FLOTUS Melania Travels To Tulsa And Seattle For Be Best Campaign

FLOTUS Melania Travels To Tulsa And Seattle For Be Best Campaign
First Lady Melania Trump visits with students in a classroom at Dove School of Discovery in Tulsa, Okla., on March 4, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)
The Associated Press
3/5/2019
Updated:
3/5/2019

TULSA, Okla.—Melania Trump gave a second-grader a pep talk about homework Monday, March 4, as she toured an Oklahoma elementary school to open a three-state tour highlighting her “Be Best” initiative.

As the first lady talked up the value of teamwork, the second-grader appeared to give her an earful about homework.

“You wished you didn’t have homework?” Mrs. Trump responded to the girl at Dove School of Discovery in Tulsa. “Well, everyone wishes that, but it’s important.” The first lady suggested the girl spend an hour on homework “so you’re prepared for the next day.”

First Lady Melania Trump leans in to listen to a student at Dove School of Discovery in Tulsa, Okla., on March 4, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)
First Lady Melania Trump leans in to listen to a student at Dove School of Discovery in Tulsa, Okla., on March 4, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

An hour of homework would be on the high end for a second-grader.

The first lady’s school visit, which included classroom tours, was the first stop on an overnight trip to spotlight the “Be Best” themes of child well-being, online safety and bullying prevention, and opioid abuse.

In one classroom, pre-kindergarteners used crayons to draw acts of kindness they had performed after a teacher read a story about being kind. One girl excitedly told the first lady she had seen her on the news and asked about President Donald Trump, who remained in Washington.

“He’s in the Oval Office,” Mrs. Trump replied.

Goggle-wearing sixth-graders in a science class showed how they work as teams to measure the density of different colored liquids. Second-graders studying language arts worked in groups on a project about historical African-American figures and their struggles.

Seated at one table, the first lady asked the pupils how they liked working as a team. In response to a comment from a boy at another table, she said, “You always need to be kind and show love.”

First Lady Melania Trump visits with students in a classroom at Dove School of Discovery in Tulsa, Okla., on March 4, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)
First Lady Melania Trump visits with students in a classroom at Dove School of Discovery in Tulsa, Okla., on March 4, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

From Oklahoma, Mrs. Trump headed for Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Washington, where an employee demonstrated how he uses technology to limit his teenagers’ screen time and control the websites they can access and who can see what they’re doing online. Another employee, one with limited mobility as a result of a stroke and subsequent car crash, showed off a device that makes it easier for people like him to use an Xbox video gaming console.

First Lady Melania Trump, right, participates in a discussion with Microsoft president Brad Smith at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., on March 4, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)
First Lady Melania Trump, right, participates in a discussion with Microsoft president Brad Smith at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., on March 4, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

First Lady Melania Trump boards a plane in Andrews Air force Base in Maryland for a “Be Best” campaign tour. The tour is Mrs. Trump’s first solo overnight trip in the United States since she became first lady. It concludes Tuesday in Las Vegas, where she is to take part in a town hall on the nation’s opioid crisis.

First Lady Melania Trump boards a plane in Andrews Air force Base in Maryland for a "Be Best" campaign tour. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)
First Lady Melania Trump boards a plane in Andrews Air force Base in Maryland for a "Be Best" campaign tour. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)
By Darlene Superville