This Tuesday the US President is going to be giving a speech addressing public school children. Mostly it’s a “study hard and stay in school” sort of speech.<\/p>\n
Since the Johnson administration, the President of the United States has done this, barring the Nixon administration.<\/p>\n
Now, I’m a Libertarian, so I’m certainly at the opposite end of the current President’s general political philosophy on many, many issues.<\/p>\n
But I have a question for you, the parents who are up in arms about our current President giving this speech, and about it being shown in schools:<\/p>\n
What is the MATTER with your parenting <\/strong>that you’re terrified of a fifteen minute speech?\u00a0 My word, people, if you’re that scared, check out what’s going on in the school every day<\/em>.\u00a0 I’ve read my child’s textbooks and review his homework assignments.\u00a0 Don’t you<\/em>?\u00a0 Don’t you talk<\/em> to you children about them?*<\/p>\n You don’t like President Obama? You don’t like schools being used as propaganda machines? Fair enough. Neither do I (Like schools as propoganda. \u00a0President Obama, while I often disagree with his politics, seems an honorable man and I expect I would enjoy a dinner party with him). However, that’s been what public schools have been used for since most of your great-grandparents have been going to school. I find it curious that you’re only finding this dangerous and freaking out now<\/em>.\u00a0 Haven’t you been talking<\/em> to your children all along?<\/em><\/p>\n You want your kids to understand your values?\u00a0 Spend time<\/em> with them.\u00a0 Homeschool if you’re really that worried.\u00a0 Turn off the damn television\u00a0 (a worse<\/em> propaganda machine than a public school where your child is permitted to live at home with you could ever dream <\/em>of), have dinner together at night and quit over-scheduling them with all sorts of activities that relieve you of the onerous chore of getting to know the human beings your children actually are<\/em>.<\/p>\n Will they always agree with you if you raise them “right”?\u00a0\u00a0 Probably not.\u00a0 My parents taught me to think for myself. It worked and no, we do not share the same opinion on every subject.\u00a0 In fact, I’d be astonished if my parents claimed to share the same opinion on every subject between themselves, even on the big stuff.\u00a0 Neither do my son and I, for that matter.\u00a0\u00a0 But I feel quite confident, because we’ve talked about it<\/em>, that my son’s opinions are the result of thinking things out rather than automatic reaction to propaganda.<\/p>\n And ya know, I’m okay with that.<\/p>\n *Though, A Children’s Story<\/em> by James Clavell is assigned reading in my household.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This Tuesday the US President is going to be giving a speech addressing public school children. Mostly it’s a “study hard and stay in school” sort of speech. Since the Johnson administration, the President of the United States has done this, barring the Nixon administration. Now, I’m a Libertarian, so I’m certainly at the opposite … <\/p>\n
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