On Labor Day Weekend, 2004, Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School was teeming with enthusiastic teens who launched into a cheering frenzy when President George and Laura Bush, along with their twin daughters, stepped into the school’s two auditoriums. Bush went on to deliver a predictable campaign speech and win the election.

But yesterday, the district, which caters to several predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhoods, blocked President Obama’s speech, the message of which was to work hard and stay in school.

Prior to the speech’s airing, the district posted a message on its website questioning whether the speech’s content would fit into school curriculum. That message has since been taken down and replaced with a brief paragraph describing the speech and a note adding, “Brecksville-Broadview Heights Schools did not watch the address live.”

Superintendent Thomas Diringer was unclear about why the speech was blocked. This morning he said the district made the decision in order to keep the kids out of a politically charged event. He called the block “unfortunate.” Then he said the district did not have sufficient time to review the address and ensure it would mesh with the current curriculum. (The roughly 2,500-word speech was released the day before, and from the time it was announced was described as a message about the importance of education.)

So which is it, Diringer, politics or curriculum?

Whatever the reasons behind the block, it tacitly agreed with the radical conservatives who’d raised hell about “indoctrination,” and endorsed their agenda. So much for shielding students from a (supposedly) politically charged event. — Erin O’Brien

Erin blogs regularly at erin-obrien.blogspot.com.

This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2009.

5 replies on “BRECKSVILLE-BROADVIEW HEIGHTS SIDES WITH CRAZIES ON OBAMA SPEECH”

  1. I heard of this “controversy” yesterday-after I received a voicemail e-connect from Hudson’s Superintendent, letting parents know that a threatening note had been found about Harm to Hudson’s school children.
    I being a cautious, yet knowledgeable parent opted to let my child stay in school and view the Presidents address. In Hudson, the note was said to be Politically driven.
    Since when do we make such an issue of our children watching OUR President???
    While I feel that President Obama, is still campaigning with his “Marketing” of the Presidency, he is our President, we must respect that.
    (Respect is different than OBEY)
    My issue with this entire controversy is, the speech was released 1 day earlier. He spoke on a children’s level and told them to be accountable, stay in school, and work hard because they can achieve anything. Does this equal Democratic Propaganda or parenting?

  2. Well said. I especially loved your last paragraph and your last sentence: “So much for shielding students from a (supposedly) politically charged event.” Oy. So true.

  5. I was cruising local news this morning and saw a story on the Brecksville Broadview Heights School District. Seems there was a full house at their meeting last night, with a host of parents complaining about the block on Obama’s speech.

    YAY!

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