Most of you know how I feel about Twitter, but many of you don’t know how I feel about President Obama. Thank goodness, most of you don’t really care what I think about the President. MomsMaterial, after all, is not a political blog but a website that provides fun and creative ideas about parenting and family time.
I must admit, before last week I had not heard much about this address to America’s students. However, on Friday, I received an email from my daughter’s teacher stating that they were going to watch President Obama’s speech (to students) on Tuesday and that they will probably have a follow up lesson based on his speech. We were informed about “opting out” of the speech and my first reaction was, who wouldn’t want their child to see the President of the United States address students about the importance of education. I soon found out.
The next phone call I received was from a friend, and the speech was brought up. She was very upset about the President addressing her child and she wasn’t going to send her children to school that day. Luckily, she told me, that the principal had decided not to show it at school. Then I started reading blogs, posts and tweets about President Obama brainwashing our children with his “socialist” propaganda.
I began looking into this whole mess and heard stories from both sides. And this is what I learned…
I can be respectful of the President, although I may not agree with some of his political agenda. I think it is important to show my kids that I respect authority (the President), even when I may disagree with some ideas. If I listen to his speech and I disagree with something, it is an opportunity for me to discuss it with my kids.
I will teach my kids about making informed decisions. I will talk to my kids about waiting to make a decision until you know all the facts.
I will talk to my kids about what I expect from them in regards to their behavior and their schoolwork.
I will tell my kids that they have a purpose and education can help them discover their talent.
I will give my kids vision and help them see themselves succeeding.
I will remind them that on the way to success, their will be obstacles and they may fail before succeeding. Then I will remind them of people they relate to and the failures they had before success.
I will remind them that success requires hard work and sacrifice. Parents, teachers and schools can help them along the way, but ultimately they must make their own decision.
These are all addressed in President Obama’s planned speech. I must admit that I have great respect for a man that started off with little, faced many obstacles, persevered and worked hard to be the success he is today. It is not easy to become the President of the United States.
I was impressed with the way he approached subjects and related them to jobs. For instance, math and science teach you problem solving skills that are needed when you cure diseases like cancer or AIDS. In addition, I wonder if I had heard this when I was a child, would I have thought differently about certain subjects.
He even mentioned that years ago the founder of Twitter was sitting in a classroom just like they are. Think of the way Twitter has changed the way we communicate. (If the founder had given up, we may not be tweeting today.)
And this is why, President Obama, why you had me at the mention of twitter.
I can’t wait to find out what tomorrow brings, after he has actually given the speech.
Photo from Wikipedia
Cammie Moise