Dr. Leonard Wheeler, Vice President of the Harford County Board of Education, said at a meeting last week that racism was behind the decision by school officials not to air an address by President Barack Obama live on September 8, 2009. The speech was recorded by HCPS instead and shown days later to more than 99% of the students in attendance, according to Superintendent Robert Tomback.
Before Vice President Wheeler leveled his charge against the school system that he oversees, the controversy was addressed by other school officials, along with a number of public speakers.
Newly appointed Superintendent Tomback explained that school staff “knew from the outset” that they would not be able to air the speech live, because “we simply do not have the technological capability to do such a live broadcast”. Tomback called the lack of capability “regrettable” and continued:
“It is also regrettable that this was misinterpreted as some unilateral attempt to deny access to our students or in some way to censor the President. Not only is that view incorrect, it is anathema to our instructional and motivational purposes for showing the address.”
Dr. Tomback also said that the school system recorded the speech so that instruction would be “meaningful and enduring, rather than treat it as a media event.” Tomback said that the lessons prepared for the speech were differentiated for students from elementary through high school.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Roger Plunkett, along with several school principals, followed up with some examples. Plunkett said that having the speech on DVD allowed teachers to pause to ask meaningful questions. One of the principals said many 4-year-olds didn’t know who the president was, so activities were planned to prepare them to view the speech in context.
Board President Mark Wolkow said that all of the board members and the superintendent wanted as many students as possible to see the speech, but the schools’ first press release didn’t send that message, prompting fellow board member Robin Rich to ask “What are you guys doing? This is the President of the United States.”
Wolkow said the communication “didn’t represent what was actually happening” but school officials knew they couldn’t air the speech live, and perhaps should have said so, but they “didn’t want to get into that”. Wolkow said there had been “lots of feedback” on both sides of the issue and noted that in other school systems, decisions regarding the speech were left up to principals, some of whom decided not to air the speech at all. Wolkow said HCPS got “the biggest black eye” over the incident and apologized for the communication problem, concluding “We got the message wrong, but we did right.”
Wolkow said he was committed to improving communications in the future.
Former school board member Salina Williams was among ten public speakers on the topic, all of whom disagreed with the decision not to air the speech live. Many of the speakers said the decision was disrespectful to the President and Yolanda Strickland-Lucas, who identified herself as the Co-Chair of Harford County for Obama, said she believed the decision may have been a violation of students’ civil rights.
Vice President Wheeler followed the public speakers, calling the decision a “travesty and an abomination” and saying he “struggled to keep ‘that word’ out of his comments. Wheeler didn’t identify the word immediately, but spoke at length about the issue.
Wheeler said that when he read that HCPS would not show President Obama’s speech live, “that word entered into my consciousness but I dismissed it, for surely it did not apply.” Wheeler said he is “convinced absolutely” that Superintendent Tomback is “competent, and he is a good man” and school officials “are good people.” But Wheeler said that when he learned of the school system’s plan to preview the speech for instructional and curricular value, he said “that dreaded word reappeared in my head, only this time it was in color.” Wheeler said he became “obsessed” with finding out why the decision had been made. He noted that previous Presidents had addressed students in school, but he didn’t think there was a call to preview their comments, asking: “Why is this President held to such standards?” Wheeler continued:
“Why is this President shown public disrespect? I just cannot get ‘that word’ out of my head; a word that is both a noun and an adjective; a word that I am afraid to use because I don’t want to lose my friends; a word that people of different skin colors go out of their way to avoid.”
Wheeler said he also heard callers to local radio stations refer to the President as “that guy” and said “that word kept coming back to me with a vengeance.” And Wheeler said parents and others he encountered wanted to know why and how the decision was made and again, “that word” came back.
Wheeler said “the presumption that a preview was needed is really insufficient” and that, as a citizen and as a board member, “I am compelled to reject the response as to why the decision is proposed in the original announcement.” Wheeler did not explain the statement further, but concluded:
“I have accepted the consequences and risk of using that word. I fully understand that reactions to this word are characterized as defensive, denial, rejection, divisive and anger, rather than the reasonable explanation as to what that word is. And that word is racism.”
Wheeler’s remarks prompted a standing ovation from approximately 20 members of the audience.
The following day, HCPS issued a press release summarizing the board meeting. But the account did not address, or even mention the charges made by Dr. Wheeler.
Until we stop looking for and pointing out Racism, we will never get beyond it. Anything promoting differences in race is racism and I fear I will not see the end of it in my, nor my daughter’s lifetime.
Much better to hide our heads in the sand and not call out those who are racist. Do you assume it will just go away?
I suspect that Dr. Wheeler is absolutely correct. There is no other explanation that makes sense. It is a sad commentary about this county that it was allowed to happen. If you can’t read the defensiveness and denial in responses 1 and 2 you are part of the problem.
There is one they are afraid of a small vocal segment of the population that can not stand that the President of the United States is a young democrat!
I also hope for an end to racism, but I think you should change your wording about “promoting differences in race.” “Race” does not biologically exist, but what we frequently mean by race is culture. There is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating one’s heritage, which I suppose could be construed as “promoting differences in race.”
Actually, we promote differences in color as much, if not more than heritage. Take a look at ads with multiple people. How many times do the agencies feel they need to include a picture of a different races and genders to avoid retribution.
Anything that points out the difference in color, creed, or gender is racism. Be it in the name of abolishing it or not.
Hide our heads? No. But to the cry of Racism in use to abolish it actually ends up promoting racism. “Wow, I didn’t think not showing the President was racist.” And then “Now that we showed a black man’s speech, we have to show an Asian woman’s speech, and a Native American’s speech, else we are racist for only showing a black man’s.” AND, note that that last statement will hardly EVER be made, let alone say it about now having to show a white woman’s speech.
By saying something is racist you are promoting racism. Embrace our heritages, ignore our physical differences.
Do you honestly think that the majority could “celebrate their heritage” without people like Wheeler interjecting the race card? (and before someone lays the card down again, by “people like Wheeler” I mean folks who can’t simply accept decisions that they disagree with, and need to find more sinister motives instead.)
Phil,
St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest, the Polish Festival, the Ukranian Festival. These all celebrate the heritage of “white” folks, just like African-American and Hispanic heritage celebrations are all about “black” and “brown” folks.
Don’t be one of those people who wonder why you can’t have White History Month…
No one should lie down and accept a decision that they disagree with if a truthful and logical explanation can not be provided. Also, you speak of the majority “celebrating their heritage”; it is done every day mostly through attempting to exercise subtle dominance over everyone and everything. This is a heritage that I am not proud of.
So there are only whites in Ireland, Germany, or other places? How long does a family line have to live someplace before they can be of that nationality and heritage? And be careful, because anyone in the USA who is not fully Native American has not been here that long. And dont get me started about the plight of the Native Americans, who in many cases thought it better that their lineage be black in America than Native American. And that was before Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr, etc..
Comparing these celebrations of heritage seems a bit off to me. South African heritage is the same as Ethiopian Heritage? The implication that African American month is the same as Oktoberfest is reaching. Maybe we should just limit the heritage celebrations to continental/regional items. Give me a Latin America, Asian, European, North American, and Oceania month as well. Some of the comparisons mentioned are religious days, and these are celebrated by peoples of a given religion regardless of their color, until they are blended into a secular acceptance, such as Halloween. Let me celebrate St Patrick’s day in my own way and I’ll let you celebrate Hanukkah in yours. And I won’t ask about your color as a prerequisite to do so.
The “racism” accusation seems to be worse than ever since Obama got into office. If you are black – it’s racism. It can be nothing else but racism. It is the responsibility of the Board of Education to look out for our children – not for hurt feelings. It is their duty to preview anything that the children under their watch will see. I hope any parent or daycare would do the same.
Face the issues instead of hiding behind the “racism” card. Wheeler is just fanning the fire.
Well said MB May
I thought that an initial concern with the live airing of the president’s speach was that he was going to ask students to explore “how they could help the president”, at a time when he was promoting massive changes in health care, and initially no preview of the president’s address was made available. Was this going to be an attempt to garner support through the students to help sell their parents on the president’s health care reform?
I wonder. Would non-support of the president’s health care reform be thought of as racially motivated as well?
This was one of many far-fetched concerns. Nothing about this speech ever had anything to do with health care or other political issues.
How did you see the original version of the speech? Who do you know in the Oval Office?
I didn’t, of course.
And how do you know your preacher isn’t going to tell your kids on Sunday to go around punching each other? None of us get to preview our pastor’s sermons. I guess it’d be best for you to videotape the sermon so that you can watch it ahead of time and make sure it’s safe for your kids to view later in the week.
Common sense says that Obama is a very skilled politician who knows how to play the politics game quite well. He’s not stupid enough to deliver a political message to kids across the country during school! That would be political suicide. Common sense also says that he’s not out to destroy our country or our youth…
If my preacher told my kids to go around punching each other (or made statements like “White people created the Aids virus to kill black people” or “God Damn America” or “United States of KKK-A”), I’d get up, walk out, and find a new church.
WWPD
(What Would the President Do?)
Right, but you failed to address the issue, leaving us to think you believe in the crackpot theories that President Obama is out to destroy our nation.
nonsense! HCPS goes out of it’s way to PROVE they are not racist. look at all the great affirmative action teachers and administrators they’ve hired. They are not racist at all!
HCPS may be a lot of things….but I assure you, the decision not to show the presidents speech was not racist….at best, you could say they got caught up in politics. Wheeler is way off base here. HCPS screwed up….that’s all!
Then what was it? No other President has been “censored” when giving an address to the nation’s students. I have not been a fan of all the Presidents that held office during my lifetime, but I have given them all RESPECT.
I would not dare pull my child out of school because I did not want them to hear President Reagan, President Clinton, President Bush, or President Obama encouraging them to do their best and not let their circumstances define them.
Not sure you can put the racial moniker so much at the school board as at the loud and obnoxious parents to which the board was listening. The board is just conscience of political realities (the reality being that our county is strongly divided and on the extreme on one side of the issue quite racist). The board, recognizing this, made their decision to quiet the obnoxious parents (maybe not even parents, more likely citizens without students in the system that hate all Dems, especially if they are minority).
This does not make the board right… it was the wrong decision and one tainted with racism, but it is hard to tell whether they are the racists or they are just capitulating to the racist (and loud) minority of citizens that decry every initiate our President makes.
The school board should be focused on make the best decision for the students of HCPS, not appeasing a few. If Dr. Tomback chooses to continue to take the path of least resistance in lieu of doing what is right, he is merely a puppet and not a leader.
And the extreme on the other side is not just as racist? I want whatever you are taking!
Phil Dirt,
It is not about one side or the other. It is about giving the President the respect he deserves. Especially when he is conveying positive information to our students. By the way “that pill” I am taking is called “common sense”. However, I am finding that it is not widely available.
Disappointed Resident – my comment was to ProudDemocrat for his statement “the reality being that our county is strongly divided and on the extreme on one side of the issue quite racist”.
What do you call extreme on the left? Your Fox nations has curved things so far the to right that you all seem to call centrists ‘extreme’. My support for a public option, or allowing the president’s speech be shown to students is NOT extreme. Single payer universal healthcare is not exactly extreme since EVERY other industrialized nation has such a system. You guys are talking about all but eliminating decades of social development, we are talking about bringing healthcare and education to those that need it, and you call us extreme?!?!?!? You TB types are so out of touch it is unreal…
And no, those on the left are most certainly not racist. Some on the right would like to say that to make themselves feel better, but the reality is that liberals are all about social equality. The modern conservative movement as spurred on the Falwell and such is born out of racism, and the fight against integration of schools.
PD – Talk about curving things. How many times in the past couple of weeks did the MSM refer to Olympia Snowe as a “moderate Republican”? What a laugh! She may be moderate if she were a Democrat – oh, that must be their point of reference!
And if you think there are no racists on the left, I’m not going to waste any more of my valuable time on you.
OK does that make Max Baucus a Conservative Democrat?
Totally agree. They tried to make EVERYONE happy. Which if ever is possible in this county….this was not the time. In doing so they screwed everything up and we all hate them for different reasons. They could have shown it live as technology made it possible for the inauguration to be shown live. If they honestly wanted a better lesson that would be fine too. The reality is that when the small group of loud parttisans called threatening to keep their kids home (some of which didn’t have any in school) they tried to appease them.
I wonder if so many black americans would have been present at the board meeting if it was president Bush’s speech that got voted down?!?!?!?!?!?
I do not believe a speech by President Bush would have been voted down. That is exactly the problem.
With all of the dialogue going on, let’s stay focused. The fact of the matter is that President Bush was not censored. The President delivered a powerful speech that everyone could have benefited from hearing. Especially a school district, like Harford County, that has several schools in trouble because students are not graduating. So, with the real issue at hand, no hypothetical, what do you think the reason was for censoring the highest offical in this land that we all love so much?
Stay focused? The speech was not censored. My daughter and over 99 percent of the students saw it.
Focus… focus.
I find it quite ironic that the primary decision maker not to show the speech live was the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum who just happens to be African-American. Does this mean he is racist too? President Obama did a huge disservice to the school systems in this country in trying to promote this with only a few days notice and with the speech coming out on Monday (Labor Day). Also for anyone who has a 5 year old do you expect them to sit there at lunch time and watch this whole thing in one sitting??? I honestly don’t believe the school system would have gone out of their way to air this live for any President because it was logistically impossible.
Kind of interesting too that the President has been on a huge media campaign ever since. Can’t really blame people for wondering if that speech may have had other motives… He did go straight to college students and ask for their support for his healthcare but failed to mention a few details that may not bode well for his plan.
Yes, I would expect a 5 year old to sit there and watch the speech. I am sure they sit and watch their favorite program on television with no problem. We have to teach our children from a young age to be involved and informed. We are all a part of living history and your child should be made aware of that, regardless of what side of the fence you are on.
Logistically impossible, check the records, it’s been done as far back as 1988 with President Reagan. I am sure technology has moved forward since then.
The President has been promoting his health care plan since the campaign and he has always been active in the media since the primaries. That is who he is, nothing new. Maybe we are just having a hard time seeing our President on television regulary instead of just when it is time for a State of the Union address.
Also, the “primary decision maker” for HCPS is Dr. Tomback. The Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum merely presented the reasons as to why HCPS did not air the speech live and what HCPS though the advantages of the decision were.
Anyone who would argue that HCPS is not racist need look no further than the Rte 40 corridor schools. If these schools were in Fallston with these test scores, HCPS would do everything in its power to fix them. Instead they did not do anything for years and years until forced by NCLB to fix them. I’m not saying that all administrators, teachers, etc. are racist. It’s that institutionally, HCPS seems to pay no more than lip service to the problems of these schools, which while not predominantly AFrican-American, have a much more diverse population.
So you are saying the poor test scores amongst the route 40 corridor schools is not a socio-economic problem and instead is because of racism within the system?
I do not think that is what Hank said… I think he indicated that the fact that these problems largely go unfixed is a result of latent racism (not that the problems exist, that is quite clearly socioeconomic in nature).
I (believe it or not JC) actually disagree a bit. Racism may very well be part of why this is allowed to continue, but the bigger factor by far is the political influence (lack of) that the route-40 communities have. If the route 40 communities voted at the rates that up-county voters do, then they would get much more return from the country council, state house, and in turn, the school board. If the route 40 communities voted at the rats that up-county voters do, then we would have a Democratic County Executive along with an additional Democrat in the County Council – a combination much more sympathetic to fixing the problems of route 40 than we have now.
If the voter base for our elected officials is up-county (or is from a minority of voters in Harford 34 like Jacobs), then the political will-power to fix so many of the problems (and the costs that fixing our problems would require) are politically untenable.
“Anyone who would argue that HCPS is not racist need look no further than the Rte 40 corridor schools.”
That’s exactly what hank is implying.
(I know this is off the topic of the Obama speech, which I believe should have been shown live…)
The school board sets the curriculum. The teachers teach the curriculum. If the failing students do not learn the curriculum, there can be a few reasons: a) The curriculum is not sound, b)the teachers have trouble teaching it or c)the students cannot learn it, whether it’s from lack of study habits, lack of effort or if it is too difficult.
Where does racism fit in that? I’ve lived in the route 40 corridor my whole life and attended the schools. It’s not racism holding students back. It starts at home.
Plus, keep in mind that the bulk of the black teachers and black administrators work in rt. 40 corridor scools. There is no racism in HCPS. If kids fail it’s because of a variety of factors…not racism.
Try lack of common supplies to do the job because their PTA’s are not running $22,000 surpluses, like the kids at the school who buys 52 inch plasma screen TV’s for their principals office from the PTA budget. That is a middle school. The other schools already have a disadvatantage so when we define fair as the same then we put them at a huge disadvantage. Take for example that some MS’s have 4 computer labs while the ones on rt.40 might have 2!
Thanks Cdev. You put it better than I did. “when we define fair as the same we put them at a huge disadvantage”
But again, this is not a race issue. It’s socio-economic. There are many poor white and hispanic kids that live in these areas. They are affected in the same way.
I was extremely disappointed with HCPS. Regardless of whether you are for the President or not, he is still the President of the United States and he is YOUR President. I agree with Dr. Wheeler, the President deserves a certain level of respect based solely on the office he holds. For HCPS not to air the broadcast live was an embarrassment and a blatant showing of how Harford County will not respect an African American president (As we know, Harford County voted for McCain/Palin as printed on the front page of the Aegis the day after the “Historic” election).
There is no logical explanation for the decision made my Dr. Tomback. The text of the speech was released prior to the scheduled live airing based on “fears” of some Americans. Which is totally baffling to me that anyone would think the President would try to push a healthcare agenda to students?
Harford County Public Schools has televisions (with cable) in every classroom, in every school in the county. All that had to be done was to push the “on” button. So Dr. Tomback please come with something better than “HCPS lacked the capability” to air the speech live or “4-year olds don’t know President Obama is”. Dr. Tomback, food for thought, excuses are the tools of the incompetent.
If your child does not know who the President is that is because you failed to teach them who the President is. Ask my two year old, she can tell you who the President is and she will know who all the Presidents are past and future because it is apart of our history as Americans.
Thank you Dr. Wheeler for not being afraid to take a stand for what is right.
Does every school in this county have a television in it? Part of the problem was airing this speech during real time. What if the kids were at lunch during that time because at many middle and high schools, they can’t change the lunch schedule that easily. Also the principal of William Paca/Old Post (who is also African American) was the person who reported that they discovered many of the younger children in their school didn’t know who Obama was.
I can understand if people feel very strongly that any President, no matter who it is, should be heard at anytime. If you are one of those people, I am also asking if you would be this upset if it was someone like Sarah Palin (Conservative Female) who was supposed to be making a speech. This country has yet to have a female President and if we ever do I suppose that also will be considered historic.
Thank you to Dr. Wheeler and those who spoke out against this travesty of manipulated education rhetoric! How many times has my student come home from school to inform me they are watching some random movie in class – and when I ask how is it related to what they are currently studying? – they really don’t have a clue or it is ‘filling time’ (by the way, my student is a 4.0+ student – someone who would understand why they are viewing a particular movie – in case you are wondering) The HCPS policy that the all video material must be evaluated prior to viewing was just used as a cover for the inept mishandling of this entire situation!
Imagine that – a racist Board of Education with a black Vice President!
Just look at how far we have come!
You’re right Phil Dirt….a black president, a black deputy superintendant of HCPS, and a black vice-president of the Board of Ed….man..we still have a long way to go until this country will be free of racism!! (sarcasm)
Even Glenn Beck is Right Twice a Day:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/opinion/20rich.html
Judge Not – I’ll type slowly so you can keep up. If you would follow the logic in my argument, it would be like a black Vice President of the US calling the US Executive branch racist.
Or like Michael Steele calling Obama racist, as he just did?
Mr. Dirt,
Are you implying that racism no longer exist? Here is something I pulled off of the CNN website:CNN: President Carter said he thinks that a lot of the animosity directed toward President Obama is race related.
“Dave Matthews: Of course it is! I found there’s a fairly blatant racism in America that’s already there, and I don’t think I noticed it when I lived here as a kid. But when I went back to South Africa, and then it’s sort of thrust in your face, and then came back here — I just see it everywhere. There’s a good population of people in this country that are terrified of the president only because he’s black, even if they don’t say it. And I think a lot of them, behind closed doors, do say it.
Maybe I’m paranoid about it, but I don’t think someone who disagreed as strongly as they do with Obama — if it was Clinton — would have stood up and screamed at him during his speech. (Shakes his head) I don’t think so.”
Oh, by the way, it still exist here in Harford County.
Nope, you may have inferred it but I never implied it.
The outrage would have been just as big if John Kerry or any other liberal tried the same policies.
Antisemite Carter’s opinion matters?
And I really don’t care what an “entertainer’ who is not even from America thinks.
Dr. Wheeler accused the superintendent, not the board, of being racist. And he was appointed VP by the Board, which means that although the board may not be racist, the rest of the county may be.
Leonard Wheeler should keep his opinions to himself. For him to make that call of racism is just another time that he has successfully taken the dialogue from sanity to pure hatred. This guy is a disgrace and would never get reelected on his own power. Any group that embraces this fool loses its credibility the instant he speaks for them.
Talk about hatred. Which freedom-loving country do you hail from? Can annoying people there be forced to “keep their opinions to themselves”?
Actually Matt, I never said he has no right to speak. In his case however, to paraphrase an old saw of a line;
It’s better to let folks think that you are a racist, than to open your mouth and prove it. Unfortunately that is all that this buffoon is about. Just another “race baiting, welfare pimp.” – J.C. Watts
Saw a clip of President Obama responding to the comments from Jimmy Carter about racism. His response was “I was black before the election.”
The ethnic make-up of Obama is 50% white, 41% Arabic, and 9% African. Making it a black/ white issue is a crock and the African Americans who refuse to recognize Obama’s Middle Eastern roots are simply practicing a form of racism but God forbid that any “black leader” or administrator of color is called out on that.
President Obama’s mother was white and his father was black. That makes him 50% white and 50% black. Where do people come up with crazy things like this? His mother was a white woman from Kansas and his father was a black man from Kenya. Having an Indonesian stepfather doesn’t change his composition. Not to mention that by throwing “Arabic” into the mix your intention is to cause fear, which is racist itself. Grow up, learn the facts, and learn some tolerance. You don’t have to like Obama’s policies, but he is the President of the United States. Deal with it and vote how you like come next election.
This is a special kind of crazy!
Middle-eastern roots? He has no middle-eastern roots. This is the total BS that the teabaggers keep throwing out there that has no basis in reality, and is the ‘root’ of the problem that so many of us keep highlighting… this ‘debate’ is nothing of the sort; it is the throes of a dying ideology of hatred shared by the extreme right; an ideology that has killed countless of Americans over the decades by blocking reforms such as universal healthcare using fear tactics to mislead. How pathetic.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/18/deaths.health.insurance/index.html
His father wasn’t 100% Kenyan.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Obama's_ethnic_percentages
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080301082012AAauTBC
I don’t really care about his ethnicity, one could easily claim him to be half white and would be correct. Race issues will never end regardless of ethnicity or skin color and certainly as long as race is used as a crutch.
I didn’t vote for the man because of his politics, not his race. He is the President of the United States and I’ll give him the respect of that office, but in his position, he is an employee of the people and, just like every other politician out there, seems to forget that. I require my employees to provide college transcripts and real birth certificates regardless of skin color.
How amazing that you seem to know so much about his ethnicity and background, yet you seem so unwilling to recognize the location of his birth (and seem to forget the fact that both his birth certificate and college education have been thoroughly vetted). The Repug teabaggers and grasping for straws…
Proud, we’ll agree to disagree. By the way, I’m not a republican. Best wishes on your socialized medicine, I pray that you don’t come down with any serious illness. If the man wants change in health care then tort reform, cutting off the lobbyists with medicines and supplies, and keeping the medicine prices even with the Canadian prices for the same exact drugs would have been a better start. The final phase would have been registering medical insurance companies as public utilities.
Once again, the namecalling continues. PD is either ignorant or a homophobe. Perhaps both?
A Birther!
You go from one extremist claim to another. Copies of his birth certificate have been provided. What would you like him to do, get the original and post it on the front door of the White House? Do you do that with your birth certificate? And before you go there, yes Hawaii is a state and has been for 50 years.
So I guess you agree that all those idiots at conservative rallies before the election saying “Barack HUSSEIN Obama” (with a huge emphasis on the “HUSSEIN” part: Hussssseeeeeeiiinnnn) are definitely racists playing on racist fears.
First and foremost, I don’t have a horse in this race, my kids are grown, but it is a sad day in Harford County when a Vice President of a really good school system somehow feels the need to keep this topic alive. If I were the parent of a Harford County school aged kid, I would surely do more research.
Unless someone can prove me wrong, this little stunt tells me one thing. He doesn’t give a hoot about your kids, or even the color of their skin. His true soul is embedded strictly into the political arena. Governor Martin O’Malley’s arena.
I would go ahead and “do more research” if I were you. Start under “true soul” in the Dewey Decimal System.
Some people seek headlines when, by opening their mouths, they show that they really should be staying out of the spotlight.
Is that a quip or a threat? Hard to tell.
If you’re talking about my comment, it is neither a quip nor a threat, and I don’t understand how it could be thought to be either.
Oh, so it’s just an unspecific generalization pertaining to nothing in particular. Word.
No, it’s a statement about Wheeler. Have someone explain it to you.
And “Word.”? Really? How old are you? I thought I was discussing this issue with an adult.
Why such a chip on yr shoulder, dude? Don’t be angry. I really didn’t understand yr comment.
I don’t know why Wheeler should “stay out of the spotlight”. In this case, he representing a view shared by many, many people in Harford County and across the country. That what he’s supposed to do — represent people. And, a lot of people (including me) agree with him that the school administration should be called out in plain language for it’s poor decision in this case.
Many people across the country think HCPS is racist? Wow, it’s nice to know that our little county is so important, “dude”. (I hate to sink to the level of my opponents, but maybe it’ll help him understand my comments)
And angry? That’s one of the words least likely to be used to describe me by people who know me.
Pretty sure Matt was talking about racist hatred of the President being something that is sadly common across the country, not that people across the country are concerned with HCPS.
Keep pond clean or frogs get sick
Carole
You absolutely do have a horse in this race if you live in Harford County, anywhere in MD, or the US. I am not sure how much more research you have to do, but if that extends only to reading the Aegis, it’s time to branch out a little.
I am proving you wrong. If you have not been aware of the racist element in this county let me educate you: I have been called out by teenagers in their cars (Nloving white bitch, to be specific), threatened in the Rite Aid parking lot by a man and his son, almost been run off the road on 95 on my way home from work by a man shrieking at me (F Obama), and stood watching a soccer game at the Rec and watched and heard a man and women use the n word over and over and not a person challenged them. To have an Obama bumper sticker on your car in this county elicits scary behavior.
The first amendment is great when you say something (or have a bumper sticker) that others don’t like, but it sucks when someone says something that you find offensive. I agree with you that the comments were offensive and flat out ignorant but they are still protected in this country. Is it racism, is it a brain the size of a peanut, is it just frustrated ignorance? Most likely a combination of it all. BTW I was called a “white beotch” by two youth’s of color, I don’t think that they’re racists, I think that they just have narrow minds but I also think that’s it’s great that they live in a country where they can say what they feel.
That I find it offensive is not the issue. That there is a pattern of behavior that is clearly racist in nature and you don’t see that is exactly my point.
it may be offensive but at least they used adjectives even if they are untrue.
we asked them to get politically motivated when we demanded an elected school board. You act suprised as if an elected school board was not going to come with poloticians and their empty promises, lies, bagstabbing etc.
I dont dislike Obama because he is Black, I dislike him because he is a communist. All of the closet commies are coming out of the wood work these days…which is evident by some of the postings on this site!
Yeah! Someone should start a committee in the Congress to investigate these red commie basterds infultrating our societies!! They should make a list of commies, and ban them from being in the Hollywood moving pictures!!!
then they should make a list of their friends and ban them then their friends friends and then anyone who knows one! Wait that was the HUAAC!
Anyone that is critical of Dr. Wheeler’s genuine concern for the student’s of Harford County obviously doesn’t know Dr. Wheeler. Dr. Wheeler is one of the most thoughtful, genuine and intelligent men I have ever had the privilege to meet. He does not say anything without a careful analysis. It was absolutely necessary that he comment since so many citizens of Harford County were upset with the utter disrespect shown our President. Thank you, Dr. Wheeler. And, thank you for serving the community.
If Dr. Wheeler is “one of the most thoughtful, genuine and intelligent men” you have ever had the privilege to meet, either this move was out of character or you need to get out more.
You and others may be upset at what you perceive to be “utter disrespect shown our President”, but when Wheeler made the leap to brand it simply as racism, absent any explanation of this “careful analysis”, he earned my disrespect. He did nothing but inflame the situation and paint any and all dissenters with a broad and loathsome brush.
I suppose he is readying himself for an elected board by going for emotional triggers rather than the fact-based arguments that I would expect and respect from someone in education.
WOW for a person in such a position to call the school system racist…..is like Truman blaming the american government for Hiroshima.
Go Dagger ! ! !
This was Tombeck’s first major decision and he blew it! And all the back peddling and expanations and rolling out pricipals talking about “Meaningful instruction” that went on doesn’t help. My kids have spends DAYS watching movies completely unrelated to any curriculum, yet somehow that was OK. They watched the inauguration LIVE and no one had to video that or prepare curriculum. HCPS caved to a few and now it’s CYA time.
It’s too bad HCPS doesn’t listen to us parents when it comes to really important issues like Block scheduling, everyday math, LICW and falling AP scores.
Enough!
I definitely think HCPS made a huge blunder. If they were so concerned about receiving phone calls from angry radical right winger parents about showing the speech, then their decision should have been to announce they were showing the speech and to let the parents decide if they wanted to watch it, not to refuse to air it all together. Technical problems just seem like a poor excuse.
I’m biracial. My mother is white and my father is black. I have German and Irish roots too. But I really don’t think the original decision by HCPS to pull Obama’s speech was totally based on racism, but fear of wrath by radical right wingers who think Obama is going to drive this country into a mixture of socialism and communism. We know the majority of Harford County is extremely conservative and quite intolerant of anyone expressing an opinion that seems liberal. Heck, just read The Dagger for a while and you’ll find that.
But I can’t get on board with Leonard Wheeler’s claim of out and out racism. Do I think his comment about Obama being held to unreasonable standards is right? Absolutely. The things many of the right wing radicals and TEA party members believe about Obama is ludicrous and borders on conspiracy theories so ridiculous even Dan Brown wouldn’t write about them. But there’s a lot more to these opinions than racism. It’s mostly fear. For eight years, we’ve had an administration too concerned with Iraq and could have cared less about domestic issues. Now we have a President who is doing the reverse and I think people are scared because we haven’t had someone really try and change things in the country for a long time. It jarred people loose and they don’t like it, so they’re lashing out with these outrageous accusations. I think a white Democratic President would be getting the same treatment.
The President Speaks to Our Children: Information or Indoctrination?
http://smartgirlnation.com/2009/09/the-president-speaks-to-our-children-information-or-indoctrination/
Fake.
Matt writes – “Fake”
I reply – How do you know?
Joe
School kids taught to praise Obama
When are the Village People next appearing in front of the courthouse?
Nothing is racist about listening to the concerns of parents…they are OUR schools after all, shouldn’t be have a say in what goes on in them? This gentleman must forget who pays his paycheck.
Who would have guessed the IOC was racist?
The rejection of Chicago as host city for the 2016 Olympiad can only be ascribed to one ugly factor: racism.
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/15388
Saw a guy wearing a t-shirt that has a picture of the current occupant of our White House and the words; “My President is Black!” I looked him over and asked him what country he represents, since my president is mixed.
How much Black “Leadership” depends on “Crying Wolf” all the time?
How long will it be until no one will bothers listening when a “real” wolf exists?
Continually manufacturing a crisis seems to be the only way to maintain position, attention and funding.
And playing the “Race Card” to divert personal or policy challenges is a national sport.
(BTW, I hate to burst some bubbles here. But biological “Race” most certainly exists. It exists not so much in the differences between genes of population groups, but in the the number of copies of common genes shared by the group. And the number of copies seem to be very definitive among groups. This has been one of the most buried discoveries in science this century. Talk about keeping your head in the sand!)
Will it ever end?
This story should make everyone; black or white, purple or red, fear the future of where our state is headed. Governor Martin O’Malley, what say you?
NAACP raises questions about mayoral succession
Group fears appointment of white or Republican mayor if Dixon is convicted
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-md.ci.naacp13oct13,0,7415069.story
Carole, I too read with interest that story. I don’t know why it would be the discretion of any certain group to decide what color the next mayoral candidate should be. That promotes racism not to help destroy it.
Has anyone stopped to think that nothing should be shown live in schools? I was sitting in school at 6 years old when the Space Shuttle blew up on television and so were many other children of all ages. Thats they beauty of live tv. A speech doesn’t lose its impact when shown a couple days later. It gave instructional time and to ensure that nothing inappropriate or tragic appeared in front of the children of today like it did back then.
Lets face it….the instructional accompaniment was changed…the text was changed. In the current climate of distrust, the school board did well to review what was potentially a political speech that would have burned its way into our children’s minds forever.
Can anyone remember how to spell INDOCTRANATION or PROPOGANDA. It would not be the first time and its good to see that some people are on guard.
Racist…rediculass and insulting! That’s on a Garafallow level of logic.
Go Dagger ! ! !