Barack Obama Elementary Opens In Maryland
School started yesterday in Prince George’s County, Maryland just outside Washington, and the newest school is raising a few eyebrows for it’s name:
The first school in the D.C. area named after the current president opens Monday morning as the school year begins in Prince George’s County.
Barack Obama Elementary School opens its doors in Upper Marlboro, Md., for the first time Monday. The school is being touted as being an environmentally friendly “green” school. There have been other schools named after President Obama in the country, but this will be a first in his own backyard in the D.C. region.
That’s just one of several new initiatives for Prince George’s Public Schools this year. The District also will open an all-male charter school in Upper Marlboro. Called Possibility Prep, the new school will emphasize math, science and engineering. Officials hope that the all-male environment will do away with many distractions and allow students to focus on their studies.
I’ll admit it strikes me as unusual that a school would be named not just after a sitting President, but after someone who was still alive (I can’t recall any of the schools I attended being named after living people, for example) but there’s no real rule here. If going to a school named after the President somehow inspires these kids to learn, then, well, that’s fine. I’m more interested in the Charter School, and single-sex education, side of the story than who the school is name after anyway.
Of course, there is an amusing side to this, as Weasel Zippers points out:
The curriculum will include teaching students there are 57 states, gym class will consist of playing golf only and all teachers will be required to read off a teleprompter during class…
Heh
