Seriously, all the rhetoric, complaining, threatening, slander and propaganda.  All that and then Conservative “top dog”, Newt Gingrich, decides Obama’s really just a President and a parent, trying to encourage our kids to be better students, work hard for their achievements and simply be good future citizens and leaders of this great country.  So after all the right wing hoopla, Newt and many other conservative leaders, now recommend that all children and parents see and hear President Obama’s school speech.

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Thankfully, I can think on my own and wasn’t waiting for Newt or anyone else to give me the go ahead.  See, I have respect for the President of the United States as our leader and highest level elected official and I teach my children to also have that same respect.

So, as a parent and a citizen, I will make sure my child hears the message and listens with great earnest and open ears.  Because really, President Obama is simply discussing hard work, the value of education and how important it is to go to school and set goals.

Like all of you, we, as parents, say all these same things to our kids day in and day out.   We stress the importance of school, the value of an education, the idea that they should be thankful to live in a wonderful country that affords them the opportunity to really become whatever they wish when they grow up.

In my house, we also make it perfectly clear to our children, “you will go on to college” and, of course, we hope they will find a passion in life and not just a job.  And maybe, just maybe, do something with their life that is not only fulfilling, but enjoyable and good for not just themselves, but for their community as well.  The simple fact that today, someone like President Obama is telling our kids the same thing is fantastic, absolutely fantastic.

All you parents out there, you know how it is.  Kids, even the good ones, have selective hearing.  They might value our opinion and respect us as parents (well, most do), but when someone of authority says the same thing and shows our children that they too care, well, that’s icing on the cake, right?  So, yeah!  My kid will listen.  AND…she will report back to you all, exactly what she got from it.  You heard right, you will get commentary direct from a 7 year old, a 2nd grader and a very vocal and opinionated one at that.  So stay tuned.

And please, if your child did not see this speech at school, make sure you set out time to watch with them at home.  They are our future leaders and it’s time we expect a little more out of them.  In the words of Aristotle, Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”