COE Exchange

Given the furor over the Obama speech to America’s students and the inquiries I have gotten surrounding it, I decided to pen a few words about this and to make a suggestion.  Here goes:

First, years ago a philosopher named G. Spencer Brown wrote a book call “Laws of Form” in which the opening line is “Draw a line.” What he meant is that knowing must begin with a distinction. This is not a unique idea, as Heinz Werner and Jean Piaget and other developmental theorists have echoed similar notions. Sadly, however, human knowing often ends there as well; that is, with a simple dichotomy. The world is too complex to be explained simply by dichotomies. They are starting points for knowing; but they are typically far from the complexity of truth (whatever that may be). The silly political partisanship that we see daily, and which clearly was at the heart of the acidic reaction to the fact (rather than in most cases the content) of President Obama’s speech, at least to my eyes and ears, is a clear case of the collateral damage that ensues from the reification of simplistic dichotomies.

Second, as Marian Wright Edelman has been reminding us for years, we are sacrificing America’s children for all sorts of lesser “goods.” As we look at the international scene, America’s report card on child well-being is simply embarrassing at the minimum; appalling is more like it. Despite our wealth, technology, and self-proclaimed moral high ground, America’s rates of infant mortality, child homicide, children in poverty, children in hunger, children incarcerated, illiteracy, etc. rank well below many other countries without our resources. Apparently we and Somalia were (perhaps still are) the only countries in the world which did not sign the UN Convention on Children’s Rights. Why? Because we wanted to reserve the right to execute children (that’s right; we resented other nations telling us we could not apply capital punishment to children). Here again is an example of America putting children second (or third or fourth). Politics clearly is trumping the best interests of children in this case. Just as so many institutions that should serve children but don’t (like teachers’ unions.yes I know I will offend many of you with that one.and local school boards), our politicians and other public officials are doing likewise. The speech was essentially about working hard for one’s own future and to contribute to society. As my son said sarcastically upon hearing that message, “Oh wow, Obama really is a radical.”

Third, how sad is it that the President (as an institution) has become more of a politician than a leader. We have seen what strong leaders can do for good (e.g., Nelson Mandela). When two social workers from South Africa, a few years back, visited me and told me how South Africa was losing an entire generation of youth to the AIDS epidemic (no parents or dying parents) and the ensuing youth crime wave, I told them that character education would not be enough. They needed President Mandela to step up and proclaim that the South African people had defeated apartheid and now needed to defeat the AIDS epidemic. So when our President decides to do a rather uncontroversial thing like urge school children to work hard to succeed and improve the world, instead of rejoicing that he was taking leadership, his political opponents tried to undermine a youth affirming initiative and sully it with partisan politics. As our local Archbishop asked Catholic schools not to show the speech, allegedly because parents should be able to choose if their child saw it, I wondered if he would have said the same if he or the Pope was speaking to children, or even if a conservative Christian President was speaking. I would guess he would have urged the schools to have all children hear it and would never have mentioned the freedom of choice.

I for one would like all children to do their best. I urge all teachers to read Ron Berger’s wonderful book “An ethic of excellence” where he describes a pedagogy of competence and excellence, something he is now enacting throughout the country through Outward Bound’s “Expeditionary Learning” program. I am thrilled a President has decided to be a leader to youth and to offer a positive message. Did I agree with all he said? Of course not, but I am still thrilled he did it. Children have to come first. For one, they cannot adequately advocate for and protect themselves and secondly, they are our future. We cannot bring children into this world and then abandon them. It is our logical and moral obligation to give them the best shot at success.

So, my minor suggestion is as follows: write a lesson plan for your students about this speech. Not about the content, but about the phenomenon. About the controversy. Ask them what the big fuss was all about? Have them reflect on whether the President should do something like this. Let them read the pros and cons and debate them. Hold class meetings about why adults were so divided on whether they should hear this speech. Etc. This will empower their voices and be good citizenship education at the same time. It is a teachable moment; use it well. For the kids.