What’s on the minds of Bromfield students? The Press asks them to weigh in on a variety of topics.

This month: On Sept. 8, President Obama broadcasted a message to students around the country via the White House website to emphasize the importance of school and education. This created an unexpected controversy, and some accused Obama of brainwashing.  Some parents said they were upset that their kids had to listen to the speech. How do you feel, or what are your thoughts, about this issue?

Geroge Zotkin, 11th grade

“I think it’s [stupid] that parents think [that President Obama was trying to brainwash their children]. Every other president has done identical addresses to students and Obama is no different. I didn’t listen to it so I don’t exactly know the content of it, but he was just trying to encourage kids to do well in school; there was no brainwashing intended. And I am a conservative speaking, but I really don’t think there is anything wrong with it.”

Catherine Spacciapoli, 12th grade

“I didn’t listen to [the address] but I don’t think it’s a big deal if all he is talking about is stuff that is related to school and things that apply to kids and what they are doing. And I think a lot of people thought that he was going to infect kids with socialist propaganda or something like that but I think it was really just to emphasize the importance of education. I don’t think there was anything wrong with it all.”

Kadin Deruijter, sixth grade

I actually think [the address] was really good because he was pushing us to try our best so that every time we make a bad turn or get a bad grade we think back to him and say, ‘It’s okay to make a mistake once and a while…and I can get better [at what I am doing] by learning from my mistakes…’  I really don’t think he brainwashed any of us…  I think he stuck pretty much to encouraging us [about school instead of influencing us politically] because I don’t think he said anything to do with campaigning. I think he was just trying to make us get good grades so one day we can end up like him.”

Mikey Brockmann, sixth grade

“I don’t think [President Obama] brainwashed us. A lot of kids look up to him because he is the president, so a lot of kids want to be like him and they realize that they want to work up to [his] level in school so they can be like him. [The address] changed the way I think [about school] because sometimes school is really kind of conflicting and hard but I realize that if I pay attention I could really be something great, so he really did teach me that school is something that matters a lot.”

Matty Banker, sixth grade

“I liked the speech because I am a fan of his … A lot of people probably thought that he had his childhood really easy, or that he was really rich, but he actually wasn’t and he had to work hard to get in his education, and that motivated me to try and get better grades because compared to him I have it easy.”

Beck Peterson, sixth grade

“I feel that his speech was very inspiring, letting us know that failure is an option and that if we fail it’s not the end of the world. We can always try again, and if we fail it doesn’t mean we fail at life ...”

Vicki Martinko, eighth grade

“I think that it was a very good speech. It had information that I think we needed to hear, like that we need to keep up with our responsibilities, like if you don’t do your responsibility than it’s your fault for not getting a good grade. I didn’t think there was any [political influence or brainwashing] going on.”