President addresses students

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by: MADCO

I would support any US president addressing students. The sooner students learn that our President holds a special place in the world, as in: leader of the free; the better. It’s not just American exceptionalism, but that is a part.

I watched the speech live on C-SPAN. It was a conservative values speech and conservatives should be approving the message and encouraging President Obama to do more conservative messaging. I won’t be holding my breath. I expect the reaction will be more focused on straw man arguments and discrediting the messenger. But this is where the national discussion is just stupid.

There are areas where all Americans agree. Well, almost all and certainly conservatives and progressives. This would seem to be one of them: it is good and correct to work hard and in school, to be responsible for your own opportunity for your future and to realize that if you do not, you let us all down and you let yourself down.

So use the teachable moment to reinforce this to any student who will listen. In my kids’ schools the teachers won’t be using the the DOE/White House prepared “Menu of Classroom Activities“, though I will use some of it at home.

Specifically, I like the parts that ask students to think about why the president would want to speak to them and what would they say to students if they were president. I also like the section about whether the student feels motivated because of the speech to do anything and if so what?

In our house, we set goals for the school year the week before school starts. This typically includes sports and other out of school activities because it is just easier to align the calendar with the school year. The President’s speech goes along with that quite well.

He would be doing me a big favor if he would address the students again about mid-December and tell some heart warming tales about celebrating Christmas on a tight budget. Or again in the spring and talk about how big trips over spring break are not always necessary.

13 thoughts on “President addresses students”

ardy39 says:

September 8, 2009 at 9:11 pm

I approved of the script of the speech that was made available yesterday.

But as I suspected, this was merely a draft.

It nearly rent the fabric of the nation when Obama veered from the script almost immediately.

Oh I was blinded with fury when he gratuitously thanked the student who introduced him.

Where in the Constitution does it grant the President the right to acknowledge that young black males can achieve high academic success?

The horror, the horror.

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1. MADCO says:
  
  September 8, 2009 at 11:17 pm
  
  Otherwise, why would he bait us into the speech with allt he controversy and then deliver some recycled personal story and some other standard stuff that even Jack Kemp would have been ok delivering.
  
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2. Libertad says:
  
  September 8, 2009 at 11:45 pm
  
  Where are all the bloggers spinning the personal responsability.
  
  The final draft & delivered version of this speech sure was odd compared to the “lesson plan” that instructed students to write about how they would support the Presidents agenda.
  
  Don’t be a fool, stay in school.
  
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  1. ardy39 says:
    
    September 9, 2009 at 12:35 am
    
    So, when did you leave school?
    
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    1. Libertad says:
      
      September 9, 2009 at 1:17 am
      
      ardy you only fail yourself with such short sighted principles.
      
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      1. ardy39 says:
        
        September 9, 2009 at 3:13 am
        
        Or are you suggesting that
        
        Don’t be a fool, stay in school.
        
        is not true?
        
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        Libertad says:
        
        September 9, 2009 at 5:40 am
        
        then they meet you!
        
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        ardy39 says:
        
        September 9, 2009 at 7:29 am
        
        so I’m walking away.
        
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  2. MADCO says:
    
    September 9, 2009 at 12:41 am
    
    that instructed students to write about how they would support the President’s agenda.
    
    Please and thank you.
    
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    1. Libertad says:
      
      September 9, 2009 at 1:32 am
      
      was posted out there for all to see … well before it was revised. I’m sure Beck has a copy on his website, I refuse to do your work for you.
      
      You and everyone else know that the “lesson plan” (pre revision) called for students to write … how they would help the President achieve his goals
      
      Denying this fact shows complicity. Don’t be weak and untruthful. I know the heritage Foundation is still positioning this as wrong http://blog.heritage.org/2009/…
      
      Our lesson plan is this … open discussion with critical thinking and parental engagement.
      
      We Tivo’d the Presidents speech so we can watch it over and over and over and over again and again.
      
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      1. MADCO says:
        
        September 9, 2009 at 3:13 am
        
        I ask if you have a source for the inspiration for your negative reaction and you cite Beck?
        
        He just makes stuff up when it comes to our President.
        
        Example
        
        http://www.glennbeck.com/conte…
        
        The “pledge video” he is referring was not a part of the inauguration, ss he says. It was played at some school in Utah as he says, but that had nothing to do with the president speaking today.
        
        From Heritage – http://blog.heritage.org/2009/…
        
        Original:
        
        “Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials…” It further directs teachers to have children consider the following while listening to Obama’s speech:
        
        “What is the President trying to tell me?”
        
        “What is the President asking me to do?”
        
        “What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?
        
        Have students write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.”
        
        Final
        
        “Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials…” It further directs teachers to have children consider the following while listening to Obama’s speech:
        
        “What is the President trying to tell me?”
        
        “What is the President asking me to do?”
        
        “What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?”
        
        “Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.”
        
        I still think it was blown all out of proportion. And I think it was a good thing that the White House altered the language in response. I like that they risk embarrassment by being flexible and incorporating feedback.
        
        I hope the rw talkers and thought leadership will back off, acknowledge the words were good, the suggested student activities were ok in the end.
        
        And if they can go one further to point out that the administration altered in response to their public opinion and this kind of flexibility and transparency is a good thing, well, may be we can all get along.
        
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        Libertad says:
        
        September 9, 2009 at 5:43 am
        
        There was no genius in his words, but we greatly appreciate his effort to communicate with the people. where he missed out — education its a lifelong process of discovery, empowerment and achievement.
        
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        RedGreen says:
        
        September 9, 2009 at 6:03 am
        
        So you’re saying he should make the same address to adults, too? I thought he already indoctrinated a sufficient majority last year.
        
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