Obama exhorts kids to pay attention in school

[Caroline Forbes]

By ANN SANNER, Associated Press Writer – Mon Sep 7, 3:20 pm ET

WASHINGTON – In a speech that drew fire even before he delivered it, President Barack Obama is telling the nation's schoolchildren he "expects great things from each of you."

"At the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world," Obama said. "And none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities."

The White House posted Obama's remarks on its Web site at midday Monday. He's scheduled to deliver the talk from Wakefield High School in suburban Arlington, Va., Tuesday. It will be broadcast live on C-SPAN and on the White House Web site.

Obama's planned talk has proven controversial, with several conservative organizations and individuals accusing him of trying to pitch his arguments too aggressively in a local-education setting. White House officials, including Education Secretary Arne Duncan, have said the allegations are silly.

In a Labor Day speech in Cincinnati, Obama mentioned his upcoming address. "I'm going to have something to say tomorrow to our children telling them to stay in school and work hard 'cause that's the right message to send."

"It's a sad state of affairs that many in this country politically would rather start an "Animal House" food fight rather than inspire kids to stay in school, to work hard, to engage parents to stay involved, and to ensure that the millions of teachers that are making great sacrifices continue to be the best in the world," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday. "It's a sad state of affairs."

In the prepared remarks, Obama tells young people that all the work of parents, educators and others won't matter "unless you show up to those schools, pay attention to those teachers."

Obama made no reference in his prepared remarks to the uproar surrounding his speech. Nor did he make an appeal for support of tough causes like health care reform. He used the talk to tell kids about his at-times clumsy ways as a child and to urge them to identify an area of interest, set goals and work hard to achieve them.

The president also warned students that if they quit on school, "you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country."

Obama acknowledged that "being successful is hard," but told the students the country badly needs their best effort to cope in an increasingly competitive global economy.

"What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country," Obama says. "What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future."

The president noted that he was raised by a single mother, who made him buckle down and work harder at times. He said he's glad she did.

Some conservatives have urged schools and parents to boycott the address. They say Obama is using the opportunity to promote a political agenda.

Schools don't have to show the speech. And some districts have decided not to, partly in response to concerns from parents.

Duncan's department has also taken heat for proposed lesson plans distributed to accompany the speech.

On Sunday, the secretary acknowledged that a section about writing to the president on how students can help him meet education goals was poorly worded. It has been changed.

"We just clarified that to say write a letter about your own goals and what you're going to do to achieve those goals," Duncan said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Former Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush delivered similar speeches to students, the White House has said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090907/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_school_speech

[Black King]

I like it, a President should inspire and ask the students of a nation to succeed

[Jill Monroe]

and all these IDIOTS who were in an uproar over NOTHING should now go back to their "conservative" nests and shut the hell up. They didnt even do this when Bill Clinton (another hated liberal) did the annual school children address. I wont even go into more of the reasons why people were in such an uproar over presidente obama speaking to school children, but i think most of us here can fill in the blanks.

[Angels baby101]

Well thats stupid for everyone being in an uproar. I see nothing wrong with this, I agree that the presdent should try to inspire kids to stay in school, and he's right no matter how many people try to keep you in school, it really just boils down to you. If you dont stick at it well then No one can force you too. Good for him, but i still dont see what the problem is and why they wont show the speach in some schools.

[Jill Monroe]

oh they were losing their minds in the days leading up to this. Pundits were on TV, radio and blogs leading the latest frenzy over President Obama. And its so ridiculous. They didnt do this when Bush was sitting their amongst school children (barely able to) read to them and give his speech.

Yeah, Obama's speech encouraging children to stay in school was REALLY a load of 'socialist propoganda' :rolleyes: i get sick of ALOT of people in this country and the way they act.

[Rampage]

Let's keep it real. Too many people in this country STILL don't want a BLACK man saying ANYTHING to their kids. Period.

[Caroline Forbes]

Let's keep it real - that isn't it in this case. It's the Democrat-Republican thing here.

[Caroline Forbes]

Here' the actual speech:

12:06 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? (Applause.) How about Tim Spicer? (Applause.) I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade. And I am just so glad that all could join us today. And I want to thank Wakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a big round of applause. (Applause.)

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now -- (applause) -- with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could've stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning.

Now, as you might imagine, I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. And a lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she'd say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster." (Laughter.)

So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now, I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked about responsibility a lot.

I've talked about teachers' responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working, where students aren't getting the opportunities that they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world -- and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. That's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that English paper -- that English class paper that's assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice -- but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that -- if you quit on school -- you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now, I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what it's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and I felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I'm not proud of, and I got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was -- I was lucky. I got a lot of second chances, and I had the opportunity to go to college and law school and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, she has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have a lot of money. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Neither of her parents had gone to college. But she worked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to Brown University -- is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to becoming Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's had to endure all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer -- hundreds of extra hours -- to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind. He's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods in the city, she managed to get a job at a local health care center, start a program to keep young people out of gangs, and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They face challenges in their lives just like you do. In some cases they've got it a lot worse off than many of you. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their lives, for their education, and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That's why today I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education -- and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, by the way, I hope all of you are washing your hands a lot, and that you stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star. Chances are you're not going to be any of those things.

The truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won't click with every teacher that you have. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.K. Rowling's -- who wrote Harry Potter -- her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understood that you can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. So if you get into trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. The same principle applies to your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right. You might have to read something a few times before you understand it. You definitely have to do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allows you to learn something new. So find an adult that you trust -- a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation. Young people. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google and Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask all of you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a President who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country?

Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part, too. So I expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down. Don't let your family down or your country down. Most of all, don't let yourself down. Make us all proud.

Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. Thank you. (Applause.)

END
12:22 P.M. EDT

[Jacob Black]

I think it was a beautiful speech. There was nothing in there (in my opinion) that would offend any political party. People are just in an uproar right now.

I read many articles that said that Obama would "indoctrinate" their kids if they watched the speech. :rolleyes:

What I saw was a president who was wanting to show our youth how important education is and THAT should be important to EVERY parent, whether they voted for McCain, Obama, Clinton or Jesus (who gets alot of write in votes every year, yet another failure of the democratic process).

I mean I DID vote for Obama, and while I might be uncertain about what he will be able to accomplish or if it IS the right way to do things, i've just come to understand that people will NEVER agree.

The coin is just on the other side, and it feels weird to be on the "victorious" side. Alot of Republicans, not ALL, but some are feeling what many democrats and liberals felt when Bush was elected and then reelected.

[Jill Monroe]

Let's keep it real - that isn't it in this case. It's the Democrat-Republican thing here.

not really. because if that were the case, then were was this outrage when Clinton had his turn? Where was it when that idiot Bush had HIS turn? there is obviously a racial subtext here.

[Caroline Forbes]

I don't think it's obvious at all. There were plenty of OTHER things for Republicans to be outraged about during Clinton's time. Also, when I was in high school, they did the same type of thing with Maya Angelou. There was not outrage there - no one said boo about it. Except me cause I hate Maya Angelou's writing and didn't want to have to sit through it lol.

[Jill Monroe]

I don't think it's obvious at all. There were plenty of OTHER things for Republicans to be outraged about during Clinton's time. .

Yeah i know what you're saying about the Clinton/Republican outrage thing. My view on that was: YES he was a slut. His MISTAKE was LYING about it to congress. It isnt as though he was the first or the LAST political figure (of EITHER political party) to do what he did. But he made the mistake of LYING under oath about it...THAT's the only thing he can be faulted for really.

aside from that? what else did they have? He certainly did a hell of a lot more for our financial status and standing in the world than bush ever did but i digress :p

the more i watch these "groups" lead by these pundits (conservatives) get so worked up into a frenzy about EVERY THING president obama does (might do etc) it just seems to me that there's more here than mere "concern". in a time when the FBI has reported a SPIKE in the number of active HATE groups , specifically white supremecist groups wiwth RIGHT WING political ties, and these began popping up DIRECTLY after the historic election of a black (bi racial) president can we REALLY say that alot of what is going on behind all this railing against President Obama has NOTHING to do with his race?

Also, when I was in high school, they did the same type of thing with Maya Angelou. There was not outrage there - no one said boo about it. Except me cause I hate Maya Angelou's writing and didn't want to have to sit through it lol

LOL!

[Caroline Forbes]

And EVERY THING Bush did wasn't criticized by a frenzied left? Please. If that was Al Gore or whoever standing there the same thing would have happened.

[Jill Monroe]

And EVERY THING Bush did wasn't criticized by a frenzied left? Please. If that was Al Gore or whoever standing there the same thing would have happened.

thats because bush was a lying, plundering CRIMINAL who left this country in near ruin! anybody with sense should have been in an uproar over him :D where as Clinton's (or Gore) only real crime was being a "LIBERAL" :p LOL!

[Caroline Forbes]

Okay, I'm just not even going to respond to that. It's typical.

[Pam De Beaufort]

Personally I think the speech was great. And if this was made by McCain, Bush, or any other Republican figure, I would think the same thing. Education has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with trying to keep kids motivated to learn so they have successful lives and futures. So it baffles my mind that so many Republicans are in an up roar over it. Whether you're Republican, Democrat, or Independent...I would think the ONE thing everyone could agree on is making sure the youth of America gets a good education.

[Rampage]

That is the problem with this argument. Conservatives who may have a real beef with Obama's politics constantly give cover to the crazies and the racists who simply hate Obama and don't want him to do or say anything.

I understand that there are political differences from right to left, but when HW Bush went to schools, NO ONE took their kids out of school. When Reagan went, NO ONE walked out, even when he referred to Blacks as NEGROES.

But Obama gives a speech to inspire kids and what happens? Hysteria. Kids taken out of schools because the PRESIDENT is on?

Some of it is politics, to be sure. But the trigger? The thing that tells people it is OK to do? To treat him that way? RACE.

NO OTHER PRESIDENT has been treated so poorly on his own soil, especially so soon in his Presidency. Why is that? Shake your head all you like but if you haven't experienced it you may not recognize it right away. I have and I do: it is RACISM. Pure and simple.

[Jill Monroe]

i'm a white woman and my experiences or the experiences of those closest to me allow me to see that it is racism.

there was no REAL EVIDENCE that President Obama would bring anything political to his speech to the children and Garrick is right (i also said it too) that no other recent president experienced this kind of silly hysteria over a traditional speech to school children.

but lets remember this too...alot of the hysteria we're seeing actually only represents a small segment of the population, the fringers if you willl but they ARE connected to the RIGHT. The best thing to do is to REMEMBER that simply electing Obama is not enough. Those of us who know better need to continue to push back against these bigots, racists, birthers or whoever else that are under the "conservative" umbrella. we asked for change...but change isnt easy.

and for people who say we live in "post racial" times...that is just flat out naive and irresponsible...and this again is an observation made by a white woman.

[Rampage]

i'm a white woman and my experiences or the experiences of those closest to me allow me to see that it is racism.


and for people who say we live in "post racial" times...that is just flat out naive and irresponsible...and this again is an observation made by a white woman.

I am glad to see that you see it. Sometimes it seems like most whites just don't WANT to see it, like in one generation it is supposed to be now all good and Blacks should just shut up.

[Jill Monroe]

there have been many articles as of late that suggest the "current" generation (Generation Y) is less likely to be racist that its predecessors (generation x and baby boomers). my personal observation based on my experiences is that people my age and younger are not as likely to adhere to those things (racism is taught) BUT even if a person isnt necessarily racist, they may be out of touch with the situation and dont understand. some people dont understand that this is the 21rst century and what was tolerable before with regards to race (and gender and even sexual orientation) is not now.

and remember too that the boomers are still here and still fighting to hold on to power. once THEY are no longer in power, i think you will see that MORE people are being aware of the problem and not willing to go along with status quo.

as for what we're seeing toward President Obama? anyone can see the driving force behind this is race. people losing their minds over a black (bi racial) man being President. thats why FBI reports a SPIKE in the rise of active hate groups (specifically white supremecist) with right wing connections. among other things.

[Jacob Black]

I just think we are at an all out WAR right now in this country, but I really don't think this is a race issue.

Obama's administration is under HARSH scrutiny because we elected him to take this country into a new direction. We have a LOT of issues to face that a LOT of people feel VERY differently about, it's part of being the president. I don't really feel like he is being scrutinized any less than Bush was.

I am sure there are alot of people who DO have a problem with Obama being black but I don't think it's fair to classify conservatives or republicans as racist bigots, the republican party is just as diverse as the democrat party.

The main problem is that the republican party is facing a huge restructuring, they are very conflicted on what their message as a party is, they don't have a leader everyone can agree on.. HOWEVER I do feel a big part of that has been letting these "mouthpieces" like Bill O'Reilly and Anne Coulter and Glenn Beck advocate for Republicans when all three of those people are horrendously irresponsible individuals with bloated egos who shouldn't be allowed to put their trash on television, they are dictating their OWN message of what it means to be a republican and people are buying it.

In terms of the speech, I see people withdrawing their children for school was more a sign that they are OPPOSED to the president as a whole. While race may have factored a bit, I think overall people are trying to show "loyalty" to their party by not participating in what Obama is trying to do. I don't know I just think it's easy and generalized to say that this is a race thing.. how far are we going to play this card? Anytime someone disagrees with Obama just in general, in a I don't like Obama at all kind of way, it's because he is black? That bothers me.

[Flashforward]

Republicans don't like education. It's pretty obvious considering that half of them think that the Flintstones was a documentary and that Obama is a Marxist/Socialist/Nazi/fascist, despite the fact that most of those are contradictory terms. Their power is dependent upon having an ignorant and fearful electorate. If they felt otherwise and actually valued education, they'd fund our educational system.

As for the race argument, the Republican party's main constituency is white males. When you see all those white people everywhere saying they "want their country back" when the only thing that's different from eight months ago is the fact that there's a black man in the White House...well, you get the idea. If the Republicans weren't such a white-centric Southern party intent on de-legitimizing the elected president of the U.S. by questioning his citizenship, I might be inclined to ignore any racial aspect in this argument, however, as it currently stands, I believe that race is a substantive (if not primary) factor in the backlash against the school speech.