Re: [LM_NET] Obama's Speech

[Alissa Cornelius <alissa.cornelius@GMAIL.COM>]

To follow up, I see now that most people are referring to Bush's speech on
drugs given in September of 1989. That doesn't change any of my expressed
opinions. It only shows that he addressed students more than once on topics
relevant to their education.

Alissa

On Fri, Sep 4, 2009 at 3:14 PM, Alissa Cornelius <alissa.cornelius@gmail.com
> wrote:

> I'm going to have to chime in here.
>
> First, regarding the fact that it is a speech. I was first exposed to the
> State of the Union address when my fifth grade class watched a portion of it
> in school. It was undeniably a speech. It was given by our current
> President. My only complaint about seeing this in school was that it was a
> little over my head. As an 11-year-old, I didn't feel like it had anything
> to do with me because it didn't seem like the President was talking about
> anything that directly pertained to me or my life. I think I would have
> enjoyed hearing the President direct a speech at me - a student. It would
> have made me feel like I was more than a second-class citizen, as many
> powerless youth under 18 feel.
>
> Second, the need to get parent consent before watching the speech. The fact
> is that through the course of teaching, we often expose our students to
> ideas that don't necessarily coincide with beliefs held in their homes, but
> we don't require consent for all of these things. Instead, we teach our
> children the concept of bias and the differences between fact and opinion.
> It is possible to show a presidential speech and even discuss it as a class
> without "polluting" children's minds. If the need for parental consent for
> this speech is upheld, it set the precedent to require parental permission
> for any lesson in which parents do not directly agree with opinions
> expressed during the course of study. As a librarian, I find it necessary
> for students to have access to primary documents, including
> political speeches, throughout their educational career whether or not the
> students' parents agree or disagree with the opinions expressed in the
> primary documents. Again, educating our students about the role bias plays
> in any primary document is essential and the responsibility of every
> educator.
>
> Finally, the historical precedence of this speech. The fact is that
> President Obama is not the first president to direct a speech at students.
> In 1991, President H.W. Bush gave a shorter speech via teleconference with
> four elementary schools across the country, which was broadcast over public
> television stations and therefore available for students to watch from their
> classrooms on the afternoon in which it occurred. (Read the transcript of
> this speech at
> http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/public_papers.php?id=3394&year=1991&month=9)
> True, it was not something that the White House encouraged every school to
> tune in to on the first day of school, but the President did address
> children themselves, encouraging them with statements such as, "...you have
> to prepare not just by studying, but by studying hard, especially math and
> science. And that means doing what I too often fail to do, that means
> homework. And it means setting goals both for you and for America." Now,
> surely this was not the first time that American children were told they
> need to study hard or do their homework or set goals. But don't you think
> some children were inspired by the President's words? If we will bring in
> professional athletes into our schools to get our kids excited about
> education, why won't we bring our President into our schools to deliver the
> same message?
>
> Alissa Cornelius
> Library Media Specialist
> WOS Elementary School
> 140 Lester Dr
> Tappan, NY
> 845-680-1305
> alissa.cornelius@gmail.com
>
> *The opinions expressed in this message are mine, and do not necessarily
> reflect the opinions of my employer
>

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