Presidency

(The video feed is for streaming the speech on Tuesday. It is more for my reference so I dont' have to hunt when the time comes!)



Politics are not my best friend. I'll admit it freely. However, I do want to keep informed about things that are going on. Enter my friend, Janelle. She contacts her Congressmen monthly, and keeps up to date on all things governmental. This morning she contacted me about a situation that I was not even aware of, and which I am passing along now as an FYI.

President Barack Obama is presenting a speech to elementary school students on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 12PM EDT. (Here in Lincoln, it will be presented at 11AM.) According to the whitehouse.gov website, President Obama will be talking about making and keeping educational goals. Also linked to the government website are some ideas for educators on preparing for this speech, and follow ups to the speech. I have read it all, and found nothing that disturbed me.

HOWEVER... I have read some articles from newspapers not directly affiliated with the President indicating that there are additional materials (among them a worksheet) that are being sent to the educators that offer a left-winged bias to some of the political issues in the country today. Sadly, nowhere was I given the ability to see such a handout.

That being said, this morning, I sent an e-mail to the principals of H&K's schools. Here is what it said...

Dear Dr. D and Mrs. R,

I am the mother of HB (6th grade) and KB (4th grade).

This morning I became aware of the speech the President will be giving to the elementary school children on Tuesday morning. (Here is the link to the website discussing it!) I was wondering if your schools will be presenting this speech to the students. I was also wondering what educational resources had been provided to the schools for preparing for and following up on the speech. Some news outlets have claimed to seeing a supplemental worksheet that is not included in the links to educational conversations on the website. If such a worksheet exists, and you have access to it, would it be possible for me to look over it prior to the speech on Tuesday morning, please?

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

In the five minutes it has taken me to type thus far, I received a response from K's 'pal, Mrs. R.

Thanks for your message. I just learned of the President's speech earlier this week. I have not heard about a supplemental worksheet but will let you know if I do. Thanks again.

Please understand that I am not expressing an opinion about the speech at all, for if I did, I would be prejudicing myself to something that could be very beneficial. At the same time, I think it is important for us as parents to be aware of what is happening, so we can make the best decisions for our children.

All that I ask is that we stay informed, and that we educate ourselves as much as possible, AND THAT WE GO DIRECTLY TO VALID SOURCES, rather than relying on media efforts to sensationalize the true situation.

If you would like to use the letter I wrote to my children's principals to contact your own, please feel free to do so. Thanks!

PS - The President published his speech on Whitehouse.gov today! Take a look at the link!