BrennanBits

From National Public Radio to the countless news networks with their army of talking heads, far more debate and discord than was appropriate or necessary preceded President Obama’s speech to students yesterday.  In the end, regardless of party affiliation, we should all want our students to work harder and get more involved in their schools and communities.  Unfortunately, our political structure in this country promotes more interest in partisan finger pointing – from both sides – rather than working to find ways of improving our education system.  There can be no debating the fact that our students, nationwide, are losing ground in virtually all areas when compared to the rest of the world.  Children in less developed countries would love to have the opportunities afforded to students across the country.

Thankfully, Vermont Academy remains outside the red tape and hoop-jumping that our public school colleagues must slog through.  We did set aside the time yesterday to view the speech, and I encouraged all of our students to listen to President Obama’s words, to talk with friends and teachers about what they heard, and to establish informed opinions about what was said.  At our Formal Dinner last night, I encouraged that discussion to continue over the meal that we enjoyed, and it was great to hear from confident young men and women who appreciate the opportunities they have here.  As I mentioned at Convocation yesterday, “If you are not getting better, you are getting worse.”  The complacency in our national education system and the lowering of standards is the bed that has been made for the current generation of students.  President Obama has challenged us all to reverse those trends.  At Vermont Academy, we will continue to set the bar high and support our students in every way possible to get them to reach their goals.