‘Politics have been in the schools for many years’

There is some discussion about whether an American president has ever spoken “with intent only to me and my fellow classmates across the nation as children,” as Jonetta Hughes writes in the Sept. 12 Hamilton JournalNews (“Who really influences our children?”).

Hughes’ point is that politics are “for adults” and parents alone have the choice and responsibility “to provide exposure in that area.” Be that as it may, it is important to clarify the record on presidential talks to schoolchildren that might be deemed “political.”

On Nov. 14, 1988, then-President Reagan spoke to students nationwide via a
C-SPAN telecast broadcast that was shown in classrooms across the country, and that centered on the legacy of the American revolution on contemporary world politics. ...

In October 1991, President George H.W. Bush, then in the midst of a re-election campaign, gave a speech to schoolchildren intended “to motivate America’s students to strive for excellence” and “to promote students’ and parents’ awareness of the educational challenge we face.” The White House sent letters to schools across the nation to encourage teachers and principals to allow students to tune in the speech.

On a more local level, on Jan. 8, 2002, President George Bush visited Hamilton High School to sign No Children Left Behind — billed as a nonpartisan event because political leaders of both parties, including Sen. Ted Kennedy and Republican Rep. John Boehner, were on the high school stage with the president. The school and community were deeply engaged in this national event, and a statue of that significant event in our nation’s political history now stands permanently in front of Hamilton High School.

And in late September 2004, during his re-election campaign, President George W. Bush, came to the VOA in West Chester for a huge rally. On that day the Lakota school system shut down the entire system two hours early so people could attend, canceled afternoon preschool and kindergarten, bused the marching band to the event, and sent the school choir to sing the national anthem.

Parents may well want to keep their children out of politics, but the record shows that politics have been in the schools for many years and across many political platforms.