Kids These Days:

My dislike of the style and substance of the Obama administration is no secret. I wrote long before he was elected that his inexperience would hurt the country, and it has.

One need look no further than the administration’s rookie attempt to reform health care.

Apparently the folks in the White House really believed that an industry valued at nearly $3 trillion was going to give up profits or market share because “it’s the right thing to do.”

Then he was caught riding a bike with his kids without wearing a helmet, one of those “do as I say, not as I do” moments that kids like to call us on.

There’s another thing: I want my president to be presidential. I don’t like my presidents speaking colloquially.

I don’t like Obama’s informal tone or attire or attempts to be just one of the guys, as he did when he turned a meeting of a cop and a professor into a chance to drink beer in front of the cameras.

And as a reminder, it was his inexperience, his comments on a local issue in Boston that led to that early Oktoberfest at the White House.

But my criticism of Obama and his posse are not sweeping. Unlike most of his critics, those who make a living at it, I know that sometimes he gets it right.

So far, I give him high marks on defense. President Obama has proven to be far more aggressive than many expected, recognizing, for example, that ground zero for the war on terrorism is in Afghanistan and for committing more troops there.

Today, many schools around the country are presenting a speech in which Obama encourages kids to stay in school and make the most of their education. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Obama’s presentation is the first time an American president has spoken directly to school-aged children about success in school.

That theme includes the concept that success takes effort, whether one wants to become an astronaut or a plumber.

“You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer?” Obama says in the speech, “You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.”

The speech also supports teachers.

And by reciting his own hurdles as a child and youth, he doesn’t let any kid off the hook because they are living with their own challenges.

Here is the link to the speech: www.whitehouse.gov.

Obama’s opponents are trashing the speech as a veiled attempt to advance his agenda. That is nonsense. The speech is a good one, one that many parents have given to their kids over the years. But coming from the president of the United States, kids may listen.

Because politics has entered the equation, many kids will not have a chance to see the speech. Locally, the Newport-Mesa Unified School district has decided not to show that speech today and writes on its website, “The principal [of each school], in consultation with teachers, will exercise their discretion and may choose to show the speech at a later time as it fits into their curriculum.”

If they do show the speech, parents will have an opportunity to remove their child from class during that time.

The opposition to the speech is silly. The agenda being advanced by the speech is one that should be advanced by every parent and teacher.

And I have to laugh when I think that there are some people who dislike Obama so much that they would prevent their child from watching and listening to him, but they are the same people who let their kids to watch the trash that is on television.

By the way, Obama mentions TV watching as something to avoid.

Obama is doing the right thing by telling kids to stay in school.

The district is doing the right thing by giving parents a choice.

I only wish that Obama had not started the speech with, “Hello everyone — how’s everybody doing today?” But then I am not a kid in 2009 and if that reaches them, that’s OK, too.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to dailypilot@latimes.com .