[quote]Kim Jong Il in 350,000 beads
Fourth grade students from every state are using PhotoPearls® to create a photo mosaic of Kim Jong Il made entirely of hollow plastic beads.
The photo of Kim Jong Il will become a 9 x 11 ½ foot mosaic picture made up of more than 350,000 PhotoPearls® beads, becoming the world’s largest beaded photo mosaic.[/quote]
Isn’t this just super? Oh, wait it’s a portrait of Obama made in the US. Oh dear.
It’s a social studies project.
And the airport in Washington DC was named after Ronald Reagan, as was an aircraft carrier.
Popular presidents, dont’cha know.
And the airport in Washington DC was named after Ronald Reagan, as was an aircraft carrier.
Popular presidents, dont’cha know.[/quote]
He was a former President when that happened. And it’s not the same as teachers telling kids to make a portrait in school.
I guess you’d be OK with your kids spending their time making a huge portrait of Ma Ying Jeoh, or Sarah Palin and John McCain if they had won, right?
Would you have started this thread and made the asinine comparison to the worship of Kim Jong Il if students were making a portrait of McCain?
McCain is a Senator. Kim Jong Il is a “president” of a nation. No comparison in office.
I always thought you had to wait until people were dead for a while before you could do things like this. What happens if they really screw up before they are dead? Or some scandal comes out? Do you re-name the carrier or airport?
[quote=“Elegua”]I always thought you had to wait until people were dead for a while before you could do things like this. What happens if they really screw before they are dead? Or some scnadal comes out? Do you re-name the carrier or airport?[/quote]That’s exactly why we wait until someone’s dead. How can you honour someone’s life when it’s not complete?
He’s like…you know…a god man…
With the pile of merde he’s inherited, we’d best all be lighting votive candles.
It’s elementary school silliness, worthy of neither praise nor condemnation. They’re what - eleven years old? If it wasn’t this, it would be making the White House out of popsicle sticks. Who cares? 
If portraits like this were mandated by the government, that would be scary. This isn’t.
Why is the comparison asinine? This is precisely the sort of activity that children (and adults) in North Korea do.
The schools are government-operated. I would imagine that this is an activity conceived of and coordinated by and assigned by the schools.
I care. Its silliness, for sure. But, its silliness handed down no doubt from the school admins/teachers. And its not the same thing as making a model White House. Lots of folks would be very angry if the schools had the kids wasting time making such a portrait of G.W. Bush. This is cult of personality nonsense and there is little place for it, IMO, in schools.
…at government behest, and woe betide anyone who refuses.
The Obama portrait is not something that the government is forcing onto the schools; it’s a program initiated privately and in which school participation is optional. The fact that the schools themselves are public is irrelevant.
I sense some jealousy here on the part of the Bush supporters. Their guy was widely disliked, Obama is widely liked.
Hahaha, that’s fab! I thought part of Obama’s mandate was to repair the image other countries have of the US? 
[quote=“Chris”]…at government behest, and woe betide anyone who refuses.
The Obama portrait is not something that the government is forcing onto the schools; it’s a program initiated privately and in which school participation is optional. The fact that the schools themselves are public is irrelevant.[/quote]
Uh… the schools are run by the governments. Do you think the kids have a choice of whether or not to participate in this “project”? And if they do, what are they doing instead of worshipping Obama?
I’d much rather see the kids making maps or doing something else that has pedagogical value. What exactly are the children learning as they make this enormous portrait of our Leader?
No you don’t.
Do you really not get it?
I don’t want any children to be led by the government-run schools to perform any type of worship of a currently-serving political leader.
Its creepy in the extreme. Like North Korea.
Obama doesn’t deserve such accolades. He hasn’t accomplished anything yet. He’s only been president for about 6 months. It’s just a distorted perception. When you compare him to Bush he looks like the greatest historical hero of all time. Compared to Bush, he’s a genius. Compared to Bush, he’s a hero. Compared to Bush, he’s Superman. It’s not so much a worshiping of Obama. It’s a general sigh of relief.
So…what of all those diarama’s of the founding fathers signing the declaration of independence? Paper mache Mt. Rushmore’s. That’s okay 'cause they’re out of office and dead?
How about that class trip we took in 4th grade to Washington and all had pictures of R. Reagan (ooh that dates me)
There has always been a highly patriotic element of the US. The US education system spends a lot of time trying to make citzens. That is why during my breif stint in public education we said the pledge of allegiance every morning, spent a lot of time studying TR Roosevelt, (namesake for the school), and focussing on the then President Ronald Reagan. Didn’t have much impact on my political beliefs as I believe that Reagan while popular, was one of the worst post-war presidencies.
Yes. Its history and hopefully you learned something about the matter while doing those projects. What are the kids making the giant image of Obama learning?
You mean while he was in office? What was the context? Was it a trip to the White House to learn about the White House while RR happened to be inhabiting the White House? Or, was it a trip to DC taken for the purpose of seeing (and adoring) Reagan?
Yes. He was in office. The trip was part of a civics/social studies project. The pictures were to show us all what a wonderful president we have. We even got them signed (stamped) and were quite proud of them. Nothing wrong with showing some respect for the president, is there?
While I never did a puzzle picture, in whatever education system I’ve been in, (mostly private, some public), there has always been a bit of popularizing the current sitting president. Me thinks you’ve been reading too many blogs about The One and Obamamessiah, (sp?).
He’s well spoken and has charisma, so naturally that might make people feel a bit nervous, especially in unsettling times. Accusing him of cult of personality is one tactic to disarm him of it.