Time to get Political

I am so damn tired of our President being attacked for every little thing he does. He doesn't wear a bike helmet and it's all over the news. Then they have to issue a public statement apologizing, adding he always believes in wearing helmets and usually he does wear a helmet, blah blah. His wife, Michelle wears shorts on vacation and it's a big deal and people are saying she should never wear shorts b/c she is the First Lady. She wears her hair a certain way...everyone's talking about it, or rather, she should only wear her hair a certain way because if she doesn't, then she might appear more "white" than she should or too "black." Now Obama wants to speak to students live on Tuesday about staying in school and the importance of doing their best and people (AHEM Right Wing REPUBLICANS) are all up in arms. Seriously. Here we have a President who wants to connect with the younger generation and send out some positive messages. LET HIM DO IT PEOPLE. He's not going to brainwash them into thinking like a socialist or a liberal or anything else. He just wants to motivate them to stay in school and be the best they can be. What is so wrong with that? Other Presidents have done this. What is so wrong with him wanting to instill a little motivation into these kids? What is so wrong with him wanting to show that he cares about their education and values their success? American students are falling further behind each year. I have read dozens of articles about how they are not prepared for college and how they gap is becoming wider each year, especially kids who are minorities. We have to start changing our thinking. We have to figure out how to push our kids to the next level. We have to figure out how to create those safety nets to save those kids who are falling through the cracks. Why can't this speech be a positive step in the right direction?

Back in November, after we discovered that Obama would be our new President, the next day at school, kids were cheering. Some cried out of happiness. Many were sporting stylish Obama t-shirts. You could feel the energy in the school. Obama's win gave the kids a new sense of hope. When we watched his inaugural speech, in class, many cried. Many kept a copy of it to take home and re-read again because it was so moving to them. These kids finally found a leader they could look up to. Someone they could aspire to. Someone they could connect with. It was a very special moment for me to watch all of this unfold. Here, in our little pocket of poverty, kids found someone who helped them look at the world and at America from a different lens. He made them feel proud to be an American--that they had a place in this country--that they were going to be okay. And all I could think was, what a special time in our history.

So why wouldn't we want him to speak to our students directly? Why wouldn't we want him to speak to the kids who are our future? Why wouldn't we want him to talk to our kids about the importance of success?

I honestly believe that all of this "President/Obama" bashing has a lot to do with the color of his skin and nothing else. No one will admit that out loud, but I believe that is the stem of all of it. We still have racists in our country. How sad.

And I can honestly say that this speech will be played and viewed in my SS classes and we'll talk about it. We will even discuss some questions around the speech he has given to the kids. Because I believe that kids need to be able to see and hear an important leader who has an important message to give to them. This is not about me loving Obama or being a Democrat...not even close. These kids deserve to remember this time in our history as a time when they finally realized that each and every one of them can do anything they put their mind to regardless of the color of their skin. Anything.