To Air or Not to Air Obama's Speech: Darien Teachers' Decision

Superintendent Don Fiftal has made a non-political decision to let principals and teachers decide whether or not to air President Obama's speech to schoolchildren today at noon. Fiftal said that while Obama’s message to students is important, it is one already ingrained in Darien students.

“People in this district are so highly motivated that the message is redundant,” Fiftal said. “I think to stop instructional teaching to watch a speech that emphasizes the importance of instructional teaching is counter-intuitive.”

Fiftal said he received four or five phone calls from parents last week who did not want their children to see the speech.

“These parents felt the speech was designed get into the minds of kids, and they were the ones that wanted to have that influence over the minds of their children,” said Fiftal.

The superintendent added that the speech, while itself “benign,” has become so politically charged that it is now a current event that many teachers may deem worthy of discussion. He has left the decision up to the teachers has to how they want to incorporate—or not—the speech into their curriculum.

The President's message will be streamed live on WhiteHouse.gov/live, and broadcast live on C-Span. A downloadable video of the speech will be available on the site as it becomes available