09/08/09 Prepared Obama Remarks To School Children

[SpurNation]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
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, 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 longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. 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 say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know 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 a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And 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 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 good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a 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 can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train 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. 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, skills and intellect so you can help 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 that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. 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 – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s 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. 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. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured 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, and 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, she managed to get a job at a local health 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.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility 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 to 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 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 kids 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, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
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 the 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, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and 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 is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. 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 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. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or 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. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or 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 found this nation. 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, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask 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 twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
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, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect 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 or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

__________________________________________________ __________
If this is the speech...I have no problem with my child hearing and seeing it. But I do like that the school district my child attends is giving me the option as a parent to allow myself to view it first and it is not being forced upon my child to view it.

[clambake]

it still makes you a pussy.

[Shastafarian]

I must have missed all the socialist propaganda.

[SpurNation]

it still makes you a pussy.

:lol I think I've proven enough to others in my past that made that statement to my face to be wrong. :hat

[Extra Stout]

"Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten...."

"When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times...."

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

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

[Mr. Peabody]

"Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten...."

"When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times...."

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

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

Did you steal this post from the Fox News front page?

[SpurNation]

"Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten...."

"When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times...."

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

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


:rollin:rollin:rollin

[Yonivore]

I must have missed all the socialist propaganda.
Is this the same text that had been prepared last week?

You know, before they changed the accompanying curriculum to redact the whole "write yourself a letter showing how much of an Obama sycophant you could be?"

Just wondering...because, they balked at releasing the text last week. This could have been written at 12:12 this morning for all we know.

[Shastafarian]

Is this the same text that had been prepared last week?

You know, before they changed the accompanying curriculum to redact the whole "write yourself a letter showing how much of an Obama sycophant you could be?"

Just wondering...because, they balked at releasing the text last week. This could have been written at 12:12 this morning for all we know.
I would assume it's already been filmed.

[Yonivore]

I would assume it's already been filmed.
When?

[Shastafarian]

When?

How should I know?

[Yonivore]

How should I know?
Then why speculate?

We already know the White House had changed the accompanying curriculum so why not change the text of the message as well?

[Mr. Peabody]

Is this the same text that had been prepared last week?

You know, before they changed the accompanying curriculum to redact the whole "write yourself a letter showing how much of an Obama sycophant you could be?"

Just wondering...because, they balked at releasing the text last week. This could have been written at 12:12 this morning for all we know.

They released the previously prepared remarks to quell the inquiries into possible changes -



Prepared Remarks of President Obama

Back to School Event

I'm not here this afternoon as a Republican, nor as a Democrat; not as a Mason, nor as an Elk; not as a Protestant, nor a Catholic; not as a Christian, nor a Jew; not as a Baptist, nor a Methodist; in fact, not even as an American, because if I was an American, the problem that confronts our people today wouldn't even exist.

So I have to stand here today as what I was when I was born: A black man. Before there was any such thing as a Republican or a Democrat, we were black. Before there was any such thing as a Mason or an Elk, we were black. Before there was any such thing as a Jew or a Christian, we were black people! In fact, before there was any such place as America, we were black! And after America has long passed from the scene, there will still be black people.

I'm gonna tell you like it really is. Every election year these politicians are sent up here to pacify us! They're sent here and setup here by the White Man!

This is what they do! They send drugs in Harlem down here to pacify us! They send alcohol down here to pacify us! They send prostitution down here to pacify us!

Why you can't even get drugs in Harlem without the White Man's permission! You can't get prostitution in Harlem without the White Man's permission! You can't get gambling in Harlem without the White Man's permission! Every time you break the seal on that liquor bottle, that's a Government seal you're breaking!

Oh, I say and I say it again, ya been had! Ya been took! Ya been hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok!

This is what He does....

[George Gervin's Afro]

:lmao

[Yonivore]

They released the previously prepared remarks to quell the inquiries into possible changes -
When did they release those Peabody?

[George Gervin's Afro]

When did they release those Peabody?

Help! Yoni needs help to show he's not on another witch hunt! SOmeone help Yoni!!!:lmao

[Shastafarian]

Then why speculate?

We already know the White House had changed the accompanying curriculum so why not change the text of the message as well?

Why speculate? you realize today is the 7th right? You think this shit is gonna go on live?

[Yonivore]

Why speculate? you realize today is the 7th right? You think this shit is gonna go on live?
Well, releasing it today, after a week of catching hell...and, after changing the curriculum because of it...I think it's safe to speculate this is not what Obama had intended to say.

And, Peabody, releasing a previous version on the same day doesn't mean that wasn't written five minutes beforehand.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Yoni will declare he was right all along no matter what the White House releases. Yoni will proclaim that since he doesn't know when this was drafted he will cling to the notiion that the message was changed therefore he was right all along and nothing will disuade him ...

:lmao

[Yonivore]

Yoni will declare he was right all along no matter what the White House releases. Yoni will proclaim that since he doesn't know when this was drafted he will cling to the notiion that the message was changed therefore he was right all along and nothing will disuade him ...

:lmao
Given this administration's track record, I'd say it was a safe assumption.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Given this administration's track record, I'd say it was a safe assumption.

and there you have it..:lmao

[Yonivore]

and there you have it..:lmao
In a nutshell.

Obama is a fucking liar.

And, he does it with impunity.

[BadMoodBob]

All who objected to this school speech overplayed their hand after getting caught up in the emotion from the health care townhalls.

These people embarrassed themselves, but they still contributed to the bigger picture.

[Yonivore]

All who objected to this school speech overplayed their hand after getting caught up in the emotion from the health care townhalls.

These people embarrassed themselves, but they still contributed to the bigger picture.
How?

By forcing Obama to change his curriculum and belatedly release the "revised" text of his message, I think those who objected have achieved their goal.

[ChumpDumper]

Why speculate?

[George Gervin's Afro]

How?

By forcing Obama to change his curriculum and belatedly release the "revised" text of his message, I think those who objected have achieved their goal.

That you still can't prove. So basically we can all agree your just making this up..par for the course

[Yonivore]

That you still can't prove. So basically we can all agree your just making this up..par for the course
The White House announced it would be removing the part of the curriculum that suggested students write letters to themselves asking what they could do to help President Obama.

That's a change to the curriculum.

The White House released the text of the talk along with the ostensible previous version (according to Peabody), today.

That's a change to the text.

Is that proof enough the objections caused Obama to change his speech and the curriculum? Isn't that what I claimed?

[ChumpDumper]

why speculate?

[Shastafarian]

The White House released the text of the talk along with the ostensible previous version (according to Peabody), today.

That's a change to the text.


Oh my god. Read it again.

[SpurNation]

I'm not sure about what any previous message that Obama might have been giving prior to all the nationalized attention that this has been receiving to this event since it's first public disclosure that it was going to take place.

But it's encouraging to see that Obama is sticking to one promise...allowing transparency to the general public. At least in this event of addressing our children.

And to those that think that those that opposed this were being unjustly paranoid...to many parents such as myself it was the simple fact of allowing me to know what that message were to entail prior to giving it.

[clambake]

and it still makes you a pussy.

[George Gervin's Afro]

and it still makes you a pussy.

:(

[SpurNation]

and it still makes you a pussy.

That's OK Clam. Think what you want because I know you don't have the nads besides sitting behind your computer to face anything in person.

[ChumpDumper]

Internets tough guy sighting!

[Spurminator]

Great, my kid got online and read this speech, and now he's packing his bags so he can move to Washington to join Obama's government with his boyfriend.

[clambake]

That's OK Clam. Think what you want because I know you don't have the nads besides sitting behind your computer to face anything in person.

i know you.....you said you want to get physical.

you're olivia newton-john.

[jack sommerset]

My kids first grade teacher says about half her class won't be there. 10

[George Gervin's Afro]

My kids first grade teacher says about half her class won't be there. 10

atta boy jack stick it to the man.

[BadMoodBob]

It's grade school. It's not like they will miss much from one day of absence.

[Shastafarian]

It's grade school. It's not like they will miss much from one day of absence.

That's the spirit!

[BadMoodBob]

Spirit is for cheerleaders.

[George Gervin's Afro]

My kids first grade teacher says about half her class won't be there. 10

"Hey daddy remember when the President spoke to my class in first grade? Oh, I didn't go?

[BadMoodBob]

"Hey dad, remember when I cried about never seeing the President speak to my generation during school? How foolish I was to have gotten upset that I missed meaningless words from a politician."



I would wager most people putting weight on Obama's impact among the yutes are the same ones who laugh off the D.A.R.E. program.

[George Gervin's Afro]

"Hey dad, remember when I cried about never seeing the President speak to my generation during school? How foolish I was to have gotten upset that I missed meaningless words from a politician."



I would wager most people putting weight on Obama's impact to the yutes are the same ones who laugh off the D.A.R.E. program.

"Yes, honey the Office of the President is a meaningless position."

[Yonivore]

"Yes, honey the Office of the President is a meaningless position."
The office can certainly be held by inconsequential people.

[BadMoodBob]

His words mean nothing.

Generic cliche stay in school slogans mean even less.

Action on the other hand...Obama could release more than 10% of our stimulus money before 2010 to keep sonny's parents employed which in return could decrease the chances sonny drops out due to opportunity cost.

[SpurNation]

i know you.....you said you want to get physical.

you're olivia newton-john.

:rollin

[SpurNation]

"Hey daddy remember when the President spoke to my class in first grade? Oh, I didn't go?

Daddy..."I don't remember the first grade"

[ploto]

...to many parents such as myself it was the simple fact of allowing me to know what that message were to entail prior to giving it.

Just curious- do they run by you in advance everything that every adult says to them every day? Do you get to preview every speaker or every assembly or every pep rally that they have for TAKS or Red Ribbon Week?

[ChumpDumper]

The parents keeping children out of school over this are fucking idiots.

[Creepn]

Just curious- do they run by you in advance everything that every adult says to them every day? Do you get to preview every speaker or every assembly or every pep rally that they have for TAKS or Red Ribbon Week?

Of course he doesn't.

He's just one of the many chickenshit pussy conservo/repub idiots out there that's scared of the "socialist" black man. That's the only reason I can see for that type of behavior.

He'll try to say he'd do the same if it was any party but that is bullshit. I didn't see any type of outrage from either side when Bush did this.

[SpurNation]

Just curious- do they run by you in advance everything that every adult says to them every day? Do you get to preview every speaker or every assembly or every pep rally that they have for TAKS or Red Ribbon Week?

Fair question.

I have the ability to view all events planned by the school my child attends via the district's internet portal. The portal displays my child's grades...class by class as well as letting parents know in advance of special events.

I'm not sure about other districts...but NEISD does a fairly decent job at communicating with parents regarding all events.

[angel_luv]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
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, 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 longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. 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 say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know 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 a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And 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 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 good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a 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 can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train 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. 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, skills and intellect so you can help 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 that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. 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 – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s 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. 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. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured 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, and 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, she managed to get a job at a local health 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.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility 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 to 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 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 kids 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, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
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 the 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, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and 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 is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. 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 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. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or 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. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or 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 found this nation. 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, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask 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 twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
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, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect 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 or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

__________________________________________________ __________
If this is the speech...I have no problem with my child hearing and seeing it. But I do like that the school district my child attends is giving me the option as a parent to allow myself to view it first and it is not being forced upon my child to view it.

I agree.

[clambake]

i just played it backwards..............OMG!

[angel_luv]

I think it is important for parents to have access to any material their child sees in school so that they can be informed when later discussing with their kids what the children learned.

Parents ought to be involved and stay very aware when it comes to the nature and quality of thier childrens' education.

[ploto]

I have the ability to view all events planned by the school my child attends via the district's internet portal.

I assume you mean a LIST of planned events. That is not the same thing at all. They do not supply you with the text of what every person is going to say in advance at every event. You may know someone is coming, but you do not know what they are going to say. When Bill Taylor comes to talk about the weather, you have no clue if he is going to talk about Global Warming and get you all mad!

And every day, the teacher gives lessons and you do not know what he or she is going to say. When they study history, how do you know if the teacher will say something with which you disagree? You do not.

[clambake]

I assume you mean a LIST of planned events. That is not the same thing at all. They do not supply you with the text of what every person is going to say in advance at every event. You may know someone is coming, but you do not know what they are going to say. When Bill Taylor comes to talk about the weather, you have no clue if he is going to talk about Global Warming and get you all mad!

And every day, the teacher gives lessons and you do not know what he or she is going to say. When they study history, how do you know if the teacher will say something with which you disagree? You do not.

i agree. i'd guess that in texas, social sciences is really about incest.

[LnGrrrR]

I think it is important for parents to have access to any material their child sees in school so that they can be informed when later discussing with their kids what the children learned.

Parents ought to be involved and stay very aware when it comes to the nature and quality of thier childrens' education.

Might as well homeschool them, in that case.

[angel_luv]

Well seeing as the President's speeches are prepared in advance, it seems courteous to make the text available to parents before their kids. President Obama was not at all inconvenienced.

And it seems to me like President Obama ought to applaud parents being so involved and interested when it comes to his speech, especially given how he illustrated in his speech that proper education is indeed a team effort requiring the government, teachers, parents, and students to all do their due diligence.

I do not see what the issue is.


And every day, the teacher gives lessons and you do not know what he or she is going to say. When they study history, how do you know if the teacher will say something with which you disagree? You do not


You do if you sit your child down and ask them about their day, if you help them with their homework and review their tests that they bring home.
All the teachers I am friends with wish their kids parents were more interested in what goes in the classroom, not less involved.

[angel_luv]

Might as well homeschool them, in that case.

I just might. :)

[clambake]

I just might. :)

uh oh.

[ploto]

You do if you sit your child down and ask them about their day, if you help them with their homework and review their tests that they bring home.

You do not know IN ADVANCE so that you can decide whether or not to allow your kid to participate in that day's lesson.

[LnGrrrR]

I just might. :)

Feel free :D

Just saying, if you have the time, might be better in order to educate your children. They'll miss out on the fun of weaving through the social networks in school though, unless you put them into lots of afterschool activities.

I don't plan on homeschooling my child; I do plan on educating him myself though. Catch my drift? :)

Like you said, sitting down and talking with your child about school is something every parent should do.

[clambake]

how do you teach your kids to care about school when you're sitting there praying for the rapture?

[SpurNation]

Well seeing as the President's speeches are prepared in advance, it seems courteous to make the text available to parents before their kids. President Obama was not at all inconvenienced.

And it seems to me like President Obama ought to applaud parents being so involved and interested when it comes to his speech, especially given how he illustrated in his speech that proper education is indeed a team effort requiring the government, teachers, parents, and students to all do their due diligence.

I do not see what the issue is.

You do if you sit your child down and ask them about their day, if you help them with their homework and review their tests that they bring home.
All the teachers I am friends with wish their kids parents were more interested in what goes in the classroom, not less involved.

Exactly.


You do not know IN ADVANCE so that you can decide whether or not to allow your kid to participate in that day's lesson.

Of course one can't know everything in advance....that's life. But I can review the curriculum of what is being taught and planned and have at least some clue as to what is expected both of my child and the district.

I wouldn't expect a member of CPS giving a speech to children regarding the safety of electricity to possibly have other motives other than that of eletrical safety.

A politician on the other hand could easliy wonder into political agenda. Again, I'm thankful Obama released his speech prior so that every parent has the ability to review. That's leading by example. Kudos for doing that.

[angel_luv]

You do not know IN ADVANCE so that you can decide whether or not to allow your kid to participate in that day's lesson.

I understand what you are saying.

[ploto]

I wouldn't expect a member of CPS giving a speech to children regarding the safety of electricity to possibly have other motives other than that of eletrical safety.

He or she might talk about expanding the use of nuclear energy- that is part of CPS.

[ManuTP9]

my cousin wore his anti obama shirt to his school on that speech day, principal told him to take it off or go home lol.

[Winehole23]

my cousin wore his anti obama shirt to his school on that speech day, principal told him to take it off or go home lol.Today, you mean? I'm assuming your use of the past tense refers to this morning.

[ManuTP9]

Today, you mean? I'm assuming your use of the past tense refers to this morning.

Yeah today i meant.

[Soul_Patch]

This shit totaly cut into my kids profit today. Kids got all uppity about being productive and he only sold 3 of the 10 zanex he stole from mom last night :(

[Winehole23]

Yeah today i meant. On that speech day is a rather strange way to say "today", wouldn't you agree?

[Winehole23]

It raised questions in my mind about the veracity of your tale.

[Winehole23]

So, how did you find out, ManuTP9?

[Winehole23]

Or did you just make it up?

[ManuTP9]

It raised questions in my mind about the veracity of your tale.

ok im getting confused, i meant today , my cousin seen the speech today

[ManuTP9]

Or did you just make it up?

WTH i would'nt make up anything.

[clambake]

ok im getting confused, i meant today , my cousin seen the speech today

what time was the speech today?

[ManuTP9]

what time was the speech today?

i dont go to his school i don't know.

[clambake]

i dont go to his school i don't know.

what time did it come on at your school?

[ManuTP9]

what time did it come on at your school?

I didn't go to school today:wakeup

[Drachen]

"Hey dad, remember when I cried about never seeing the President speak to my generation during school? How foolish I was to have gotten upset that I missed meaningless words from a politician."



I would wager most people putting weight on Obama's impact among the yutes are the same ones who laugh off the D.A.R.E. program.

So . . . Do nothing?
A lot of people complain about the attitude presented by today's children toward education and the fact that they all believe that everything should be handed to them without work. The president makes a play to dispel that thought process, tells them that it is quite the opposite, and the same people complain about that. Indoctrinated indeed.

[Winehole23]

WTH i would'nt make up anything.Fair enough. Your wording threw me off.

[clambake]

I didn't go to school today:wakeup
what did your cousin do? did he take off the shirt or go home?

oh.....by the way......what school does your cousin go to?

[SpurNation]

Interesting. I didn't think about this before. But watching national news...many parents purposely kept their kids at home today in order to watch Obama's speech since their school districts chose not to air it.

Just saying.....

[Yonivore]

Good Speech, Obama! Nice and conservative...God and all. Ronald Reagan would have been proud.

Now, let's see if your policies encourage the same personal responsibility you admonished the students to take in their own lives.

[ChumpDumper]

Interesting. I didn't think about this before. But watching national news...many parents purposely kept their kids at home today in order to watch Obama's speech since their school districts chose not to air it.

Just saying.....They are also idiots.

[Yonivore]

I also wonder if there will now be an investigation, as there was when President George H. W. Bush gave the almost identical speech back in 1991. Congress was incensed. Dragged all of Bush's education appointees in for hearings and everything...

[ChumpDumper]

I also wonder if there will now be an investigation, as there was when President George H. W. Bush gave the almost identical speech back in 1991. Congress was incensed. Dragged all of Bush's education appointees in for hearings and everything...If Republicans controlled the Congress I'm sure they would be preparing the articles of impeachment over this speech by now.

[Gino]

If Republicans controlled the Congress I'm sure they would be preparing the articles of impeachment over this speech by now.

:lol

NOW were getting somewhere!!

Can you even IMAGINE the reaction Bush would have received if he had asked the students of America to write him letters stating how they intended to help him?

"Theyre not Hilter youths, Bush!"

I cant believe you went down that path, Chumpy.

[clambake]

:lol

NOW were getting somewhere!!

Can you even IMAGINE the reaction Bush would have received if he had asked the students of America to write him letters stating how they intended to help him?

"Theyre not Hilter youths, Bush!"

I cant believe you went down that path, Chumpy.

bush didn't ask them to write letters.

he asked them to die for no reason.

[ChumpDumper]

:lol

NOW were getting somewhere!!

Can you even IMAGINE the reaction Bush would have received if he had asked the students of America to write him letters stating how they intended to help him?

"Theyre not Hilter youths, Bush!"

I cant believe you went down that path, Chumpy.Of course I did. Unlike you, I'm not a blind partisan hack.

It's stupid for either side to get bent out of shape if the only message was to stay in school and work hard.

[Drachen]

:lol

NOW were getting somewhere!!

Can you even IMAGINE the reaction Bush would have received if he had asked the students of America to write him letters stating how they intended to help him?

"Theyre not Hilter youths, Bush!"

I cant believe you went down that path, Chumpy.

No, you have it all wrong, the reaction would have been "Make sure you use one-syllable words, and write it in purple crayon, that is the president's favorite color."

/Joke

The letters are a common motivational exercise, I am sure you have heard someone say that if you haven't written down your goals, and look at them every day, then you have no goals. Or perhaps a variation on the previous sentence.

[Oh, Gee!!]

Is this the same text that had been prepared last week?

You know, before they changed the accompanying curriculum to redact the whole "write yourself a letter showing how much of an Obama sycophant you could be?"

Just wondering...because, they balked at releasing the text last week. This could have been written at 12:12 this morning for all we know.


why speculate?