“Why does a public school herd its students into campaign events — replete with student musicians repurposing the school’s fight song to support a political candidate? It’s compulsory schooling and compulsory participation in politics. The purpose is openly political.”
Bloggress Ann Althouse, criticizing a Harris campaign stop at a high school in Georgia.
I am inclined to agree with Althouse and see this as totalitarian-ish indoctrination, but only because the public schools have been tending increasingly that way in recent years. It’s possible, I think, that the motivations of the teachers and the school were not partisan but educational. In a healthier era when parties didn’t try to demonize each other, a chance to experience a Presidential campaign up close would have been regarded as unique teaching opportunity. I know that in 1960, when I first began my obsession with U.S. Presidents, I would have loved to be in the middle of a candidate’s visit, and which candidate would have mattered to me not one whit.
I suspect that parents of the Georgia students, being visitors from an alternate version of the United States, would not view the “compulsory participation in politics” as anything sinister or inappropriate because their reference point is like mine.
But Ann, I fear, is right.
Ethics Alarms 
Agreed. I would have been thrilled for my kids – when they were school age – to experience such an event. I was thrilled when one of my bucket list items (to shake the hand of a US President) was checked off having shook the hand of Bill Clinton.
Today? I’m embarrassed to admit it was Bill and my kids would would be kept home.
It occurs to me that a sitting president visiting a school would be more ethical than a presidential candidate. With latter it makes the kids out to be campaign props.
Absolutely.
I recall sitting on the school bus on the way home at the age of about six and somehow all of us kids were all singing
“Whistle while you work
Nixon is a jerk
Eisenhower has no power
Whistle while you work”
after the last line the final bit was to shout
“And vote for McGovern!”
= – = – = – =
Who got us started on this I don’t know. Six year-olds don’t spontaneously sing such things.
But really, who got us started? It may have been a teacher, or may have come down from older siblings who had a slightly better idea that the election was coming up. I suspect a teacher, but it could have been our cool older siblings
–charles w abbott
rochester NY
As with anything in our toxic political culture, the question really should be: if Donald Trump showed up at the same school, would he get the same welcome, have the school song tweaked to celebrate him and have parents’ concerns dismissed so easily?
We already know the answer to that. If the same treatment would not be applied to her opponent, it’s about indoctrination, not education.
The school has a ready-made excuse: any school getting a visit from a (historic!) Presidential candidate should be thrilled and parents should be happy their children are getting such a rare educational opportunity.
Yep…unethical unless candidate Trump gets an opportunity as well.
So once the music stopped…
Would anyone have paid money along with me to have VP Harris engage in a quick game of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader” with the students?
Hehe, you may owe me a keyboard.
I did watch a minute or two and what struck me (figuratively fortunately) were the hands. Waving this way, that way, all around. It was distracting, to say the least.
Did you know VP Harris is considered by many to be a problem-solver? That waving of her hands, this way and that, is her skill in action.
Skillz to pay the billz…
I saw a clip of the event. I am seeing more and more people state that she appears drunk, and she did. She told them that they were all leaders for showing up. She told them that everyone on a team is a leader. That is supposed to be profound.
I would love to see the Trump campaign try to set up an event at the same school, get denied (which can practically be guaranteed), and point out the rampant hypocrisy.