By this time you may or may not be aware that President Obama’s planned speech on Tuesday is creating a controversy in the media. I have received two parent phone calls today regarding the speech. I must admit that I’ve been completely consumed with RCS this week and was unaware of the controversy. If interested, you can easily read more on-line about the discussion. I refuse to perpetuate the conversation with detail here, it’s not the purpose of this blog.
We are not showing the speech in whole school assemblies. Teachers have been given the discretion to watch it with their classes. I realize now that some of our parents may object to their children watching the speech live, in school, without them. If we receive a note from a parent indicating that a child is not permitted to watch the speech, we will honor the parent’s request.
A message to our children encouraging our students to work hard in school is a welcome one, from anyone and everyone who wants to spread the message.
Once again I recognize that one of our most crucial goals as educators is to teach our students to critically analyze information. If we look at the media firestorm brewing about this speech and the vast amount of information available to our kids, it becomes even more apparent that we must make it a major goal of our schools to teach our students to assess and analyze information.
Well said, Mrs. Senn!
EVERY President, EVERY year should address our kids on the importance of staying in school, of the value of education, that he believes in them, and that he, and the rest of the country is depended on them to do their homework.
President Kennedy changed a lot of people’s lives by telling them “ask not what your country can do for you…..” and this is an opportunity to change a kids life. Every kid? no, but if even one kid says, “Hey, President Obama cares about me and what I am doing.” It matters, and we should support and promote that.
I read the speech in the paper yesterday. My teacher and I watched a recorded speech with our students today. I thought it was everything every parent and educator would want to yell from the mountain tops!!!My students at the Academy all watched it in silence. I am willing to bet that something clicked as we had a great discussion after watching it together. I really couldn’t see what all the controversy was about. It seemed nothing but sending our students a positive message from our nations leader.
Wow Mrs. Senn! What a well thought out and powerful statement! I fully agree with you!
I personally, am appauled and embarassed by our nation’s reaction. I work very hard to teach my students the importance of showing respect. Respect for ourselves, each other, for adults and authority(which definitely includes the President of the United States), and for our community (family, school, town, country…). I try to teach them the importance of setting goals, personal responsibility, and making positive choices.
Now we have parents telling their children to disregard the president’s speech on the importance of education and perseverance, to ignore your teacher’s lesson plans, and to possibly stay home from school. What happens when these children get a job and don’t agree with everything that their boss tells them? Do they quit? That’s a LOT of quitting. And everyone wonders why we have such a problem with abusing public assistance.
Please America; yes we are in a sad state of affairs right now…but it did not start yesterday, and it is not the fault of one person or one political party. Instead of being part of the problem, could we please work together to create solutions? Complaining and turning our backs is not a course of action.
I’m actually kind of appalled at the entire public conversation regarding this speech. We’re not talking about a policy speeech or anything of the sort, but a positive message about staying in school.
Barak Obama is the President of the United States! It doesn’t matter if you voted for him or agree with him, he’s the President and the Office, if nothing else, should be respected. The previous administration still evokes very strong negative feelings, but I served as a Marine and respected the President’s decisions because he was the President.
Every politician is going to make choices that we disagree with, but to turn a desire to encourage students into a partisan battle is an embarrassment to the country. We’re supposed to be leading the free world and we can’t support something this simple?
I was a kid during the administrations of President Ford and President Carter, not exactly on most top ten lists for Presidents but we were taught to respect them and support them. Are we really teaching our kids about a healthy democracy right now? Is this how we want them to behave as adults, ignoring someone we don’t agree with even when they’re doing something positive?
While I am not an Obama supporter, I find it difficult to believe that he can accomplish what he is being accused of in one short address. I applaud Mrs Moritz’s decision to allow teachers to decide whether to view the address in school. Parents who are concerned, and they certainly have the right to be, can opt their children out. The text of the message will be released on Monday so that parents and teachers can read it first. As I said, I am not an Obama supporter, but I do have be encouraged by the fact that he had sense enough to respond to public opinion and publish the text beforehand..perhaps there is hope.
Pingback: President Obama’s Speech « Jenny Hogg’s Blogs
I could not agree with you more! Since the invention of Public Education, educators have always taught students to love this country, to admire people who serve in it, and to be active participants in it. When I was young, we were taught to honor the President and to support him. That was Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican President. I can’t imagine why anyone would encourage their children to hate their president or to think that he was somehow trying to “Brainwash” them. According to the Secretary of Education, this speech is an attempt, by President Obama, to encourage children to work hard at their studies and to be active citizens. Why would we discourage that from happening?