You try to make a difference in this world, but . . .

small town, small minded idiots make that very hard. Let me break it down for you:

Our President addressed the students of America last Tuesday and not one student in my school district saw it. Now, the live streaming of this address had its own issues, like it being hard on the technology department and in my time zone it aired at lunch time. HOWEVER, these were not the initial reasons the district sent out about why we would not be participating in this live national address. My lovely district wanted to make sure that the material was appropriate and decide themselves if it should be shown and to what grades if it was. Appropriate! The President of the United States of America wants to tell students to be accountable, pull up their pants, finish school, to aim to be more than just famous and to watch out for the Internet - and this is a message that needs to be reviewed for appropriateness? Here is what pisses me off about this:

1) He is the President of the United States. He's sort of like every body's boss in the end. It is an office that should be respected no matter who holds it. If he wants to address every student in America I'm pretty sure it is going to be general, positive and appropriate.
2) The election is fucking over. It's no longer about Democrat/Republican - it is about America getting its shit in order.
3) One thing I love about teaching is that the profession has been around since Anne of Avonlea. Throughout time teachers have shared moments of history because they were with the students; presidents dying, shuttles taking off, international tragedies, etc. Here was my first opportunity to be a part of something like that in my first month of teaching and it was taken away from me because of some higher ups and parents who called in because they've watched too much Fox News.
4) Idiots like the teacher I spoke with in the copy room, who said she was uncomfortable with her own children watching it because she disagreed with his policies - to which I said "did you read the speech?"
5) And now, I have the option to show the speech however they have made it as difficult as possible. I have to write up why I am using the speech in my classroom and for what purpose. I have to send home permission slips for the kids to watch the video and if they come back unsigned I have to send those kids somewhere else with an alternative assignment.

Please don't misunderstand, I love my job. I feel grateful to have a job. But I think this town and I are in for a war, and this is my first battle.