“Every single one of you has something you’re good at,” Obama said in the speech, which emphasized the importance of working hard and not giving up. “Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.”
Plans for the speech stirred controversy, with some critics charging it was a ploy to advance the president’s political agenda and others upset by White House-drafted lesson plans they saw as politically slanted.
The Troup County school system, like many systems across the country, sent letters home with students Friday, informing parents of the speech and offering an “alternative project” for those who did not want their children to watch the speech.
“Students are not required to view the address, nor will they be penalized if they choose not to participate,” the letter read.
“Very few” parents did opt out of the speech, school spokeswoman Catherine Holmes said.
One Callaway High School student was held out of school for the day by his grandmother, but not because she opposed the address.
“I thought that was very unpatriotic of our school system in Troup County to allow our students to decide whether they wanted to listen or not,” June Hogan said. “(Obama) was elected by the people of our country as the president of the United States, and we should uphold our president and listen to what he has to say.”
Hogan was disappointed with the school system for sending out the note. As an address from the president, she thought there shouldn’t be a reason for the note to go home.
She also felt students who opted out would be labeled a racist or unpatriotic because of the note and that might start trouble.
She and her grandson watched the speech at home, she said.
“(Obama) made me very proud to be an American,” she said “I could not understand why anyone would not want their children to listen to this man.”
The school system re-ceived a few calls about the address - some for it, some against it, some just seeking information, Holmes said.
LaGrange City Councilwoman Norma Tucker, parent of a Troup County student, said she thought the president’s words of encouragement were “right on point.”
“I believe that unless our children commit to educating themselves, we are a doomed society. Doomed to be a society of even higher school dropout rates, higher unemployment rates and higher rates of violent crimes,” Tucker said.
Katie Willis’ third-grade class at Berta Weatherbee Elementary School used new technology to tune in to the president’s address. A Promethean board on the wall allowed the class to watch on a big screen.
The students sat quietly and listened while eating their lunches, some clapping along when the TV audience clapped.
Berta Weathersbee principal Lorraine Jackson said only a few of her students were out of class during the speech at their parents’ requests. Other than that handful, nothing was different.
The address “let (students) know they can do anything they desire,” she said.
Trey Wood can be reached at twood@lagrangenews. com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.
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