Dave and I were talking today about the President's address to the students of our country that will take place tomorrow morning. We've both heard many conversations of fear and frustration about this event and we've been encouraged to call our school board and demand that precious class time not be wasted on Obama's sneaky way of forcing his views onto the youth of America.
Well, we didn't call.
Now don't freak out...but we actually think it's a good thing for students to be encouraged by the President of the United States to take responsibility for their education, to be challenged to set goals and to strive to do everything they can to succeed. Now, please don't get me wrong. We did not vote for Obama and we disagree strongly about almost all of the things he wants to accomplish as President. However, he is still the leader of our country and he deserves our respect. Although we do not support his agenda, we are still committed to praying for him and listening to what he has to say so we can make up our minds for ourselves. Even though our daughters are not old enough to understand what's going on, we desire to raise our girls to think for themselves and filter "this world" through a biblical sieve.
Do we think we'll agree with everything he says? Maybe, maybe not. Will we be frustrated if he uses this as a political platform to push his agenda? Heck, yes. But, will it be an opportunity for great conversations in the Christian home? Oh, yea!
Here is a link to a neat article...I Hope My Daughter Hears This Speech by John Piper
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4 comments:
Jenni - you and Dave are so very wise. I agree with your opinions and also hope some good comes from all this Obama Trauma. I'm just glad neither one of my kids has to be subjected to the President's address.
I 100% agree. In fact I have been quite frustrated with the pettiness of "the right" in saying that they will keep their kids home instead of listening to Obama indoctrinate their children! So he speaks to them for a few minutes and it is supposed to undo all the teaching that you have done at home? It's ridiculous. College will likely do much more damage to your kids than Obama's back to school speech. :)
However, as a former teacher, I do think things like this are a waste of time. I was always frustrated when class time was taken away for watching something on television because the kids didn't care (they just wanted an excuse to watch tv and not work) and the teachers rarely did the prep and post work to make the experience worthwhile. So yes, I do think it will be a waste of time but not because it is Obama who will be speaking.
Whew! Thanks for allowing me to rant.
Jen, you and Dave are pretty smart to spend time discussing this and coming to such a wise conclusion. It's very different, though, for a President to visit a classroom now and then and read to the kids for a few minutes and encourage them, as opposed to another President taking up 2 hours of the students' time with a speech and then expecting the teachers to insert prepackaged questions and activities into their curricula as follow up. It just smacks of indoctrination. And not all parents are involved enough in their kids' lives to have a discussion afterward. This is how Hitler and other tyrannical rulers infiltrated the minds of their subjects. They started with the kids and worked their lies into families. Of course our kids have to be taught how to live in the world and resist its evils, but this President's approach is insidious because he's demanding the respect of these kids without having earned it. He has a very large ego and is not as concerned about the kids' best interest as he is in his own image and power. Like Alix, I'm awfully glad Dad and I don't have to face this today. If we did, I'm pretty certain you and Erika would be spending the day at home doing other learning activities.
jenni, i'm so glad to hear you've not changed! you've always been so wise and impartial. i love that!
my guess is that that speech was nothing more than an attempt from his camp at a feel-good diversion from his health care controversies and in-the-tank approval rating.
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