A Teachable Moment

Pat, a teacher, writes at And So it Goes in Shreveport that she is passing on the Obama speech on Tuesday and instead, will be using the class time to teach. That is an incredible concept and think for a moment how our public schools would improve if all our teachers were to follow Pat's lead.

For the record, most teacher in my experience have been like Pat. Many teachers dip in to their own pockets to provide supplies for their classrooms. They dedicate their "off time" to develop lesson plans that will keep their students engaged in the learning process. Sadly, these days we all know a teacher who uses their class time to preach their pet issues rather than sticking to their subject matter.

The Left is stunned that any parent would object to the President would give a short speech extolling the virtues of staying in school and working hard. In all the posts claiming shock that racist wingnuts are children of this wonderful "teachable moment", none so much refer in passing to the materials that will accompany the President's speech:

"What do you think the President wants us to do?"
"Does the speech make you want to do anything?"
"Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?"

You don't have to be a "racist wingnut" to recognize that those questions can easily be used in a way that amounts to indoctrination. If a teacher must use class time for a "civics" lesson, let is be that our elected officials serve us and not the other way around.