By Marcia Moore
MIFFLINBURG — John and Leanne Bechdel took their three children out of school Tuesday morning so they could watch President Barack Obama's back-to-school speech live on television.
"We had to go to three separate buildings to pick up our kids," Mrs. Bechdel said of the couple's fourth- and seventh-grade daughters and kindergarten son who attend Mifflinburg Area School District.
The Bechdels, like several other parents who e-mailed complaints to The Daily Item and called the school district office, were upset when Mifflinburg school officials decided not to show the noon speech live to students.
Instead, Superintendent Barry Tomasetti advised parents that it would be recorded, reviewed and shown to students in the next 10 days.
That's censorship, the Bechdels said.
"Ten days later is not timely. They're trying to censor the president," Mrs. Bechdel said.
Tomasetti did not return a call for comment Tuesday.
Lewisburg and Line Mountain school districts also opted not to show the speech live.
The speech coincided with lunch at Linntown Intermediate School in the Lewisburg district, so it was shown two hours later to the fourth- and fifth-graders who opted to watch.
"I had some calls both in favor and not of showing it to students," Lewisburg Area High School Principal David Himes said.
He doesn't understand the uproar, but said the speech will likely spark healthy debate among the students when it's shown later.
"It's political, not practical, unfortunately," Himes said. "Regardless of politics, it's the president and we should have some respect for the office. I don't know how anyone can find fault in the president speaking to inspire our youth, but apparently some people do."
The noontime speech also conflicted with lunch at Milton Area High School and Principal Brian Noaker said only a few teachers planned to show it live in class.
"It will be seen by a fraction of our students," he said.
Shikellamy School Superintendent Alan Lonoconus said building principals were allowed to handle the speech viewing however they wanted, but he was impressed with Obama's remarks.
"I thought it was a very good speech, something our students need to hear and definitely worth watching," he said, adding that he's encouraging parents to seek it on the Internet and social studies teachers to use it in class.
"He's the president. What could be wrong with it?" Lonoconus said. "If it was FDR (the nation's 32nd president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt), would we have turned him down?"
Selinsgrove Superintendent Fred Johnson said the speech wasn't shown in grades K-5, but was available in the media center at the high school and the text of the speech has been posted on the district Web site.
Johnson said the controversy over what ended up as a "non-event" regarding a speech encouraging students to study made for an unpleasant few days for school administrators.
"After viewing the text, it does appear to be a non-event. I'm much more upset with the federal government's intervention in schools with No Child Left Behind than with this speech," Johnson said.
In the speech, Obama urged kindergarteners through seniors across the nation to take responsibility for their education.
"We can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world "” and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities," Obama said, "unless you show up to those schools, pay attention to those teachers, listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults, and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
"And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself."
There was no reference to public policy in the president's remarks and some residents accused fear-mongering conservatives and racism of fanning the controversy.
"Hysteria about this innocuous event has been whipped up by political enemies of the president "” ones who are not simply partisan, but who foment racism and hatred in our society," said Lewisburg residents Mitch Hart and Meenakshi Ponnuswami in a letter to The Daily Item.
The couple said they were disappointed to receive a letter from Kelly Elementary School notifying parents the speech would not be aired live because the content of Obama's speech was not known.
On Monday, a transcript of the speech was released by the White House to allay any concern.
"Your decision to let parents choose if they will allow their children to hear President Obama urge them to study hard and stay in school seems to be a stunning example of political partisanship," wrote Mifflinburg residents Bill Flack and Deirdre O'Connor in an open letter to Tomasetti. "It's hard to imagine that parents complaining now would have done so if President Bush were scheduled to speak."
A similar sentiment was expressed by Mr. Bechdel, who noted former Republican presidents George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan delivered a similar speech in the late 1980s and early 1990s without controversy.
"I'm worried that they are bringing ideology into the school," Mr. Bechdel said. "People are uncomfortable with Obama, but if Sara Palin were president, they'd be hanging on every word."
The Bechdels said they watched Obama's inauguration as a family and they wanted the children to see him deliver an "inspiring" speech directed at them, even if their 5-year-old son labeled it "boring" afterward.
"We think it's historical," Mr. Bechdel said. "He's our first African-American president, he went to Harvard and he wasn't wealthy. It's a great inspirational, American story."
n E-mail comments to mmoore@dailyitem.com
