President’s Education Speech Causes Local Stir

Moapa Valley school principals last week agreed that the brouhaha that rumbled across America and throughout school districts nationwide, including the Clark County School District, objecting to President Barak Obama’s speech to students on Sept. 8 was largely overblown and misdirected.

The president’s address was a motivational pep rally urging students to rise above their mistakes and problems and succeed in school. Early protests aimed at the speech before it was given, however, including some from Moapa Valley parents, feared that Obama planned to use the address to sell his “political agenda.”

Because of the parent concerns, the Clark County School District, which includes Moapa Valley schools, left the decision to view the president’s live broadcast up to the discretion of teachers; provided they used it as part of their regular lesson plan.

Hanevold and Rod Adams, Mack Lyon Middle School principal, both said they had received objections from parents prior to Obama addressing the nation’s students but heard little afterwards.

Shawna Jessen, principal at Bowler Elementary School, said she was literally swamped with telephone calls from parents both before and after the speech, even receiving calls at home.

“Before the speech, the calls were 100 percent against it,” Jessen said. “After the speech they were 100 percent in favor of us showing it to our students.”

Based on the district’s directive about using the speech as part of their curriculum, however, teachers at Bowler decided not to use the address, Jessen said.

Much of the early hostility toward the speech evaporated after it was given. Many of the president’s most severe critics applauded Obama including one who called the address “inspiring” and “moving.”

Before the speech, the President received strong endorsements from many conservatives including former first lady Laura Bush who, not only defended its contents, but also the president’s duty and obligation to address school students.

During the address from a suburban Washington, D.C., high school, Obama used himself as an example of someone who was able to surpass personal challenges and mistakes and succeed in school.

“You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job,” the President said. “You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.”

Last Thursday and Friday, Obama’s recorded address was shown in several local classrooms at the high school and the middle school.

Hanevold estimated more than 90 percent of all Moapa Valley High School students who were eligible to view the speech (as part of their curriculum), have or will view it.

“Out of the entire senior class only two students opted not to view the speech when it was shown,” the principal said.

Hanevold said some teachers would still be sporadically showing the speech this week.

“It was a very positive message,” Hanevold said, adding that his entire social studies department used the speech in classes. “All the objections before the speech seemed tremendously blown out of proportion.”

Adams said he recorded the President live and Friday broadcast the speech throughout the school, although not all teachers used it in class. Many did, however, provided it pertained to their lesson plan.

“We made other activities available for students whose parents still objected to the speech,” Adams added. “We were not going to force it on any student.”

Of all students nationwide, Nevada’s probably needed to hear Obama’s “finish school message” more than any other. Every record-keeping organization in the nation, including Education Week’s annual Diploma Counts survey and The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, ranks Nevada near or at the bottom in terms of graduation rates.

In contrast, however, Moapa Valley High School boasts a graduation rate of close to 85 percent, right at the top in America.