School Speech Controversy

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's education secretary says the furor over President Barack Obama's speech to school children
Tuesday is "just silly."

Arne Duncan tells CBS that Obama plans to give an 18-minute speech "about personal responsibility and challenging students to take their education very, very seriously."

And he says watching it is "purely voluntary."

Duncan dismisses claims that Obama will try to indoctrinate children with a "socialist" agenda.

He says the text of the speech will be posted on the White House Web site today, so people can have a look ahead of time.

The Education Department has also taken heat over proposed lesson plans to accompany the speech. Duncan says the guides
distributed to schools "were put out by teachers, for teachers."

He says one section, on writing to the president about how students can help him meet education goals, was poorly written and
has been changed.