To the Superintendent, Principals and Board of Education of RSD 17,

I am writing to express my disappointment in an email bulletin sent by High School Principal Charles Macunas last week.  The bulletin indicates that parents of children under 18, and students over 18, have the opportunity to "opt out" of viewing a televised address by President Obama scheduled to broadcast live during school hours.

Mr. Obama is the validly elected President of the United States.   Whether you voted for him or not, he is the sitting President of our country. The office of the Presidency should command respect from all citizens.  Given the ugly and divisive rhetoric currently passing for political debate in this country, I would have expected my public school District to use this as a teaching moment.  I emphasize the word "teach".  I would expect the District to follow the mission statement found on the high school website, which reads in part "students will develop skills to access and analyze information....to be citizens of a global world."  I do not expect that my public school District will teach my child what to think, but rather, how to think. Far from being a political recruitment tool, the previews of the speech indicate that President Obama will challenge children to do their best in school, pursue math and science as future career goals, and to set high standards for themselves and their futures.  Sounds like a radical socialist agenda to me. 

By allowing students to opt out of this Presidential address, the District has set a precedent that will allow parents to opt out of any addresses by future Presidents, thereby politicizing our public schools. George W. Bush was a polarizing and controversial President to many, but I do not recall the District ever allowing parents to dictate how and to what extent the school recognizes his presidency.

The office of the President should be respected by every citizen in this country. This should be taught to in our public schools, without exception, regardless of which individual currently occupies the chair.  The alternative is mob rule. With the District's ill-considered decision to allow parents to opt their children out of the President's address, it has participated in the erosion of respect for the Office of the President and has ultimately eroded its own authority.  What is next?  Will parents start opting their children out of science because they believe in Creationism or that the world is flat? Will parents opt their children out of history because they think the New Deal was the start of a communist plot to overthrow the country?

Lynn Cholewinski