As a teacher, I know that the real impact of this speech on younger children is only going to come with purposeful involvement on the teacher’s part. Hopefully an emphasis on good character and strong work ethic will be the route most teachers use. That’s what I would do. I would probably also incorporate some discussion on freedom of speech-all opinions are able to be voiced because we live in a free country. What a privilege!As a parent of a school age child, I would have read this speech before hand, read it with my child, and then talked with them specifically about things that my child might contribute in a classroom discussion. OR, I would read the speech, and then ask them about it in hindsight to see what impact it might have left, if any, and address the issues then. Middle school and high school kids need not be neglected in this discussion!
As a politician, do I agree with Obama? No. Do I disagree with a message to our school children about hard work and good character? No. Do I think that there is an underlying political agenda in Obama’s speech? Probably. Did Reagan or Bush have a political agenda in their school speech? Probably. If you are a politician, you have a political agenda, period.
All of the political discussion these days is encouraging. Americans aren’t willing to just roll with the punches-whether it’s a right hook or a left one. We are skeptics, we question things, and we like to voice our opinions. All of this is healthy and necessary for preserving the freedoms we currently possess. As soon as you quit being a skeptic, or as soon as you quit questioning political agendas, is the moment you’ve become a frog in someone else’s pot. So, America, keep hopping ! We all know what happens to a captured frog plopped into a pot that’s the right temperature to begin with.
