President Obama's Speech

Like every parent, I'm concerned that my children get the best education possible. I know their teachers, I help out in their classrooms, I sign off on every piece of homework they get. I'm grateful there are people out there who have chosen to teach, considering I have no interest, skill or patience to do so myself. This past week a lot of schools and teachers (and parents) have been faced with a difficult decision: Should we let our children watch the President's speech on Tuesday? I have mixed feelings.

President Obama is really the only president my children have known. He is talked about nearly every time we turn the television on. They don't know what his political views are, they don't know who his cabinet is, and they have no idea why the country is so divided when it comes to this one particular man. All they see is the President of the United States... as it should be at their young ages.

I certainly don't want to impart our views on the kids, but suddenly, what should be a simple speech about staying in school and the importance of education has turned into a battle between Democrat and Republican. It is pitting friend against friend and family against family. I find that I'm starting to feel more negative about certain people just because of how they are responding to this "speech".

Knowing full well that there is controversy surrounding what the President is going to say, I can't understand why a few alterations can't be made. For instance, is it necessary for him to speak during school hours? Besides the air time being less expensive, why not speak in the evening when parents can sit with their kids and listen if they so choose. Why are we leaving it up to our educators to answer questions and give their opinions? Why can't the speech be uploaded to the web several days in advance rather than one day in advance so we can have time to think it over? Why is the principal of my school leaving it up to the teachers to decide if they want to view this with their students? And what if my child doesn't view it? Will she be teased by her friends?

I'm grateful that the Education Department has withdrawn their "educational materials" for this speech. Why were they ever put in place to begin with?

I can understand the feeling of some that they don't want the President to impart his political views on the kids... but with the whole world watching, it is hard to believe this speech will be about anything other than education and it's importance.

Despite how I feel about the man himself and the direction he's leading our country into, I am planning on reading the speech before I make any decisions. I, for one, want to be informed before I jump the gun. We owe that to our kids.