The President's Speech to school children

My daughter is in 3rd grade, so this whole debate has made me think pretty intently about what the big deal is about. I know that there are a lot of people who don't agree with everything he stands for. I honestly am not too sure about what I agree with and what I don't. With an 8 month old and an 8 year old, a full time job, and all the housework that comes along with those children, I haven't really had time to think about all the issues that face this country including healthcare and the wars we are fighting across the Atlantic. But I did take time to think about the President giving a speech to my daughter that she would view in her classroom. And then, when our school system decided they would post it on their website and not show it in the classroom, I took time to think about whether or not I will show it to my 8 year old. I decided...yes, my daughter and I will watch it together on the internet and we'll have a conversation about it afterwords. Why? I've listed the reasons below:

• Respect. The President deserves to be respected. I don't want to teach my daughter disrespect by telling her what he has to say isn't important because I may not agree with everything he has to say. We don't have to agree with everything he has to say, but that doesn't mean we can't listen. This goes back to having and open mind and not judging a book by it's cover...these are life lessons here!
• The President has taken time to make a speech to school children. My daughter is one of those children. My assumption is that it is a speech meant to motivate children at the beginning of the school year. I would be sadly mistaken if I thought that my daughter only needed me and her teacher to be motivated. I bet she can use all of the motivation she can get and I know that one more person telling her that they believe in her and her future isn't going to hurt one bit.
• I want her to feel like she is part of a country and that everything doesn't just revolve around our family or her school or her town or her...she's part of the United States, and frankly, that is something to be proud of.

This morning, I found the site where they are sharing the "Prepared School Remarks". There is nothing in it that I would keep my child from hearing. In fact, I look forward to watching it with my daughter this week on our public school's internet site so that I can hear her perspective.