Brainwashing Propaganda, or Morality Lesson?

[Taem]

/sarcasm on, /sarcasm off

I actually thought is was a very well prepared letter to students. I suppose some could argue that he is only trying to draw long-term supporters to him, but I would dismiss the notion as nonsense. It was a fine speech and shows just how elegant our president can be (and insane some News media outlets can be).

[Rant-On]
Lets just see if he lives up to what he preaches by giving teachers and the public school system the financial support they need instead of constantly finding new ways to take money away from them and still expect better and smarter students to come out of them. Why do I say this? Because in his speech he makes reference more than once to wanting students and schools to do better, that education is important, about "supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve," and so America can have "the most dedicated teachers." This won't happen if the Feds and State (or the Feds let the States) keep taking the money away from the public school systems... In California, all my kids have to bring 2 boxes of crayons, color pencils, pencils, markers, erasers, tape, glue, paper, and Kleenex to their class rooms so everyone can have it to use for the rest of the school year. They twice yearly fund-raisers they do barely pay for the support teachers they have. Any my kids go to a school considered one of the best public grade schools in all of California. If the government really want's to show support, it needs to stop states from sucking all the funds from their school systems, and like doctors, stop paying for the amount of students you cram into a building and instead pay based on GPA with a scaling pay based on a minimum number of students per classroom.
[/Rant-Off]

I won't let this detract from what Obama said towards students however, which is all good moral boosting stuff to be sure.

[kandrathe]

In California, all my kids have to bring 2 boxes of crayons, color pencils, pencils, markers, erasers, tape, glue, paper, and Kleenex to their class rooms so everyone can have it to use for the rest of the school year. They twice yearly fund-raisers they do barely pay for the support teachers they have.

Same here, but the 12 sports teams get new uniforms and equipment every two years, and the Olympic sized pool is maintained and heated year round. About 20 extra curricular activities, with chaperones, get bussed around the country to compete with other similar sized schools. But, yes, in the grade school the teachers have to beg for crayons, wet wipes, and other necessities. I believe we also have almost as many non-teachers on the payroll as there are teachers.

[eppie]

Same here, but the 12 sports teams get new uniforms and equipment every two years, and the Olympic sized pool is maintained and heated year round. About 20 extra curricular activities, with chaperones, get bussed around the country to compete with other similar sized schools. But, yes, in the grade school the teachers have to beg for crayons, wet wipes, and other necessities. I believe we also have almost as many non-teachers on the payroll as there are teachers.

This is a big scandal and I can see why you are upset about this.

It touches the remark I made some time ago about certain 'not very important things' are made too important in our societies (in terms of financial support for example).