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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
News Reviewing Obama's speech
Posted By Cheris Hodges on Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 12:26 PM
President Barack Obama received a standing ovation from students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. as he took the stage to deliver a speech to tell kids that they have to take responsibility for their education. Some people in North Carolina didn't let their children to hear the speech, thinking that the president was going to deliver some political message. He didn't.
Obama told the story of his mother teaching him American lessons at 4:30 a.m., a common tale now. Obama transitioned into telling kids what is expected of them this school year — nothing political, just talking about responsibility. It's hard to see why this speech has caused such a ruckus.
Obama said unless kids take responsibility to listen and go to school, America can have the best schools, but it won't matter. Kids, he said, have to attend school and find out what their potential is.
"No matter what you want to do with your life, you will need a good education to do it," Obama said. "You can not drop out of school and drop into a good job."
Obama's speech should come from parents, especially the part when he tells children that they have no excuse to have a bad attitude at school. As I listen to this speech, I'm trying to figure out why some parents got up in arms. Is it because they've fallen down on their jobs and haven't taught their kids the importance of school?
I watched Obama's speech with a Charlotte parent on the phone.
"How dare someone tell the President of The United States that he can't say something to the children of the United States about education? The best person that the United States has to offer can't say something about education? What kind of sense does that make?" The parent, who asked not to be named, said.
Obama's theme was when you give up on yourself, you give up on America. What's so political about that? The speech was less than 20 minutes and there was nothing political or controversial in what he said. No ad libs and nothing about the toxic climate surrounding the nation's health care debate. Maybe some parents need to go back to school.
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