Parents, not the President

In the past few days there has been a huge uproar about President Obama's plan to address students across the nation on Tuesday, September 8. According to the White House, the intent of the President's speech is to encourage students to work hard and stay in school. And in this instance I'm willing to give the President the benefit of the doubt, that he does not intend to use this a policy speech. Even so, he has so much political baggage I can understand why many may question or doubt his intentions.

At the same time, this isn't the first time that a president has addressed students across the nation. If I remember correctly, both Reagan and Bush 41 did so. But regardless of the president's political affiliation, there is something about this just seems Orwellian to me. Perhaps it is a practice that should stop. I realize that might sound strange coming from someone who was a social studies/secondary education major in college, but I fear that we may be making the students pawns in our political battles and they will end up as the ultimate casualties.

My biggest concern, however, is really just how effective will this speech be in helping kids achieve their educational goals or the goals their parents have set for them. I have no doubt that the President may inspire some kids to reach for goals they may have never dreamed of, but the reality is that the buzz of his speech will last for a few days and then many of these students will simply go back to their old habits because they don't have the parental support they need to succeed in school. And that is real crux of the matter.

Study after study has demonstrated that one of the greatest influences of a student's success in school is the support he/she receives from his/her parents. A recent study by the Harvard Graduate School of Education again confirms that this is true regardless of a student's age, race or socio-economic status. If parents want their children to work hard and succeed in school that is not the President's responsibility, it's theirs.

And this is something I know from experience. As I mentioned above, I was a education major in college. And while it is true that I never taught professionally, I did student teach for one semester and conducted parent-teacher conferences that fall. What stunned me was the parents I most needed to talk with, those with children struggling, either didn't show up or really didn't seem interested. Passing history wasn't going to get Johnny a job. At the same time I think more than 90% of the parents of my A and B students showed up and took a genuine interest in what was taking place in the classroom, even if it was "just history."

Based on the research and my own experience, I'm convinced that the President might be much wiser to address parents in a Tuesday evening prime-time speech, encouraging them to get involved in and be responsible for their kid's education. In the end that at least has the potential to be a lot more effective and a lot less politically charged.