Dist. 200 took cowardly way out

I am writing to express my deep disappointment at the decision of Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 not to air President Obama's "back to school" speech, and then to take the cowardly option of "no comment" to address WGN-TV questions about the policy.

Please explain to me why a speech designed to keep kids in school and develop personal goals should not be made available to our students.

In the president's words, "I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education - and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn." Please explain to me how hearing these words from the first African-American to be elected president can possibly be a bad thing for our kids to hear (the words, by the way, that were available in advance of the speech, in time to make an informed decision about airing it for those who were concerned this would be a partisan message).

I'm ashamed to be a member of a community where the people in charge of educating our children make decisions like this. I'm ashamed of the partisanship that exists in DuPage County - and the entire country - when we should all be working together to solve the many problems we face to make our country better. We're all Americans; let's start acting like it.

Karen Ross

Warrenville