President Obama's speech to schools

As most know, I am not a big fan of Obama, but as we've told our children- he is our president and we respect and our subject to our leaders. We don't have to agree with what they do but we need to be respectful and support them where we do agree. I was disappointed my children's school didn't show the presidents address this morning and will have to watch it with them when it comes online. It is much better to be educated than ignorant of what is going on in the country. I read his prepared speech at http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/ and honestly thought it a wonderful message that spoke to those children that would need to hear it most and not only that but provided them with someone who is successful that could relate to them. I did not see anything bad in his speech and think it was a positive and inspiring message that all the school age children could benefit from. I did not garner any political agenda from his speech and would our children really listen or pick up on it if he did? The wonderful thing about being a parent is being able to discuss with our children the things they learn and hear, whether it be in school, on the news, from friends, etc. They need to learn for themselves what is right and wrong, how to think and what is most important to them. They will not always be with us and we can't protect them from all evil. Placing judgements before knowing is ignorant and only breeds intolerance and prejudice. The media does a lot of disservice to the people in this country and is great at scare tactics and creating contention. The President's address to school children was an example of that. I am assuming that if the parents, teachers, and principals were able to read his address beforehand, then it wouldn't have been such a heated debate. It is good to be cautious, but just because someone says something we do not like doesn't mean we have to believe it or adhere to wrong counsel. I'm sure our children get plenty of that from social interactions. It's our job to help them have the strength to stand up for what is right.
What I would like to see now is Obama actually helping the school systems as he's outlined. That is yet to be seen. I would like to see parents and communities, especially here in Arizona, actually support the improvement of education and pass the reforms and policies that are needed to increase the school budgets, pay our teachers appropriately, and keep the programs in place that allow our children to find and develop their talents and abilities.