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Alpha Stage
The President Speaks
January 24, 2007
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"In his day, the late Congressman Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr. from
Baltimore, Maryland, saw Presidents Roosevelt and Truman at this
rostrum. But nothing could compare with the sight of his only
daughter, Nancy, presiding tonight as Speaker of the House of
Representatives. (Applause.) Congratulations, Madam Speaker," said
President George W. Bush.

In his response on behalf of the Democratic Party, Senator Jim Webb
said, "I want to share with all of you a picture that I have carried with
me for more than 50 years." He continued, "Of my father, when he
was a young Air Force captain, flying cargo planes during the Berlin
Airlift. I still keep it, to remind me of the sacrifices that my mother
and others had to make, over and over again, as my father gladly
served our country. I was proud to follow in his footsteps."

Newspapers around the country are reporting on President Bush's
State of the union address last night. In today's newsletter, I'd like to
focus on one issue from the speech, the link between generations.
Does America have a class system?
Read President Bush's address.
Read and Watch Senator Webb's address.


Discussion-Starters for Younger Children

  • Ask your students if they know why their parents named them
    what they did. Encourage them to ask their parents and report
    back to the class.
  • If students were named after people who are still alive
    you might consider inviting these individuals into class
    one day.

  • Ask your students if they can identify anything in their homes
    that might have belonged to their grandparents. They can ask
    their parents if they have anything in their home that fits this
    description.
  • Perhaps students, or their parents, can bring the item
    into class and explain why it is important to their family.

  • Ask, if your students could share one of their belongings or one
    story about something that happened to them in the last few
    days with their own children, what would they share? Why?
  • Consider having students write sentences about the
    thing they would like to share with their own children or
    draw a picture of it.

  • Ask your students where the gas that their parents put into their
    cars at gas stations comes from. Tell them that most gas
    stations have tanks below the ground. Ask students what they
    think happens if the tank becomes empty and there's no gas to
    fill up their car.
  • As a group, discuss ways that people can move around
    without using cars. Consider making a list on the board.

Discussion-Starters for Older Students

  • Vocabulary terms to discuss: "Energy Independence";
    Convictions; Earmarks; and, Diversify.

  • House of Represenative Speaker Pelosi's father was a
    congressman, President Bush's father was a president. Do your
    students think it's easier to become a leader in the United States
    if your parents were also leaders? Why do they think this way?
    Encourage students to name politicians who could both support
    their argument and those who would work against their
    argument.
  • You might ask students to conduct investigations of the
    members of your state legislature, or local mayor to
    determine what their parents did for a living. Rather than
    answering the above questiosn on opinion, have students
    use data to answer it.

  • Ask your students to imagine that they asked both President
    Bush and Senator Webb how their hopes for the next
    generation of Americans plays into their policy goals for today.
    What do your students think they would say? Encourage them
    to support their ideas.
  • Students might write a speech in which one of these
    policymakers could address the question. Tell students
    that these politicians do not completely write their own
    speeches. They have speech writers. This is a possible
    career option.

  • At the conclusion of his address, President Bush acknoweldged
    several individuals in the audience who had made a difference
    to somebody else in major ways. What's the point of
    mentioning people like this in an address to which millions of
    people are listening? What does it mean to make a difference?
  • Ask students to imagine that the school principal was
    giving a "State of the School" address. Who might he
    mention from your local community that has made a real
    difference? Why might he mention these individuals?
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