Obama's school speech a harmless pep talk

September 9, 8:39 AMDC Metro Area Parenting ExaminerMichelle Flannigan

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President Barack Obama gestures upon his arrival to
deliver a speech on education at Wakefield High
School in Arlington, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

President Obama's address to schoolchildren yesterday turned out to be nothing more than a motivational speech to stay in school.

Big surprise. What exactly did we parents and educators across the country think he was going to say? "Go lobby for my health care initiative"?

We are the same parents and educators who for years have bemoaned the lack of government funding and attention public education receives. Public schools finally got some undivided, apolitical attention yesterday by the President of the United States. That concept is so foreign to us that it sparks fears of brainwashing. "President Obama wants to give a mass address to school kids?" we think. "He must have an ulterior agenda. We must save our children from corrupt thought."

Parents and teachers aren't really to blame. We have been overlooked for years. And yet, the joke is on us. In trying to shelter our children from dictatorial brainwashing, we have tried to censor a positive role model who just wants to tell kids to work hard and follow their dreams. 

For More Info: President Obama's speech

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