The impact of Obama is all encompassing

The man is omnipresent and practically omnipotent. He has had effects far beyond American politics. He's even made people realize that, egads, slavery was involved somehow in the Civil War!

As students across the region begin springtime Civil War lessons, historians say the election of Barack Obama as the first African American president offers an unprecedented opportunity to break through stereotypes and view the era in broader ways.

"His election means we can be more honest. We can stop giving one-word answers," said Edward L. Ayers, a Civil War scholar who is president of the University of Richmond, in the city that became the capital of the Confederacy.

Obama's ascent, historians say, has opened the door to a national discussion about race. There is renewed relevance to issues surrounding the country's racial past, including the origins and aftermath of its deadliest conflict, said Randall Miller, professor of history at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

"This doesn't mean the subject will be any less controversial," Miller said, "but it does mean that we are again talking about issues such as slavery, freedom, race and fundamental identities."

Huh? Were there professors who were talking about the Civil War and not talking about slavery? Or are they just implying that teachers in secondary schools left it out? The historians feel that teachers are just supplying students with simplistic answers. As if that doesn't happen about every field in our schools today.

Ayers said it is time for both sides to face facts.

"We do understand the centrality of race and slavery in all of American history," Ayers said. "But we also understand that the stereotypes about the war are not accurate. The North did not go to war to bring slavery to an end . . . and without slavery there would have been no Confederacy.

"This means everybody needs to give up something. The self-righteousness of the North and the defensiveness of the white South. It's time."

Perhaps there are still teachers out there who are teaching those stereotypes Ayers bemoans. But if you look at any standard history textbook whether it is for middle or high school, I bet you would find the more nuanced picture. If there is one thing history textbooks do these days it is cover our racial past warts and all. They didn't need an African-American man in the White House to talk about the role of race in our nation's history. Perhaps students will pay more attention, but I've found that the Civil War is a subject that all students, no matter the race, are fascinated by and want to learn about what led up to the nation being torn apart and over 620,000 men dying before it is put back together.

But apparently freeing teachers up to teach a fuller picture of the Civil War isn't all that the Man is doing for us. Kids are behaving better in school.

Those in the know at Albany High greet each other by saying: “What’s up, my Obama?” and they respond to a sneeze with “Barack you.” Misbehavior is peer-corrected with the admonition, “Barack’s in the White House,” which translates, “Show some respect.”

If that keeps up, bless the man.

And he's even raising test scores and practically erasing the white-black achievement gap.

Now researchers have documented what they call an Obama effect, showing that a performance gap between African-Americans and whites on a 20-question test administered before Mr. Obama’s nomination all but disappeared when the exam was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the presidential election....

In total, 472 Americans — 84 blacks and 388 whites — took the exam. Both white and black test-takers ranged in age from 18 to 63, and their educational attainment ranged from high school dropout to Ph.D.

On the initial test last summer, whites on average correctly answered about 12 of 20 questions, compared with about 8.5 correct answers for blacks, Dr. Friedman said. But on the tests administered immediately after Mr. Obama’s nomination acceptance speech, and just after his election victory, black performance improved, rendering the white-black gap “statistically nonsignificant,” he said.

If this Barack effect translates to younger children, perhaps as children take tests across the land this Spring, we'll see the gap disappear altogether. Teachers might want to remind students right before the test that Barack is in the White House. Forget all those other education reforms; we have the solution right before us. We'll be able to drop affirmative action programs because now we have the magic charm to finally place black and white students on an even playing field. Who knew that Barack Obama in the White House would have such an immediate and all-encompassing impact?