"Yes We Can!" Students Rename School for Obama

Obamanation,

By your logic every school named after a president must completely agree with and endorse that President's ideologies and policies. Do you know how many schools are named after presidents? Even the ones that weren't too great? It's a lot, so why are you not criticizing Washington Elementary?

Do I think that the parents of Woodrow Wilson High School agree with his fairly racist beliefs? No, I think they named the school after a President, who created the 14 points, laid the foundation for the United Nations, and navigated the US through WWI. YOU are the one that is politicizing the matter. Schools will name themselves after Obama simply for the fact that he will be considered the first African American President, which is an accomplishment, not just for him, but for minorities.

Also trying to make a word play from "abomination" by making it "ObamaNation", is only making you look like a confused supporter.

Good

A word search on this thread shows the term, "inspired", was used 8 times on this thread. With all due respect, supporting the naming the school after Obama because the kids being "inspired" by him is a bunch of gobiddygook.

WIll the other kids at the other schools in that distrct, most of which are named after the streets they are on, going to go through life less inspired by their school experiences? The answer is of course not. So then why are we politicizing the schools for a benefit that is just plain not there?

Many kids are inspired by Jesus Christ, but as a pluralistic society we understand it is not fair to have all the taxpayers fund public schools designated with his name. As a taxpayer in New York State, where part of the funding for the Obama school comes from, I feel the same way about naming a school after Obama. It is an impicit endorsement of his beliefs. Public schools should not be in the business of endorsing politicians or religious figures.

I hope some courageous citizen takes the school board to court over their move to name a school after Obama. If this thread is any indication, this person will called a racist and hater Seems to me the people with the racial hang-ups voted for the man who was suppose to heal the racial divide. How odd.

I'm a bit skeptical that this was completely the will of the students. This article consists of an interview with a "very proud" superintendent who, no doubt, has a vested interest in boasting about his school's achievements. Why is there not a single quote from a student, if it was really all about them? Does a 5th grader really come up with the idea of renaming a school, or was the idea planted in his/her head by an adult? And where is the respect for the person this school was originally named after?

Unfortunately, I feel like we've reached the point where it is impossible to be critical of the Obama movement without being labeled something derogatory. Those on the left should understand this all too well, since the same forces were at work after 9/11 -- if you dared question the government or military, you were unpatriotic. Is this really the type of public discourse we want? It's time to get a grip and realize that we don't live in a dream world where humans are infallible, and yes, that includes Barack Obama. Idol worship is hardly something that ought to be pushed in public schools!

I think many of you have completely missed the point here. This is about 5th grade kids...being inspired...being excited...learning...wanting to participate.

After eight years of having government run by ideologues who hate government, I think these kids are a wonderful indication that the time's are changing.

Good on them and good on the School Board for encouraging them.

So, Petesut,

You think that it is okay to re-dedicate an institution which was originally dedicated to someone else?

Suppose that some day a memorial which was originally dedicated to Martin Luther King is re-named by its current occupants, because they no longer care about the history of the institution or the person for which it was named?

If this was a "new" school to be dedicated, perhaps it would be appropriate, even though it is unusual to name it after someone who is still living and has not even taken office.
I wonder how President elect Obama feels about this. He may not really think it "fair" to take away Dr. Ludlum's memorial. It's a bit creepy to me and "bad luck" like re-naming a boat!

When we begin to "erase" history, where does it stop? Would you like to see Harvard re-dedicated as well?
The current students at Ludlum Elementary are not the first, nor will they be the last ones to attend that school. The school board is not the first nor will it be the last. They should leave history alone and I think that they failed to see the importance of that.
former student

It is soon to name a school after Obama. I am still his supporter, but his government is doomed to fail once he names Clinton as SOS.

Those of you who have nothing to contribute besides negativity, slurs, fear and doubt, should just know that that is just one of the reasons that YOU are not the president of the United States.

Wow! Congratulations to those students who all of a sudden wanted to get involved in something! And, were encouraged by one man's success against all odds to become president of the United States. Yes, that is an achievement. Obama's victory is not just a personal victory, but it is a victory for all those people whom he inspired to become active. It looks like those who became active were not just temporarily "activated". The real victory, the real accomplishment of the Obama campaign is getting people involved again after years of disillusionment -- in the face of all the negativity (that we continue to see in some of these posts)-- that is a very real achievement worthy of recognition.

I'm an obama supporter and I find this absurd. Quite frankly, this is a result of his being black. No where do you see schools, streets etc renamed after people that have not accomplished much. the fact of the matter is that while Ifeel obama will do great things, he hasn't yet. If he was white, this would never have happened.

Hello,

Please understand that this was a lesson from the school on how the government works. This is a student initiated action. Although all of you may not agree with the outcome, please find the time to congratulate the teachers and staff for their ingenuity to utilize the elections and debate nearby to create something that the students can actually learn. There are so many complaints about the state of the schools, let's appreciate this positive reinforcement of education. If you would like the schools to change, then volunteer at a nearby school. There is always room for your input.

This has nothing to do with being opposed to hope, or change. It has nothing to do with George Bush, or even Barack Obama himself. Personally, I like the man, and I wouldn't be surprised if he opposed this renaming publicly. This has to do with HOW this all came to be -- the process. We have developed social conventions in this country for naming things after people, and this one violates all of them, creating resentment among those that oppose it. Name-calling doesn't change any of that.

If these children were as motivated by Mr. Obama as this article suggests, they shouldn't have to name a school after him, right? Let's just be patient, and let the chips fall where they may. If we go from one extreme to the other, we will inevitably have to correct for that as well.

WOW! The hate I see spewed here is incredible! I guess it just goes to underline that ABC is actually a Republican media outlet...

All you haters out there: Can't you see that the last eight years were solely the result of republican 'leadership'? The president (Cheney...) was republican, Congress was republican (yes, we had a slim majority of dems the last 2 years, but not enough to affect any change, because of something called FILIBUSTER), so ALL THIS MESS we are in is THANKS TO REPUBLICANS and their combined greediness!

So, now we finally have someone who promises HOPE and CHANGE (even IF it would be just change from the direction of the disatrous last eight years!), and people in the street are starting to breathe sighs of relief and excitement again - and here you come, trying to squash them.

Kids are excited, black kids have a rolemodel, and you are demeaning them? Here you have one black person who 'made' it, and who is willing to help YOU and willing to help get some selfesteem into the black (as well as white and latino and asian!) community, and you poo-pooh the pride coming out of kids.
Way to go, repubs! You are just jealous that 'YOUR' president has not inspired kids to rename 'their' schools after him!
(What would that name be: "Dumbya" school? or "My Pet Goat" school? or "I got my millions, don't care about you" school? How about "Abu Ghraib School" or "Guantanamo's Best" school.)

You go, kids of Barack Obama School! Don't let anyone take your excitement away from you! Now, follow his example and strive to be the best you can be, and don't forget compassion to others!

Sabella: Was your Wheeler Avenue school in Valley Stream renamed after Lyndon Baines Johnson after he won the 1964 election?

What nonsense! You dishonor one man (Ludlum)who achieved something to honor another who hasn't yet achieved a thing, except get elected!

Apparently Dr. Charles Ludlum was "thrown under the school bus."

Posted by: Colony14Author | Nov 22, 2008 10:44:27 AM

That is the line of the day!

You get to go to the front of the class!

After Obama is exposed as a fraud, and the public learns that his father was not baracak Obama, Sr. but his communist "mentor" in high school, will they re-name the school the "Frank Marshall Davis Jr. Academy for Young Socialists?"

Apparently Dr. Charles Ludlum was "thrown under the school bus."

Those of us who believe it is improper to name a school after somoene who has yet to accomplish something significant are not losers, racists, Nazis, or any of the other terms being used in the posts here. Had McCain and Palin won the election, we wouldn't think it appropriate to name schools or institutions after them either.

The man hasn't even been sworn in yet, for cryin' out loud! Would you give a "lifetime acheievement award" to a teen-ager who won "American Idol?"

Everyone wants America to be better in 2012 than it is now, but let's see what he does before praising him for doing it. Let's not be so blinded by hope and expectations that we fail to see reality.

To me it doesn't seem American namimg a school for a unretired politician. In China I could see something like this occurring when Chairman Mao was in office. Of course I am NOT comparing Obama to Mao, but naming the school after him seems plain weird and a foreign concept to me.

Separation of School and Politics should be something we strive for, just like a separation of Church and State. While we argue over where the dividing line between Church and State should be we all would agree calling a public school Jesus the Savior School is not the correct way to sue public tax money. Well, nor should a school endorse a political belief system.

I am not a cranky sore loser. Truth be told I don't like naming things after contempoary politicians, period. I didnt even care for the Wshington airport being named after Ronald Reagan because I thought it was too soon after he left office.

I don't yet consider myself old, but I do remember a time when people did not receive honors until after they had actually done something. Obama is being set up to fail big time, because there is no way he can do what everyone expects him to do and breathe reality into the illusion the media created. A lot of people will be disappointed.

Obama's Chicago constituents, of course, have seen this unfounded adulation before. Former Cook County Board President, John Stroger, who ran the county into the ground and was responsible for massive deficits that led to the highest local taxes in the nation, built an enormous public hospital that he managed to name for himself. He wanted the glory before he died. Of course, he'll be dead long before the taxpayers finish paying for the over-budget facility.

Just on the basis of old-fashioned humility, couldn't we refrain from naming things after the guy until he's actually done something?