As I write this on Tuesday afternoon, it’s just a few hours
before President Obama’s State of the Union Address—yet the internet is already
buzzing with discussion.
I’m not a tweeter myself, but on occasion I mosey over to
twitter and take a peek at what others are tweeting about. And #SOTU is
hopping.
Lots of folks are chiming in about how excited they are to
hear the speech. Lots of other folks are passing snarky judgment on what Obama
may say. Many organizations are expressing their hope that he tackles an issue
dear to their hearts. (I have my fingers crossed—as do the folks at the Union
of Concerned Scientists—that “bold action” on climate change is on the
agenda.)
The mood is anticipatory. My favorite tweet so far comes
from Dr. Jill Biden: “Joe is practicing keeping a straight face for the #SOTU.
He is allowed to roll his eyes at John Boehner, though.”
It will be interesting to look back at the end of my career
(hopefully several decades in the future) and see how today’s kids—who have grown
up in the age of social media—view knowledge and scholarship. (There are, of
course, already lively discussions about the effect of the digital revolution
on the writing of history. Take a look at this site to see some of the issues
raised.)
Social media—especially blogs and tweets—are changing the
way we view current events. We all
have opinions, and social media is giving us an easy way to express them.
I hope this leads to a more engaged citizenry. (I’m not sure
it will. Perhaps if you’ve tweeted your displeasure about a situation in the
news, you’ll then feel like you’ve done your bit and won’t have to actually DO
anything to help fix it.)
Will history feel more relevant to tomorrow’s adults, if
they were more actively engaged in current events as kids? I don’t know.
I do know that tweets and blogs will give tomorrow’s
historians a heck of a lot more information to work with—more eyewitness
accounts; more access to how everyday people were feeling ‘back then.’
For now, it’s interesting to be swept up along for the ride.
Whetting my anticipation (along with the opportunity to see if Joe Biden
behaves) is this terrific video, created by the White House, about how the 2012
State of the Union Address was created. While it discusses last year’s speech,
it doesn’t really matter as it’s a video about process and craft—the
speechwriters discussing how they work with President Obama to write and revise
an important speech.
It’s perfect to share with students—and you’ll find it, of
course, on YouTube.
2 comments:
Barb, I loved this post and I really liked watching the video of Obama's speechwriters. I think you're right, teachers could show that to kids as a real demonstration of a writing process. I must admit that i didn't watch the SOTU this year. I watched the dog show. I figured I could catch up more easily on the SOTU. It's harder to capture those tail-wagging moments than those head-wagging, eye rolling moments...OK, maybe not, but... still I am standing by my decision.
Ha, no worries -- you can find the SOTU easily. I actually watched it on the White House site.
Funny thing, though, in light of my post -- the camera angle close-up on Obama showed Biden and Boehner seated behind him...from the nose down. I could not see if Biden every rolled his eyes at anyone!
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