What do you think of today's speech by President Obama, to student around the country?
" 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 qu
Current Events - 9 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
wow, inflammatory brainwashing i'd say. (not) A chance to hear our president speak is an opportunity. agree or disagree, rational discussion beats the crazed reactions of paranoid people.
2 :
IF he sticks to just that. I am fine with it. I am fine with someone telling our kids that school is important. I DO NOT think its ok for him to talk about polotics though.
3 :
This is not ALL he was planning on saying. In fact, if conservatives hadn't been outraged, he would have gotten away with adding a curriculum which included having students write "how they can be of service to our president." SERVICE TO THE PRESIDENT? He's supposed to SERVE US, NOT the other way around. That's indoctrination number 1. This whole thing is creepy as all get-out. And I'll bet you it was only the first in a string of speeches he had planned on giving to the students, if not for the efforts of conservatives getting it stopped. And, if you listen to the creepy pledge that those idiot actors have put out, yeah, most of it sounds innocuous or even a good idea, BUT they sure did pepper their own politics into it ... and of course, there's that pledge to serve our president b.s. It's simply wrong wrong wrong, and if a conservative and/or Republican president had done it, YOU'D hate it too.
4 :
check out how Pres' Reagan and Bush did it in '88 and '91. I'm sure it''' be just as boring for the kiddies.
5 :
Sounds like basic common sense. I don't see what all the uproar is about.
6 :
Unfortunately, the Republicans can't come up with legislation as great as there ability of making mountains out of mole hills. Since January, there only agenda has been to try to obstruct and complain about everything that the President does. When you mention to them that the economy is improving, they start talking about the weather.
7 :
Wow. Thanks for sharing. Much Ado about Nothing. Just as I thought. The President of the United States would never brainwash the children. I wish some grown folks, would grow up. Have a good day.
8 :
One answer mentioned the word "creepy". Correct, some of these answers are "creepy". How they can take a speech, encouraging children to get a good education etc. and pull it apart is mind boggling. Why are some people so fearful of everything around them, why are they paranoid, when something good can be seen if only they look. Being negative and fearful seems to be something that anti-Obama fans enjoy which in itself shows them for what they really are. Scared, frustrated, judgemental, paranoid individuals who probably live their whole lives like that. What a shame. What a waste of a life. How sad.
9 :
I think its cool for him to recognize the importance of education and try to emphasize it to the youth.Some of the kids in school right now will be the leaders of tomorrow. It benefits us all to have a highly educated population especially when our country's education is slipping. People who are getting all worked up should hear the speech again he didn't say anything wrong.
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