The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

WA students react to Obama’s address

By Barbara Morrison
Editor-In-Chief

A surprising issue has ignited the nation. Rather than the now commonplace debates, even fights, over health-care reform, news programs have been ablaze with disagreements over President Obama’s address to school children.

Though he is not the first president to deliver an inspirational speech to the nation’s students, he is the first to incur such controversy.

Across the nation, parents and community members have been throwing around words like “indoctrination,” “propaganda,” “brainwashing,” and the now tired “socialist.” Parents pulled their children out of school for the day to avoid watching the address, while others wrote letters to superintendents and principals stressing its importance.

Among students, there seems to be a lot of confusion over what the controversy is all about.

“I don’t think it’s big enough to keep your child home from school,” said Lexie Brearley.

She followed up by saying that it is each person’s choice to watch or not, which leads to another issue: who decides which schools, which classrooms, and which students watch?

In Westford, Superintendent Bill Olsen made the decision that each principal would be given the opportunity to decide if their school would watch, based on individual schedules and time constraints. Olsen also sent out an email to parents explaining his decision and encouraging each of them to show their children the video and discuss their own family’s values concerning hard-work and staying in school.

At Westford Academy, Principal Jim Antonelli, in keeping with his determination “to not force things on people,” left it up to each teacher. For students who did not wish to watch the president’s address, and were in a class that was watching, they were allowed to go, instead, to the guidance office. For students who did want to watch it with the rest of the country at noon yesterday, and were in a class that was not viewing, they were unfortunately out of luck.

“The speech is aimed towards the children, so it is our choice to watch it,” said student James Knowles.

Like many students, he said that he failed to see the cause for such uproar, but wanted to watch and was disappointed that it was not his decision. In the end, Knowles was pleased to report that he was able to watch it in his history class, and found it to be sincere and well worth the time.

Though in Westford, the biggest issue surrounding the address was scheduling conflicts, across the nation there is something more sinister lying beneath the cries to not show the speech.

“In this speech, they think, that he’ll try to sway future voters,” said student Maria Hodgins.

This does seem to be an underlying issue. Obama has been accused from the beginning of being un-American, socialist, untrustworthy, and even foreign and therefore not a legitimate President.

“I think it’s very important, given that it’s a message from the President,” explained Antonelli after he expressed that, if he was a teacher, he would show it, despite time constraints.

Yesterday’s address, regardless of controversy, passed mostly without notice. Most classrooms at Westford Academy did not watch the address because of time constraints and scheduling difficulties. Those who did see it here, and around the nation, may have been inspired, but were more likely unfazed by encouragements and advice all students have heard before. In any other situation it would have passed almost without notice; it is unfortunate that America could not let it.

View Comments (3)
More to Discover

Comments (3)

All WA Ghostwriter Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • I

    Ishita AgrawalOct 2, 2009 at 10:27 am

    Interesting article! I agree that we should have been able to watch the speech, but we were not. So, I really liked the artilce!

    Reply
  • M

    Miss MacdonaldSep 22, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    Whether positive or negative I’m pleased that people are open to a dialogue about these issues. We need to keep talking and assessing how we feel about the leadership and what their expectations are for all of us: students, teachers, and citizens.

    Reply
  • T

    Theresa YuanSep 15, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    Hi, great article! I agree that there seems to be an unusual amount of fuss over Obama’s speech- especially when it’s almost a traditonal speech in the sense that lots of presidents choose to give it. And I have seen an article about the concerns, even phobias that people have voiced about a ‘socialist agenda’ in the speech. But still, Bill Clinton and John Kerry and presidents in the past have been ‘painted red’.

    Reply