The most controversial “stay in school” speech in the history of America came and went today, and the general consensus is that our kids were not seriously injured by President Obama’s words.
In a speech that brought criticism from conservatives who were afraid that Obama sought to deliver a political message to America’s students, the president stressed the importance of personal responsiblity and told students that “[w]e need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems.”
He added, “If you quit on school, you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.”
With all the emotion that preceded the speech, one would’ve thought that the president was planning to entice students to burn American flags or worship Darwin. And likely for many citizens, no matter how positive or inspirational Obama’s words were, they were tainted by virtue of the messenger.
Thankfully, Obama was not advocating flag burning or evolution. What he did share was a message that, at worst, could challenge students to think twice before giving up on their education; and, at best, inspire them to work their hardest to be tomorrow’s doctors, scientists, lawyers, and presidents.
[W]e 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; you pay attention to those teachers; you listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and you put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
In the lead up to the speech, I witnessed many folks, including some leaders of my own children’s school district, complain that the event would be an unnecessary disruption in the school day and distract our kids from real learning. But it could be argued that Obama’s speech was as important to “real learning” as any math or spelling test.
Obama’s not allowed to talk about the fact that he’s America’s first African American president too much, but the truth is — he’s America’s first African American president!
And not just that. He also is America’s first biracial president, who was raised in a single-parent home, whose cultural background puts him at odds with what many Americans have come to expect in terms of presidential pedigree.
Though he is the President of the United States — the president of all Americans — Obama seems intrinsically aware of the fact that just by standing up and telling people that school is important, he can speak profound encouragement into the lives of many kids who don’t have stable two-parent homes, who don’t feel as though anyone cares whether or not they perform well in school, who don’t think they have a chance at succeeding in life because of their neighborhood or the color of their skin. For many of today’s school-age children, Obama truly is the Role-Model-in-Chief.
And I, for one, am glad that he takes that role seriously.
Great article!
I couldn’t agree with you more. however, i must admit that we should soberly agree that our citizenry is controlled by propaganda. the christian community may be at an even worse disadvantage. Pres Obama encourage our kids to be critical thinkers. i so agree. he could have compelled our community to have more engagement in our children’s education, but that doesn’t diminish the speech one bit.
Today I had the opportunity to watch the Obama speech with my 4th grade students. As I expected, during the speech they looked as if they were not paying attention at all. Eyes were glazed and wandering.
However, after the speech we asked the kids about what they had just heard. Surprisingly, most of them had something about the speech that impacted them personally. Whether it was that they could succeed after failure like both Michael Jordan and J.K. Rowling were able to do, or that Obama was raised by a single parent like they are.
But by far the most important part of the speech that made an impression on many of my students is when Obama said you are not stupid, you just may need to try harder. One speech may not make a difference, but for one child it might.
It’s easy to say that a child’s education is a parent’s responsibility, but every child doesn’t have great parents. It takes everyone working together to make a difference in a child’s life. So if one speech from Obama can make the difference for one of my students, then go ahead and take it out of my taxes, because they are the future of this nation.
Well, it’s official–the president can’t even get up and say “Work hard and stay in school,” without some folks crying “Left-wing political propaganda!!”
Anyway, it’s a refreshing change from our previous president’s remarks on the subject: e.g. “You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test,” or “Why don’t you mentor a child how to read?” I’m glad this particular bully pulpit is in the hands of a published author for once!
Ed,
And yet again you manage to amaze me with your unique (and well-versed) perspective. The last few paragraphs about President Obama being someone our school children can relate to and that alone being enough to bring hope…well, that’s cool. 🙂
You know, my 7-year-old son said they showed the speech during his lunch hour. I asked him what the president talked about. He said he didn’t know, he wasn’t paying attention…and he said some of the teachers weren’t even paying attention.
oh well.
I’m going to try and get a copy of the speech so I can show it to him here at home.