Dear Mr. President,

I write this letter, in hopes that it will somehow find its way into your possession, and that the sincerity of the words contained here within fill your spirit with a renewed sense of purpose.
In short, I come to you with hopes that new life will be infused into one of the nation's most undervalued services--the service of education.
I come to you as a citizen, and a supporter, an endorser of your cause because I too saw the flaws that threatened our youth.
In truth, there are a great many things that are assaulting our defenses, even good senses,
Between two wars, mortgage and banking crises,
One might be tempted to forget our young
But to understand what we do, sometimes we must look back to what we've done
And force ourselves to regularly take stock of what we've lost and won
I come to you as a 30-something college graduate, who has hit the ceiling
Who finds himself reeling from the undertow of an underwater mortgage coupled with the difficulty of securing a better job
And sadly tentative about seeking higher education because the thought of more debt is unsettling,
Especially not knowing whether or not said degree will serve him well
I come to you as a black man, who at times has had difficulty identifying himself as an American
Partly because he hasn't felt accepted as such, partly because he is painfully aware the history that so many wish to forget or outright disavow
I come to you as a former student, who has had his share of bad grades, seldom engaged by the curriculum he was force fed
Having knowledge at such a young age the educational institution was largely dead
Mainly for refusing to renew itself or adapt to the times that were changing around it
But it was higher education where I became better grounded
Yet I'm still astounded that many males in min position aren’t realizing this opportunity/obligation
I come to you as a former high school teacher, who learned what it really meant when his teachers expressed grief and frustration while agreeing with my mother,
"He's so brilliant, but he just doesn't apply himself."
Seeing the same brilliance in many of the students who walked across the threshold of my classroom
Not always afforded the benefit of having a concerned parent with whom to share my frustration
I come to you as an artist and a poet
Who has put his dreams of writing and creating on hold to chase that regular paycheck that barely keeps him afloat
That daring fool with just enough audacity to hope
That his nieces won't be subjected to an outdated system that doesn't care or know how to reach them
That perhaps, somehow, my oldest nephew, as bright as he is
Will find something to be passionate about while he attends school
Yet understanding that the educational system needs to make itself relevant to those it purportedly reaches
Where is the enrichment?
When will we challenge these young minds?
How many more will we allow to drop out because we didn't think to make a standardized technology-based and artistic learning track?
How will we win these young minds, one of our most precious resources, back?
Why don't we teach financial management skills to high school students, when we know so many won't seek higher education?
Why aren't our educators getting a better break, with higher salaries and more benefits?
Don't they deserve more for the service they are rendering--shaping the future of our very country?
I come to you as someone who one day hopes to have children of his own
Who hopes to see them come home, excited with the prospect of learning,
And know that they are learning things that will serve them well
I come to you as an optimist, a skeptic, an idealist, and a realist
One who knows how things should be, but is willing to settle for how things could be in spite of how things are
I come to you as a human being
A mere citizen on this ball of clay professing what he has to say because he believes it needs to be said
And I'm asking you,
"How can we keep setting out youth back, and still expect them to get ahead?"
I speak to you not of myth and men, but of kith and kin
It is my hope
That black history will one day viewed as American history
That schools will teach kids programming languages and managerial skills
That the petty things which separate us can be met and overcome by a revitalized educational system
And maybe we won't find the need for democrats and republicans, just Americans
I understand there are many complexities in the matter I'll never have to address
And I can't pretend to understand your level of stress
But the motto "Yes we can" was our stand
It was our stake in the ground
A moment where we would band together and demand something greater
I believe health care is an important issue, and while I don't agree with every aspect of your reform agenda
I believe it is a battle worth fighting
But, something that goes beyond even all of that
Is our youth
And we owe it to them to give them the best possible chance to succeed by offering the best possible education
As a man who has used his education as a launching pad to attain much of the success you now enjoy, surely you can see the soundness in that sentiment.

Sincerely yours,

H. J. Lee Bennett, III
Poet, Artist, College Graduate, Home Owner, Educator, Student, Uncle, Son, Black man, Human Being, & American Citizen