Friday, February 21, 2014

3rd grade lesson plan presents messianic view of Obama – literally

November 26, 2013

Kyle Olson Kyle Olson

Kyle founded Education Action Group in 2007.
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MUSKEGON, Mich. – On the heels of a controversial children’s book about Barack Obama – which stated “white voters would never vote for a black president” and that “Barack’s former pastor” said “God would damn the United States for mistreating its black citizens” – comes a new lesson that casts America’s 44th president in a messianic light. Literally.

And – surprise – it’s Common Core-aligned.
The lesson plan and accompanying visual presentation were authored by Sherece Bennett, and is for sale on TeachersPayTeachers.com. It’s all based on a book titled, “Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope,” by Nikki Grimes.
The book is read aloud in the video below.
In one passage, a young Obama sees beggars and wonders, “Will I ever be able to help people like these?”
“Hope hung deep inside of him,” the book adds.
Another excerpt from the book reads: “Before dawn each morning, Barry rose – his mother’s voice driving him from dream land. ‘Time for learning English grammar and the Golden Rule. Be honest, be kind, be fair,’ she taught him.”
The story continues: “One morning, he slipped on the name he’d been born with. The name of his father, Barack. For the first time in his life, he wore it proudly – like a coat of many colors.”
Uh oh – another Obama-inspired Biblical reference in a government school! But there’s no controversy here. Leftists will use God and the Bible, in instances such as these, when it appropriately fits their propaganda purposes.
Son of Promise Prezi still cropNo story about Barack Obama would be complete without mentioning his work as a community organizer. The book describes those days in dramatic fashion:
“The work was grueling, with stretches of failure, and puny patches of success. Door-to-door Barack went, early mornings, late nights, pleading and preaching, coaxing strangers to march together, to make life better for everyone.
“He worked as hard as a farmer, planting the words ‘Yes, we can!’ like seeds in spring.
“Impatient, Barack kept wondering if those seeds would ever sprout. He worried that the hope in him would fade away.”
This mythical interpretation of Obama was the #1 New York Times bestselling picture-book biography of Obama, according to Amazon.com.
Bennett’s lesson calls for students as young as third grade to read Grimes’ book and do a number of activities, including making a collage of Obama:
“Have students bring in magazines and photos of President Obama. Have students create a collage about Barack Obama based on the information from the text. The collage should represent pictures and words about Barack Obama.”
Grimes’ book and Bennett’s lesson plan are more fitting for an authoritarian regime in which children are taught to deify and praise their dear leader. One can almost envision teachers in Cuba, Venezuela and Iran using similar books and lessons.
Thankfully, that’s not the American way, which makes these learning materials completely unsuitable for our classrooms.
Still, given the large number of activist teachers in the U.S., there’s a very real possibility this is the version of Barack Obama’s history many of our young students are learning in a school near you.

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