While many of us went to the fair or otherwise enjoyed the most glorious Labor Day weekend in memory, Superintendent Carol Comeau was at her computer reading and responding to hundreds of emails about Tuesday's back-to-school address by the President of the United States.
E-mails began trickling in last week from parents opposed to allowing a president they do not trust to speak directly to impressionable children, sure it would be purely political. By the weekend, the tide had turned to a flood, mostly in support for allowing teachers to show the president of the United States encouraging students to stay in school, set goals, work hard and take responsibility for their own success in life. I thank those who commented, and thank the superintendent for responding to every comment.
Many comments were respectful, but reflecting the divisions among us and the tendency for our rhetoric to magnify those divisions, some e-mails from both sides demeaned and belittled the contrary view and those who held it. We must not be quick to dismiss as foolish concerns we do not share. We adults must not neglect the habit of critical thinking we want our children to learn. Our world is not black and white, and we need to try to better understand one another's perspectives.
Sadly, Ms. Comeau received some blatantly racist phone calls. I have apologized to her on behalf of our community, as she does not deserve such abuse. But it would be a serious mistake to label parents who kept their children home or had them engage in an alternate activity as racist, or for those parents to feel they have been so labeled.
I supported the superintendent's decision to allow the president's speech to be shown in Anchorage classrooms, but did not dismiss the misgivings of others. Though some anti-Obama emails were offensive, others stated rational concerns, particularly about lesson plans suggested by the Obama administration.
Asking children to write how they could help President Obama did sound a bit like enlistment of kids in aid of his political vision. Fair-minded skepticism is not paranoia. Does it not sound a bit self-promotional to suggest that "[t]eachers may post in large print around the classroom notable quotes excerpted from President Obama's speeches on education" when multiple voices echoing the importance of education and self-responsibility might be more compelling?
But as much effort as we are putting into improving our graduation rate, it would have been a shame to deny our students positive motivation in order to deny Mr. Obama credit. And if Mr. Obama's background made this message more "real" to kids, is that bad? If I could convey the same message with half the force as the president, I surely would.
I believe this challenge to students at the start of school was genuinely important to our country and to our district. As a local school board member, I thank President Obama for this message, regardless what I think about his politics. I thank the superintendent for allowing it in our schools.
At the same time, I appreciate that parents could opt their children out of watching the president's remarks. It did not fit in for some classes to watch in the first place. After reading and watching the remarks, I encourage parents and students alike to read or watch them at www.whitehouse.gov, and talk about them together. I found his remarks to challenge kids, not politicize them -- but you can decide yourself.
That is not to say that any who perceived the political aspects to outweigh the educational value were "wrong." That is an opinion, and we should respect it.
Let's work harder in the future to get the facts, to find the kernel of reason that often lies behind views we do not share, and to express ourselves with due respect for those who hold them.
John Steiner is a member of the Anchorage School Board.
By JOHN STEINER