'I Pledge!' video causes controversy at school

FARMINGTON -- Eagle Bay Elementary officials came under fire this week after showing students a "pledge to service" video that a conservative lobbying group complained aligned too closely with President Obama.
In the end, Principal Ofelia Wade responded to complaints about the video by sending parents a letter of "heartfelt apology."
"I am sincerely sorry that in our zeal to find an engaging and motivating means of introducing the theme to the students, I neglected to anticipate the potential that aspects of the video clip, which was solely intended to promote the value of service, might be inappropriate for your children," Wade wrote to parents.
Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, denounced the showing of the video without parental permission.
She said in a news release that the video has a political message that supports a liberal agenda.
"This displays a total disregard for parental rights and authority and seems to be a thinly veiled attempt to indoctrinate our children with leftist propaganda," Ruzicka wrote.
The "I Pledge!" video can be seen on YouTube.
In the video, many high-profile celebrities pledged to help a neighbor, smile more, turn out lights and volunteer, along with pledges to support stem cell research and a clean environment. Anthony Kiedis, lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, pledged to serve Barack Obama. He also kissed his arm and pledged "allegiance to the funk, to the united funk of funkadelica."
Ruzicka said Kiedis' statement was "making a mockery of the Pledge of Allegiance." She also said it is dangerous to teach people to pledge service to the president. She said that pledge is for kings, while presidents serve the people.
In the last frame, the celebrities pledge "to be the change that we seek" -- a direct theme of the Obama presidential campaign.
The school's letter states that showing the video to the children was an attempt to inspire them to take part in yearlong service-themed activities. Wade acknowledged in the letter that she had not viewed the video before it was shown to students.
Chris Williams, spokesman for the Davis School District, said the district's concern was that the principal "should have viewed the video prior to showing it to the children."
Wade referred all questions about the incident to Williams, declining any comment to reporters.
Williams said Wade acknowledged that while the video was being shown to the children, she became uncomfortable with some messages in the clip.
"There are some areas in it that have what some people think is a political agenda," Williams said. "Ofelia hopes her mistake doesn't overshadow the effort to teach children at the school to serve other people and to reach out to others when they see a need."
Williams said Wade met with members of the Parent-Teacher Association over the summer to brainstorm about kicking off the new school year's theme of service. Wade asked PTA members to find a motivational video that would best represent that theme, and the "I Pledge!" video was chosen, Williams said.
Wade was not directed by the district to send letters of apology, he said.
"The overall thought has been that the theme of the video is serving -- that one person can make a difference," Williams said.
Utah Eagle Forum also took exception to the parts of the video where environmental issues were raised, especially those pledging to stop using plastic bags and bottles and limit toilet flushing.
Ruzicka said a lot of families may not view those issues as important. She said children seeing the video may see their mother use plastic bags from the store and "begin questioning her actions."
Ruzicka said she was glad to hear the school was apologizing to parents.
"I think that is great," she said. "I certainly would hope that this won't happen in the future and the schools will make sure the parents are notified. Hopefully, this will be stopped."