Published: September 14, 2009 01:44 pm      

Points to Ponder

Is staying in school a bad message?

Children who “opted out” of the president’s back to school speech missed an inspiring yet pragmatic pep talk, and that’s a shame.Points to Ponder

Barack Obama wasn’t the first president to address children on the traditional opening day of school, but I cannot recall an instance when parents considered it inappropriate for children to listen to the leader of their country.

Controversy spawned over a lesson plan the White House posted online to aid teachers in conjunction with the speech. Included was language about how children could “help the president.”

Some interpreted that to mean that President Obama would ask children to help him advance a radical social agenda - phrasing that was later pulled from the plan.

We may never know if the speech was altered likewise in response to the controversy.

However, as presented, President Obama’s talk to students had everything a parent could wish — even, perhaps, a politically conservative parent.

He spoke of the importance of getting an education and of the dead-end highway of dropping out of school.

He spoke of students taking responsibility for their education, just as parents and teachers must take responsibility for their roles.

He spoke of persevering even when students don’t like their teacher or don’t like their class.

He spoke of overcoming obstacles, even obstacles as great as poverty or illness and sense of self-worth on which to draw when learning gets tough or goals that may seem unobtainable.

He spoke of having high aspirations.

“Every single one of you has something you’re good at,” he said. “Every single one of you has something to offer.”

And: “Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future…..Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.”

But, he said, none of that can happen unless students “show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.”

President Obama talked in terms and about topics that students could understand. Parents can certainly use the president’s words to encourage their own efforts to support their children’s education.

Like it or not, Barack Obama is the president of our country. Throughout my upbringing my views differed from various past presidents, but I always respected the title of our Commander in Chief. I believe it is important to convey those principles to the youth of today.

There was no political agenda in the speech. It was simply the president telling kids that they have a responsibility to do well in school.

How can someone argue with that?

Parents whose children did not listen to the speech really should get a copy, go over it with them and have a discussion. It’s not too late. Get a copy or go online and listen.

Armand Nardi is the publisher of the Gainesville Daily Register. He can be contacted at anardi@ntin.net.