to opt their child out of the speech.
Students in Brunswick County can request to see the video on Thursday or Friday.
MSNBC reports the White House plans to release a transcript of the President's speech on Monday
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I don't get this resistance to President Obama speaking to students across the country on Tuesday. And I don't get it for several reasons:
1. He is the president of the United States. I would hope that we as parents would think it's important to teach children to respect our leader, even if we didn't vote for him, which I did not. For parents to want to yank their kids out of class because he is speaking makes me think back to when Dick Armey hinted that he didn't think Bill Clinton was his president. Do we want to extend the red state/blue state divide into the classroom?
2. This is a chance for students to form a unique connection with their president and the presidency. Who knows how many of them will remember this when they are grown-ups, recalling this moment as one of their first impressions of the president of the United States? This will sound ancient, but I vividly remember JFK in the pages of the Weekly Reader. That isn't why I got interested in politics, but his presence in the pages of my newspaper made the president seem more human.
3. If I understand it correctly, Obama will speak about the need for kids to stay in school. What's so wrong with that? It isn't like he's going to deliver some stealth message about voting Democratic. He's going to challenge kids to stick with their classes and benefit from what a good education can provide.
4. Being an African-American, Obama can speak directly to black youths
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