Barack Hussein Obama, All-American
I didn’t watch the State of the Union address on Tuesday night. I didn’t feel like wasting my time watching what I suspected would be an infomercial for Green Energy. And reading the text of the speech, I was right.
It was a downright, by-golly All American speech. He even asked God to bless America. He was so red, white, and blue I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been wearing yellow Gadsden flag Tea Party shirt under his suit.
“We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution.We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything’s possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.
“From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dareto dream. That’s how we win the future. We are a nation that says, “I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company. I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree. I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try. I’m not sure how we’ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we’ll get there. I know we will.” We do big things. The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong. Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America.”
Glory, hallelujah.
He said that the focus shouldn’t be on the 2012 election, but this address has all the earmarks of a campaign speech. He touched on a number of topics – the economy (he declared the recession has ended - as it has been spoken, let it be written), the shooting in Tucson, terrorism, the war in Afghanistan, green energy, and education. He was just full of all-American platitudes. His stance on education was the most interesting (to me).
“America has fallen to 9th in the proportion of young people with a college degree,” he said. “And so the question is whether all of us – as citizens, and as parents – are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.”
And I agree with him. I’ve been reading a book called, “Waiting for Superman” which is based on a movie of the same name; the book is the follow-up to the movie. Various educators and leaders with a vested interest in the future of education comment on the movie’s premise, charter schools, and the lottery required to get into one of these academies.
Some writers held that in the end it’s the teacher who will make the difference if the parent or community fails – after all, that’s their job. They point out that even in more affluent schools, students still fail. I’m not an educator but I hold the belief that the family is still key. Where reading is part of the family life, it’s more likely (although not necessarily) to become part of the student’s life.
There are things parents can’t do, though, from an educational standpoint. Teachers are more distant emotionally from the student than the parents are. There isn’t that conflict of emotions. They’re better equipped to instill scholarly discipline, though whether they do anymore these days is the problem.
Obama gave a fine speech about education until he came to the part about meeting the need for new teachers in the future.
“Over the next ten years, with so many Baby Boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.”
Yes, they’re retiring – at the age of 55, where their private sector counterparts must work until 65 or later. They also retire with generous, taxpayer-funded retirement and health benefits. If teachers were forced to work until 65, we wouldn’t need those 100,000 new teachers – yet. Experienced teachers would still be in the classroom, mentoring the next generation of young educators.
Supporters of teachers argue that they work very hard – and they do. My grandfather was a teacher. An engineering teacher. But the rest of us work hard, too, paying their salaries as we go along. If we’re so hard up for good teachers, then maybe we shouldn’t let them go so soon.
Wouldn’t we all love to retire at 55? Most of us can’t afford it, though. America can’t afford such early retirement for its teachers, either financially or pragmatically. They profess great dedication to their profession. Let them prove it by staying on the job for life.
It was a downright, by-golly All American speech. He even asked God to bless America. He was so red, white, and blue I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been wearing yellow Gadsden flag Tea Party shirt under his suit.
“We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution.We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything’s possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.
“From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dareto dream. That’s how we win the future. We are a nation that says, “I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company. I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree. I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try. I’m not sure how we’ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we’ll get there. I know we will.” We do big things. The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong. Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America.”
Glory, hallelujah.
He said that the focus shouldn’t be on the 2012 election, but this address has all the earmarks of a campaign speech. He touched on a number of topics – the economy (he declared the recession has ended - as it has been spoken, let it be written), the shooting in Tucson, terrorism, the war in Afghanistan, green energy, and education. He was just full of all-American platitudes. His stance on education was the most interesting (to me).
“America has fallen to 9th in the proportion of young people with a college degree,” he said. “And so the question is whether all of us – as citizens, and as parents – are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.”
And I agree with him. I’ve been reading a book called, “Waiting for Superman” which is based on a movie of the same name; the book is the follow-up to the movie. Various educators and leaders with a vested interest in the future of education comment on the movie’s premise, charter schools, and the lottery required to get into one of these academies.
Some writers held that in the end it’s the teacher who will make the difference if the parent or community fails – after all, that’s their job. They point out that even in more affluent schools, students still fail. I’m not an educator but I hold the belief that the family is still key. Where reading is part of the family life, it’s more likely (although not necessarily) to become part of the student’s life.
There are things parents can’t do, though, from an educational standpoint. Teachers are more distant emotionally from the student than the parents are. There isn’t that conflict of emotions. They’re better equipped to instill scholarly discipline, though whether they do anymore these days is the problem.
Obama gave a fine speech about education until he came to the part about meeting the need for new teachers in the future.
“Over the next ten years, with so many Baby Boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.”
Yes, they’re retiring – at the age of 55, where their private sector counterparts must work until 65 or later. They also retire with generous, taxpayer-funded retirement and health benefits. If teachers were forced to work until 65, we wouldn’t need those 100,000 new teachers – yet. Experienced teachers would still be in the classroom, mentoring the next generation of young educators.
Supporters of teachers argue that they work very hard – and they do. My grandfather was a teacher. An engineering teacher. But the rest of us work hard, too, paying their salaries as we go along. If we’re so hard up for good teachers, then maybe we shouldn’t let them go so soon.
Wouldn’t we all love to retire at 55? Most of us can’t afford it, though. America can’t afford such early retirement for its teachers, either financially or pragmatically. They profess great dedication to their profession. Let them prove it by staying on the job for life.
posted by Belle | 7:59 PM
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