“No president, Republican or Democrat, should interrupt the educational process in this manner," Kern said in a press release issued Thursday. "President Obama is always in the news, so there is ample opportunity for students to see him."
These are the remarks from Sally Kern, a Republican Representative from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. These remarks are also from a woman who is the state coordinator for the America's Legislators Back to School Program, a program that invites legislators into classrooms across America to speak to children about the political process. Same person.
Confused? So am I.
Let me start by saying I never wanted this blog to be political in nature but this is way too far. I keep my political beliefs separate from every other facet of my life to a certain extent. I am more moderate than I am anything but I am a registered Democrat. Yes, I voted for Obama. Yes, the fact that he is black influenced my vote. The fact that he is qualified was the reason I voted for him.
I wanted to get that out of the way so that the reader will understand the nature of my comments and where they are coming from. I find it reprehensible to suggest that the President of the United States of America speaking to the youth of America is anything but a wonderful idea. Even if these kids don’t agree or understand with our President’s remarks, isn’t it a good thing for them to go home and speak to their parents about the event? Isn’t this the type of round the dinner table discussions we crave in this country? Interrupt the educational process? I remember when I was in school, the President would block all of the channels on television and we would utilize his speech the next day in the educational process. The very worst are those who have the audacity to parallel this event with Hitler Youth and Nazi Germany.
The very thought that people in this country are so brainwashed that they believe that the President has the ability to brainwash their children is appalling. In order for my children to be brainwashed they would have to be completely unaware of the sound of my voice. After all, am I not their first influence? Sure there are other influences and stimulation but shouldn't I insist that I am one of them? I can remember having a mock debate during school the year that Reagan/Bush and Mondale/Ferrara were battling it out in the primaries. It wasn’t during a high school government class; it was during a third grade history lesson. Were we being brainwashed by a teacher who wanted us to experience first hand the political process in this great country of ours?
I don’t agree with everything our President does, of course, I still don’t agree with everything my mother does. I refuse to demonize either of them. I think it was a progressive move for the President to enter the classrooms on the first day of school and re-enforce what every parent in America should have been telling their kids anyway. If explaining to your kids that doing their best and working hard to get the things in life they desire is advancing a political agenda, then my question is – how can I be of assistance?
I mean seriously. It seems to me that everything our President does is put under a very uneven and disproportionate amount of scrutiny. This is too much. This has nothing to do with left, right, democrat, republican, liberal, or conservative. This is the most unique opportunity ever witnessed in this country and it should be celebrated. Has it occurred to anyone that the fact that no sitting President has addressed students on a national level is not a good thing? Shouldn’t we be appalled that the President thinks so little of the population of our country who is not of legal voting age that he would not consider that they too are Americans? Is it wrong for our national leader to address the importance of education on a national level?
Finally, I must address the fact that during the atrocities of 9/11, then President George W. Bush was not in the oval office or addressing the National Press Club or even sitting in the Rose Garden preparing a speech, no he was reading The Pet Goat to students at Emma E. Booker Elementary School. I don’t criticize his actions at all during this faithful day. I am not one to say what someone should or should not have done in a crisis situation. I do, however, find it egregious that the fact that he was there was not a headline before the attack. George Bush is not the only president to interact with the youth of our nation, Ronald Reagan delivered a speech to junior high students telling them “These days, whenever I see foreign leaders, they tell me about their plans for reducing taxes, and other economic reforms that they are using, copying what we have done here in our country.” in 1988. Where is the outcry over this obvious attempt at advancing a conservative agenda?
The national stage has always been textbook of sorts for students. During school hours I witnessed the inauguration of Bill Clinton, the spaceship Challenger exploding, Nelson Mandela becoming the President of South Africa after 27 years imprisoned, the Rodney King riots, the Waco Texas compound incident and many others. All of these events were used by public school teachers to offer real-world lessons about the real world.
My kids witnessed the President’s remarks and more over we discussed those remarks and what they meant. This is the role of a parent. For those who insist that the government should not be involved with education should really consider the extent of their own involvement.
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