By Tribune-Review

Published: Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 10:55 p.m.
Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I can't believe the National Education Association is endorsing Barack Obama for president.

When I was an educator, I believed teachers should try to instill students with hope for a bright future. But if Obama wins, the only future students will be offered is one of hopeless debt.

I tried to instill my students with a desire to better their lives, teaching that through hard work they could achieve their goals. And without hard work, nothing was guaranteed to them.

Students were encouraged to be proud of their successes. This same philosophy should apply to our nation's citizens.

With 47 percent of our nation not paying the federal income tax, maybe it's time to reward those who work hard and pay to keep our government going. Maybe it's also time for the NEA to remember some educational philosophies.

Good educators teach their students to earn success and achieve their goals. President Obama takes this drive away by penalizing those who achieve success by forcing them to share the wealth with those lacking this work ethic.

By removing this drive to succeed — and allow others to sit at home and wait for the government to provide for their needs — the incentive to work hard will diminish. This great nation would not be what our Founding Fathers fought to create.

Juliann Cook

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