This is why I love my "baby"!

The following is a "comment" from Christopher's Facebook page. I hope he doesn't mind, but I copied it here, because I haven't been able to comprehend what I have been hearing this week. I couldn't comprehend what all the hoopla was about. I thought for sure I had missed the main point . . . but, NO, I hadn't!

I couldn't have said it better myself!!

From Christopher:

"I couldn't resist, I can't take all of these people arguing over President Obama speaking to the children/students of America. What is the problem? I REALLY can not figure out what is wrong with this. Is the President not the leader of the Free World, is he not the holder of the highest office in the land, is he not the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces, is he not the leader of his political party (which at the moment holds a majority in the Congress and White House)? As an educator I find it very confusing and unsettling that people have a problem with the President of the United States saying "Good Luck" and "Stick with It" message to the children of America. I also can not comprehend the pure hatred and disrespect people have for not only the man himself, but the Office of the President. I will be quite honest, I have not very often agreed with the views of some of our Presidents or leaders in this country, but I have always made it a point to respect the honor of the Office itself. The amount of work, blood, sweat, and tears it takes to just want the position, not even have it, takes courage; and I respect every single one of those men for it. The bottom line is: What are these parents and others out there teaching their children? I, in essence, asked the same question when all these people stood up and screamed and shouted at our Congressmen and Senators this summer over health care. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!!! As educators, at least this is the point of view of this educator, our job is to teach children how to formulate their own opinions, how to speak their minds and opinions in a respectful, assertive way. Conversations are good! Disagreements are good! It is what our country was founded on, but we must be willing to listen to different opinions and thoughts and work through issues, we can not be so close minded and disrespectful. In my classroom (and again some might totally hate me because in their eyes I am brainwashing our children) open discussion, thinking outside the box, and debate and discussion are welcomed - EVERY DAY! I want my students to be able to formulate educated sentences that make sense and can CHANGE others opinions, if it means we all benefit from it and become better, more educated because of it. I don't want students that can only fill in a bubble with a #2 pencil and can only recite what I tell them or their parents tell them. Am I saying I want our future leaders and adults to argue with everything and constantly think everything needs to be changed - NO! I just think that communication - positive, assertive, and educated communication can solve problems and make a HUGE difference in the world. That is the lesson I want taught to my students and my kids when they come along. I got an A in Government in high school and graduated college with a minor in Political Science and not once in any of those classes were differences frowned upon (even the one taught by a former United States Congressmen) and in each of them, when the structure of our government came up, I strongly remember that our National Government was set-up so that one branch doesn't have more power than another - the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches are all equal and create a Checks and Balance System (and in actuality, the Executive Branch is the weakest). So, how can one 15-20 minute speech (if that) by our President to the students of America change the direction of our country and brainwash every future voter into breaking down 233 years of freedom and democracy. I thought we had Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Education. I thought that as an educator I can take a topic in my classroom and make an incredible lesson out of it, one that my students will remember for the rest of their lives - I thought that is why I went to college, earned my degree, and bust my ass for my little 1 cent per hour paycheck. I thought it was to make sure my students get the best education possible and that they have every opportunity, if not more than I had growing up. Some might be mad at me over this, some might have stopped reading along time ago, and some might do the usual and just yell out, "That damn liberal doesn't know what the hell he is talking about!" But, my point of view is, that instead of criticizing everyone elses point of view - create your own and communicate it. With all of the screaming, name-calling, and insults aside, I am proud of what President Obama is doing, he simply puts the issue out on the table and starts the conversation - that is what America was founded on - conversation. And to all of you upset out there, don't act like you didn't see it coming, the man told you he was all about CHANGE, so here you go. At the same time, why must you continue to beat the man down, especially over something as simple as an address to school children that every other President before him has done? Well, my mind is a little lighter now. Needless to say Tuesday is the first day of classes for us and there is plenty of bureaucracy items and paperwork that "No Child Left Behind" gave us that needs to be tended to that we are most likely not going to have time to see the speech live and at the same time I don't have a class at 12noon to show it to. I am going to go back to preparing for my first day of classes and educating the children of America with my liberal, brainwashing views of the World. "