The President Talks with School Children

I was informed last Friday, near the end of school, about President Obama's broadcast to students this coming Tuesday. I did not vote for our current president, but, I will say, as an educator, that his education policies were of particular interest to me. But, when I heard about his broadcast coming on Tuesday, I was immediately uneasy. Why at school, and why on such short notice? Why can't anyone preview his remarks? What is he saying to students, that parents shouldn't also hear? As an educator, I wanted the opportunity to prepare to respond to my students following the broadcast. Many of my friends have posted concerns and comments on facebook, which, in several cases, have started quite the political discussion. This is my response to one of them, and I think it accurately crystallizes my feelings on the subject.

As an educator, having the moral obligation to field questions from 29 8-year-olds Tuesday morning, my gut reaction, with no influence from ANYONE, was, "Hmm... why the late notice? and why during school instead of at home with the students' parents?" My personal, gut reaction, was, it's a little strange that this is late notice (at least from my ... Read Moreschool district both here, and in VA where I'm from), and I felt uneasy. The second reaction (why not at home with their parents?) is due to my experience as an educator - I have SO many students who WANT to do well, and TRY very hard to do well, but when those students' parents yank them out of school for nothing, and don't support them in practicing reading at home, those students struggle - A LOT. If President Obama's speech is simply about the importance of education and setting and achieving goals in that area, it is not a speech that only needs to be heard by the students, but also their parents, who, for my students, most of which will be at work. THOSE parents need to hear that too. As for healthy foods - fine, but, fund it, and be the one to make the students eat it. You can't control who's bringing lunches from home, or if those lunches are healthy, and quite frankly, if students don't like it, they won't eat it, and it's ILLEGAL for me to shove it down their throats. ... Read MorePersonally, I'd rather have a child who has eaten something, even if it's not a salad, than a child who is hungry, and therefore CAN'T pay attention and learn.
Thirdly, I agree with Brian - I feel it's important to vote, and I wear my sticker proudly on voting day, and have discussions about the responsibilities of being a citizen of the United States regularly with my students (which includes supporting the president, no matter if you voted for him or not). But, while, as an educator, I have my own strong opinions about NCLB (which is good in theory, but, poorly implemented and funded), I cannot share them with my students. It would be ethically wrong for me to do so. If that is part of President Obama's message on Tuesday, it is neither the time nor the place - those decisions and agendas, are concerns for adults, not children, and they should not be burdened with them.
Although I do not have children of my own, as a responsible educator, I plan to preview the speech on Monday, and ... Read Moreprepare myself to field questions and lead a class discussion following the broadcast on Tuesday.
I have been present for several family discussions, and heard of several others of parents explaining to their children how to handle the broadcast on Tuesday - encouraging them to support the present, but also to decide for themselves if what he is saying is right and good, and not to follow blindly. That is the same counsel we are given about following the prophet, and should apply to every leader we ever have - both spiritual and otherwise.
All in all, the broadcast will happen, and thankfully, living in the US, we all have the right to react as we will, without fear of recourse. But, really, as parents, teachers, and adults in this country, we hold the moral obligation to discuss this with our children, and quite frankly, the home, rather than the school, seems to be the better venue for this entire event.

In case you were unaware, here are the two videos, announcing the broadcast, and a link to the information available with it.

The commercial:


The interview:


The website with educational resources:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/

The live feed (for Tuesday's broadcast:



Needless to say, I HIGHLY encourage ALL who possibly can to view the broadcast and discuss it with the children, and adults in our lives. Living in a democracy is a blessing, but also bears great responsibility - not following blindly is part of that responsibility. Listen and decide for yourself.