Delivering canned remarks doesn't work at any level of the educational system, for teachers or speakers. How hard would it have been to put the desks in a circle, perch on a chair or table, make eye contact, and casually shoot the breeze with the kids? You can inject an awful lot of substance in that format--while making a warm, genuine connection. What did the kids in that class learn? I hazard the guess that they learned the president is distant, stiff, guarded, and a bit pompous, standing in his blue carpet circle of authority. Sad.