Obama to kids: Pay attention
President Obama addresses children across the country asking them to stay in school, set goals and wash their hands.
Tue, Sep 08 2009 at 8:00 AM EST
Photo: gugacurado/stock.xchang President Obama has given hundreds of speeches over the last few months, but today he will be addressing a new audience ... our nation's children. His message? Stay in school, pay attention, set goals and wash your hands.
"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."
Obama will deliver the speech today at 12 p.m. (EST) from Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. The speech will also be broadcast live on the White House Web site and on C-SPAN. Many schools across the country will show the speech and talk about it with students today, while others are opting out over some parents' concerns that the speech is pushing some sort of political agenda. To quell fears, the White House released the full text of the speech on Monday, giving parents a chance to read through it and determine whether or not it's appropriate for their kids.
I can't imagine that after actually reading text with tidbits like this one:
"If you quit on school — you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country."
or this one:
"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."
How any parent could object to a speech that simply tells kids to stay in school and stay focused on the future ... after all, that just backs up what we are all, as parents, trying to tell our kids each day.
Click here to read the full text of President Obama's speech.
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Comments
Davin
09/10/2009 02:08 AM
In the transcript of the school speech released Monday, Obama cited the importance of education as an equalizer, the power of social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter, and the importance of working hard and taking personal responsibility. Many conservatives have expressed a fear that the address would be used to push a partisan political agenda. In the text of the speech, however, Obama avoids any mention of controversial political initiatives. He repeatedly urges students to work hard.... More
