Everywhere I turn there is someone talking about President Obama’s speech to the students. People are outraged by it and are going as far to keep their children home from school to ensure they do not watch it. I was curious what all the hype was about and decided to do some research on it myself. So I read the speech on the White House website. I really don’t get it. Why are people so upset about this speech? His speech has NOTHING to do with politics. He is simply asking kids to step it up and be responsible for their education.
Shortly after reading the speech, I received a call from our school district stating that it was up to the teacher if they were going to show it or not. The message went on to say if I did not want my kids to watch it, I should send a note and they will be placed in the library if their teacher decides to air it. The children that aren’t permitted to watch the speech will need to write an essay on what they are going to do to take responsibility for their own education. My husband and I had a discussion about it and I decided to write a note to each of my kids teachers asking them to please allow my kids to watch it:
Dear Mrs. XXXX,
I received a call from the district asking me to send a note if I do not want my kids to watch President Obama’s speech on Tuesday. I would love for my child to watch his speech. I read the speech myself and I feel he is sending a positive message. I hope that hearing our President talk about others that have obstacles and struggles in their lives that my child takes away a sense of responsibility and dedication to their education, knowing they can succeed in life.
Thank you very much!
Amber Ortega
P.S. If you decide not to show the speech and are not able to send my child to a classroom that is showing it, can you please let me know so I can find it online for them to watch.
I know that my stance on this is different from a lot of people. Many people are simply making the decision based on their own feelings of the President and they are not educated on what he will be talking about. How can you make a judgment without knowing the facts? I read the entire speech and did not read anything political. There’s no mention of health care or anything else inappropriate. Why would you keep your child from hearing someone tell them their education is important? Why would you keep your child from hearing that other people have been through struggles and succeeding? Obama mentions several students, including a minority, barely speaking English and working hard in high school, going on to get a full scholarship to Brown University; a student that has been suffering from brain cancer but studies hard and is getting ready to head to college; a child that went from foster home to foster home and is now graduating with honors and going to college. Obama is trying to show our children that regardless of your situation, you can overcome your obstacles and go on to be great. You don’t have to drop out and end up with a low-paying job, you can finish school, go onto college and do the things you only imagined.
I understand there is a huge divide in the American population right now, and there are lots of strong feelings on both sides. If there was someone that could show me true evidence that there is anything derogatory in Obama’s speech, I might change my mind. As far as I can see, there is nothing inappropriate for my six and eight-year-old to hear. I hope that you each parent makes the best decision for their children, only after they have read the speech and make sure they are informed.
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