Presidential speech was conservative

Children who were “opted out” of the president’s speech missed an inspiring yet pragmatic pep talk, and that’s just too bad.

Parents who stopped their children from listening to the speech ought to get a copy and go over it with them.

Barack Obama wasn’t the first president to address children on the traditional opening day of school, but we can’t recall any time when parents considered it inappropriate for children to listen to the leader of their country.

The controversy arose over a lesson plan that the White House posted online for teachers to use along with the speech. The lesson plan including some language about how children could “help the president.”

Some conservative parents and organizations interpreted that to mean that Mr. Obama would ask children to help him advance a radical social agenda.
That phrasing was later pulled from the plan.

We may never know if the speech was altered likewise in response to the controversy.

However, as presented, Mr. Obama’s talk to students had everything a parent could wish — even, perhaps especially, a politically conservative parent.

He talked about the importance of getting an education and the dead-end highway of dropping out.

He talked about students taking responsibility for their education, just as parents and teachers must take responsibility for their roles.

He talked about persevering when learning is difficult and about working hard.

He talked about persevering even when students don’t like their teacher or don’t like their class.

He talked about overcoming obstacles, even obstacles as great as poverty or illness.

He talked about having high aspirations.

He talked not only about the value of education, but about the value of each student, giving them a sense of self-worth on which to draw when learning gets tough or aspirations seem distant.

“Every single one of you has something you’re good at,” he said. “Every single one of you has something to offer.”

And: “Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.”

And today’s students also make tomorrow’s America, with the potential to discover the next vaccine or create the next technological advance.

But, he said, none of that can happen unless students “show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.”

Mr. Obama talked in terms and about topics that older students could understand. The message would have gone over the heads of younger students, but parents certainly can use the president’s words to encourage their own efforts to support their children in school.

And if parents prevented their older children from hearing the speech, it’s not too late. Get a copy or go online to listen.