Yesterday when Hugh got home from school, he asked what the hubbub was over President Obama’s message to schoolchildren. We turned on the evening news and watched as the Chief Executive delivered a speech that was “inspiring,” “on-target,” ”praiseworthy” (all quotes from Republicans, after the fact).
Seeing interviews with moms in mini vans who ranted about how the president shouldn’t be brainwashing their kids, Hugh was aghast. “How could any parent object to this message?” he wondered. “Doesn’t this speech fit in with family values?”
The next story up was about the fact that Tony Danza, a middle-aged actor who hasn’t worked much lately in his chosen field, had been green-lighted by the Philadelelphia School District to teach a semester of English to sophomores at Northeast High in our fair city. Naturally, this is for a reality show.
Fellow 10th grader Hugh was outraged. “Now THAT’S something people should protest. If I were the parent of a kid in that class, I’d be really pissed!”
An excellent point. What’s worse – having the president give a quick pep talk, reminding them that their future is in their own hands, or having Tony Danza pontificate on the English language for an entire semester? With TV cameras causing students to be even more focused on the important stuff, like their grooming and clothing and how they’ll look on YouTube tonight.
