It Just Goes To Show...
Today will be the speech to our school kids, and after reading the text of the message, I find it relatively harmless.
Now, if you recall, I was "on the fence" regarding this, and I have to admit to being swayed to the right side, as I personally feel that in today's world, getting an education is MORE important than even in MY day.
Used to be a time when you could nail down a decent job at a decent wage with ONLY a H.S. education!
And in times predating that, not EVEN going that far in school could pretty much land you a pretty good situation somewhere.
But these days, it's a whole other ballgame.
We're talking VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS in the regular scholastic venues, for God's sake.
Online classes from colleges abound, as the increasing enrollments would show, and you can basically get a damn degree with nothing more than a willingness to learn, some "stick-to-it-tiveness", and a freaking computer!
Sure beats trekking to some strange locale and living in a dorm, or off campus, wasting a ton of money (for those nasty necessities of living...like FOOD) you probably don't have to begin with. Not to mention, missing all those "parties" and possible arrests for DUI along the way.
But, back to this speech...
I look at this as something Bill O'Reilly wrote in an article from the PARADE magazine a month ago.
Here's the article link, in case you missed it:
http://www.parade.com/news/2009/08/09-what-obama-can-teach-americas-kids.html
Now, from all appearances, Obama's talk to the kids is a "video pep-rally" to stay IN school, and take some responsibility.
I'm OK with that, seriously.
When I see the kids meandering home from school in MY area, I can't help but shake my head.
They lope along the middle of the streets, causing traffic to swerve around them, some with iPod earpieces in, obviously listening to something OTHER than an audio book edition of JULIUS CAESAR.
Many others are way too busy chatting or texting into their cell phones (another bane to education) to even hear a car coming up from behind them. They look sloppy in dress and mannerisms, and carry themselves like a person who has already resigned themselves to being a loser.
Hearing them speak sort of confirms that assessment.
And you can count on ONE HAND, the number of times they actually bring home SCHOOLBOOKS...(and the last time I checked they still DO give out homework on a regular basis).
That's pretty damn sad...
Many times, you can look in their eyes and see absolutely NO HOPE at all. Would they be just a few years OLDER, and they'd have what we used to call that "Thousand-Yard Stare". They look, but do not "see".
Granted, in today's classrooms, you can take ANY class of about 30 kids and KNOW for certain that about a THIRD of them will not pass the class, or for that matter, even finish their education. That's a fact proven by a lot of people who study this stuff and happen to have a lot more initials after their last names.
Be kind of weird if a teacher said to his/her class on the FIRST DAY of school:
"Alright, children...I know that about TEN of you (out of 30) will FAIL my class. Will you raise your hands now, so I can mark you down, or do you want to waste the taxpayers' time and sit here doing nothing for the year? What's it going to be?"
Now that's a bit HARSH, don'cha think?
But it IS reality.
I used to have one high school teacher that always found a way to get you to pay attention. And his graduation rate was 100%.
He'd notice someone who didn't pay attention in class, was daydreaming, or even trying to nod out, and he'd go something like this:
"Mr. Smith...You must want to sign on with NASA when you get out of this classroom and this school...am I correct?"
The student would be dumbfounded and ask:
"What are you talking about?"
The teacher would reply:
"Well, from what I can see as your teacher, you MUST want to join NASA and become an ASTRONAUT really bad, Mr. Smith...because you're TAKING UP SPACE!"
Yeah, those were the good old days, when a wee bit of humiliation went a LONG way...(and student laughter could be heard a whole hallway away).
Today, it's ALL about the student's "self-esteem"...can't touch that (as MC Hammer would say).
Trouble is...these kids NEED that kick in their self-esteem to get them motivated. (LOL, sounds like the military, doesn't it?)
Lord knows they're SURE not getting that at home!
So Obama's speech is meant to address that, without being severe along the way...again, I applaud that.
But we need to address the specificity of motivational issues with these kids, and not just stroke their self-esteem, because telling any kid he/she's not a little sh*t (when they really are) isn't doing that child one damn bit of good, is it?
I've always believed that when children reach the "age of accountability", they have a RESPONSIBILITY to BE accountable.
As do we ALL throughout our lives.
Kids NEED to stay in school...they NEED to learn as much as the schools are willing to give to them, and they NEED to be able to leave those buildings through the front doors, head held high with a damn DIPLOMA...and not through a fire door at midday, cutting a class.
It's time to stop blaming the teachers.
And it's time to start placing blame where it's warranted.
The SYSTEM is broke, and needs fixing, so if that means a pep-talk from the PREZ...well, that's fine by me.
The kids that ARE learning and ARE achieving won't be all that affected by this speech..they've already got a parental presence that trumps anything when it come to "knuckling down and hitting the books".
They're not the issue.
It's the other kids with problems that will develop into much LARGER issues a few years down the road.
Will that mean that all these problem kids will suddenly turn from their ways and get busy learning again?
Probably not, but maybe it'll let them know that people might be watching them...to see if they continue to "stray" from the path of enlightenment.
((Editor's Note: Just watched the speech, and it was about as good as I expected it to be...and a bit much like what I've stated here so often...lol. Whether Obama believes what he said or even if the kids believe what he said to them ...OR NOT, is not as important as what the MEANING of the speech was. It was a call to being ACCOUNTABLE...and RESPONSIBLE young people. It was a challenge to America's future to be ALL that they are capable of. It was about conquering that which seems insurmountable. It was about advancing through adversity. It was about...dare I say it...HOPE.))
If the speech reaches ONE of them, and that child goes on to much greater things in America, noteworthy things, then the speech will have succeeded.
As bad as Obama has struck out (imho) with the failing stimulus package, all the bailouts, and the never ending list of "czars", he hit a pretty nice "infield" double on education today.
Would it be if MORE than just that one child would "learn" from this speech, hmm?
As I say...we can but hope.
Stay safe out there, America.