The President of the United States wants to make a speech to school children. It's not the first time this has happened, nor will it probably be the last. He wants to encourage them to work hard and get a good education.
Whether you like the man's policies or politics is not the issue here. This is a highly educated and successful man raising two beautiful children, who wants to see them and all the other children in our country have a chance for a good future.
So what are people so afraid of? That he is going to tell the kids to make their parents approve his health care reform? That he is going to trash family values or tell kids not to obey their parents? That he is going to put subversive thoughts into their heads? That he might just touch even one child's heart and mind and motivate that student to achieve his or her dreams?
I am a teacher in a middle school. My school won't be broadcasting the President's speech. Instead, the speech will be taped and may be shown at a later date so parents can then opt out of their children being exposed to such incendiary rhetoric. I am disgusted.
Please do not bombard me with hate mail over this. I am simply one teacher--and parent--who believes in being an involved citizen and keeping an open mind to what the leader of our country has to say. If we cover our ears and scream loudly while he is speaking it still won't stop the words from being out there. All it will do is make us miss an opportunity to have an intelligent dialogue with our children and help them become the thinking citizens of the future.
What a shame.
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Comments: 32 ( 1 removed by Elaine M. )
Thank you, Mr. President, for telling everyone that education is important and that we can all be smart. All we have to do is reach for a book and find a mentor and work hard.
This is the first time I have spoken out, in what appears to be a "pro Obama" context, however, this is not a political issue, it's an issue that deals with freedom of choice.
I've talked myself silly on another post and read many articles on this issue and I am sorry to hear that your school is taking the low road. How disappointing.
I am immediately reminded of the words of Voltaire, as it relates to this topic:
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ~Voltaire
I picked a quote from an online search that sums it up (imho):
The populist authoritarianism that is the downside of political correctness means that anyone, sometimes it seems like everyone, can proclaim their grief and have it acknowledged. The victim culture, every sufferer grasping for their own Holocaust, ensures that anyone who feels offended can call for moderation, for dilution, and in the end, as is all too often the case, for censorship. And censorship, that by-product of fear - stemming as it does not from some positive agenda, but from the desire to escape our own terrors and superstitions by imposing them on others - must surely be resisted. ~Jonathon Green, "Did You Say 'Offensive?'," as posted on wordwizard.com
It's a motivation speech to get the kids to apply themselves and work hard. We CAN'T have them motivated, now can we?
*shrug*
I've not heard how Gideon's school will handle this.
That said, I plan on sitting down with all 4 of my children (ages 14, 12, 6, and 3) and watching/discussing what the President has to say.
Sounds like your school district found an easy out, for sure!
I hope that after Wednesday, we drop all the name calling and start a real debate on the policies I disagree with, starting with health care. If the right does not get their act together, they will pay the price at some point.