TRAVERSE CITY -- No one left Steve Curtis' classroom when he showed President Barack Obama's speech on education to his students on the first day of school.
There was no problem, either, when he showed previous presidential addresses. If nothing else, he said, Obama's remarks Tuesday served as a teaching tool about political ideology and current events for his government students at Suttons Bay High School.
"I've shown the debates and talked about positives and negatives and liberals and conservatives," Curtis said. "You may not agree with who the president is, but you have to respect the office."
Obama's address, falling on the first day of school for many of the region's children, generated concerns from some parents who didn't want their children to view it.
Parents in several local districts can ask that their children be exempt from watching Obama's speech in class, a speech administrators said contains a message students should hear.
Teachers won't be prevented from playing the speech, but in many cases they will need signed consent forms from parents for a child to leave class.
Some administrators said the decision was based not on the message's content, but on a desire to placate concerned parents who, in some cases, threatened to pull their students from school.
"It wasn't clear if that was for the day or for good," said Mike Murray, superintendent of Suttons Bay Public Schools, who received six such calls and said others were directed to principals and the school board. "Parents should be involved in their kids' education, and when there's a strongly held belief, I think we need to listen to it, whether we agree with it or not."
Obama spoke shortly after noon Tuesday, and asked students to take responsibility for their learning and work hard to achieve their goals. The speech text was posted on the White House Web site prior to his address and remains accessible there.
Some Traverse City students had a half-day and left the building before Obama spoke. Administrators in districts that had full days of classes said the address took place near lunchtime and wasn't aired.
If teachers show the speech at a later date, the plans will vary:
-- Teachers in Suttons Bay, Kingsley Area Schools and Traverse City's East and West middle schools, for instance, will give parents the right to request their children be removed from the lesson. Some may have an alternative assignment planned.
-- Traverse City West Senior High teachers often use mass media, including videos, to complement lesson plans, Principal Joe Tibaldi said. Teachers can show the speech without requiring opt-out forms. "I would hope that we would not reach that point," he said.
-- Teachers in Frankfort-Elberta Area Schools can show the address without restrictions, Superintendent Tom Stobie said. "We just felt that if the president wants to talk to us, we ought to listen," he said. "I thought it was a good message for them to hear."
Traverse City Area Public Schools Superintendent James Feil said Tuesday he hadn't reviewed Obama's remarks and did not instruct the middle school principals to ask for opt-out forms. He did not return a call Wednesday seeking further comment.
Murray said parents who called him often used the word "indoctrination," leading him to wonder whether they heard it from a conservative commentator. Still, he said, the district will grant parents' requests.
"I just wonder what's happening in our country when a president can't even tell students to study hard and persevere without controversy," Murray said. "It's almost like people thought he was going to do a pitch for health care."
In some cases, such as when a controversial novel is assigned to an English class, parents need "some standard to legitimize their concern, whether it be based on religious beliefs or something else," said Lynn Gullekson, Kingsley's superintendent.
Obama's speech is not part of the required curriculum, and so the school will honor their wishes, Gullekson said. Even so, he added, he can't recall a similar reaction to other presidents.
Neither can Jody Mackey, who wants to show the address to her journalism students at Traverse City East Middle School.
Nothing about it was overtly political, she said, and adding a hoop like opt-out forms makes it harder to teach civics.
"It's odd that we have to have permission to show a presidential address," Mackey said. "I think it's a reflection of the time period."
Traverse City school board member Marjie Rich said parents should watch the video before deciding to opt out, because "there's absolutely nothing wrong playing that speech in the classrooms of our schools."
If schools excuse students from particular lessons, especially if they don't agree with a certain ideology, then students could miss important concepts, school board member Megan Crandall said.
"How is that teaching our students to embrace others' ideas, or at least listen to them?" Crandall said. "I can't imagine our leader is going to indoctrinate our children with a particular political view."
