POTUS as Teacher

I just finished listening to the President's Address to School Children on my computer during my lunch break (pause to appreciate what technology enables us to do).

You can view the speech at your leisure later today at the Whitehouse website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/

During his inaugural address, President Barack Obama challenged the youth of the nation to stay in school, work hard and make something of themselves. Today, on the first day of school in many districts around the country, he slammed home the message again. All politics aside, when the President takes time to tell our kids that much is expected of them if we are to continue being a great nation, you have to appreciate the potential positive impact that may have.

The President as 'Teacher-In-Chief' is written about by Rudy Ruiz in this nice essay: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/08/ruiz.obama.students/index.html.

Since the text of the speech was posted yesterday, complaints about content have been replaced with complaints that President Obama is circumventing parents and local school administrations. It seems that anyone so concerned about needing to feel they have control over everything their children are taught at school (which they don't actually have anyway) should seriously consider home-schooling. Children are affected more not by what they are taught at school, but by what they do not get taught.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming on Health Care legislation.