Kennedy: President's speech is a learning moment

On Tuesday, I found myself sitting in a second-grade classroom at Battle Academy.

This was awkward for two reasons. First, I was sitting on a chair made for a 7-year-old. Second, my firstborn son, a pupil in Ms. Courtney Baker's class at Battle, was doing his best to pretend that I was from Mars.

I had called ahead to ask Ms. Baker if I could be a fly on the wall as the class watched President Barack Obama's pep talk to students.

In turn, Ms. Baker asked my son if she should introduce me as his dad, Mr. Newspaper Guy or both. He immediately stiffened and chose Mr. Newspaper Guy.

As noon approached, the kids counted down the minutes until Mr. Obama's speech.

"One minute to go," Ms. Baker said at 11:59.

Meanwhile, my son turned his back to me and chewed on his fingernails.

I wanted to see how a group of 7-year-olds would react to a speech that had polarized much of adult America.

As I looked around the room, I noticed a picture of Mount Rushmore, and I wondered to myself if any 21st-century presidents will get their faces carved on a mountain.

I watched the kids watch the president on a 25-inch Toshiba television mounted in the corner of the room. They were composed and attentive -- I thought about the contrast to the raucous heckling greeting lawmakers at recent town-hall meetings about health care. It was clear that Ms. Baker, an energetic young teacher, had prepared the children for thoughtful listening.

The president's message to students was simple: Work hard. Don't give up. The country needs you.

He repeated a story he told in the campaign about his predawn homework sessions with his mother. He reminded the kids that basketball superstar Michael Jordan was once cut from his junior high team.

"The future of America depends on you," the president concluded.

After the speech, Ms. Baker's students sat in a circle to talk.

"What was the president talking about?" the teacher asked the group.

"Don't stay in front of the TV all day, or your mind will be empty," offered a little girl with braided hair.

"He wants us to learn from our failures and don't give up," said another.

"If you always give up, you'll never know what you are good at," added a little boy with bangs.

Next, Ms. Baker handed out special paper for the children to write letters to President Obama. They were instructed to tell the leader of the free world what they each hope to achieve in life.

Later that night at home, I asked my son what he had written in his letter to President Obama.

"That I won't give up until I become a good writer," he said earnestly.

Love, it seems, doesn't require eye contact.