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General News: Teachers Encouraged to Use President's Speech
September 08, 2009
Students in the Cornwall school system will not be watching President Barack Obama deliver his education speech on Tuesday but school superintendent Timothy Rehm says that it has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with logistics.
The President’s speech, in which he will encourage students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning, is being offered via the Internet and on television via CSPAN. Schools nationwide were invited to show students the speech but Arne Duncan, the Education Secretary, noted that the decision is in the hands of school administrators.
Superintendent Rehm said that Cornwall schools don’t get CSPAN and to show an internet feed at 12 noon to all student presents tremendous logistical problems. Instead, he said, he will send out an email to all teachers with the text of the President’s speech and encourage them to integrate either show or discuss the message.
“We would rather have the kids have a meaningful discussion with a teacher in a classroom,” Rehm said in a phone interview. “I’m not sure what the benefits are if you have one thousand kids sitting in an auditorium watching it.”
Critics of President Obama nationwide have protested the speech, especially a recommendation in an accompanying lesson plan that encouraged students to ‘write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.” That lesson plan has subsequently been revised.
Superintendent Rehm said he has read the speech and finds it has a “wonderful, positive” message that has become the unfortunate target of political debate. In a letter to parents on Friday, Rehm encouraged them to record the speech and “choose for themselves to view it at their leisure.” A copy of the speech will also be available on the Cornwall Schools website, Rehm said.
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