Proud to be an American

On Tuesday the President of the United States is set to speak to school aged children all across the country about the importance of education. This has sparked some, in my opinion "unusual," controversy. As an educator myself I feel an obligation to let the world know how I feel about this subject. The following is the actual White House Press Release on the speech.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 2, 2009

MEDIA ADVISORY: President Obama to Speak Directly to Students in National Address on Educational Success

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As children across America go back to school, President Obama will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of taking responsibility for their success in school on Tuesday, September 8th at 12:00 PM EDT at Wakefield High School in Arlington.
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This statement clearly states the purpose for this address is for impressing upon students the value of education. It is not for influencing a child's view of politics as some parents seem to think. Why Obama, leader of the Free World, would talk to students aging from 5 to 17 about stem-cell research, abortion, health care, and the war on terrorism is beyond me. It makes no sense. What do they think would happen? That Obama would convince all the students to go home and convince their parents to vote for whatever Obama wants. Students have the attention span of about 2 minutes...trust me I know...and any of the above mentioned subjects would take much more time to explain to a child than that. It would do nothing for Obama's public image to target children in hopes of gaining popularity for his political issues. In fact it would do that exact opposite, and with his approval rating continuing to fall (today it is at 29%) it is the last thing he should do.

It comes down to this. You DON'T have to like Obama as a person. You don't have like his politics. But YOU DO HAVE TO RESPECT THE OFFICE WHICH HE HOLDS. By not allowing students to watch this speech you are sending the message that you don't respect the President of the United States and in essence the Constitution. WE CANNOT UNDERMINE THE CONSTITUTION. It is the cornerstone of our government and the basis for what makes America great. It provides us with all of our basic human rights. It is the foundation of a government that TRUSTS its people to make the decisions. It gives power to the masses in the hopes that the masses will take the time to learn about the issues and vote according. Let students watch this speech and make their own decisions about the President.

After all what is wrong with the President telling students reading is important and that they have power over their education. What is wrong with him encouraging them to go to college and change the world. He is after all a Harvard Law Graduate who graduated with Magna cum Laude. He truly understands how education can change lives.