Really, people? This is what so many were all worked up about? This is a GREAT speech, no politicking, no "indoctrinations" going on. Just a simple, inspiring Stay In School and You Can Succeed speech. Here's just a snippet, in case you were one of those folks that refuse to watch and have forbidden your kids from seeing and hearing it for themselves.
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.
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on Sep 8th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Even after 11 hours of moving furniture and boxes for a friend, I stayed up a little later to write my daughter's teacher, principal, and assistant principal an email expressing my desire for her to see the speech. Living where I do (we were 51-49 for Obama), I can only imagine the email nightmare they received this morning.
on Sep 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am
If my daughter was older, I would have done the same, even if it had been W. giving the speech. Seriously, the President wants to give an inspirational speech to the youth of America and people see evil intent in it before they even know what the text is, much less any potential subtext? WTF?
on Sep 8th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Man, couldn't have said it better. That is so true. Even if it were W school kids should watch the Prez. No excuses.
on Sep 8th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Actually the uproar is because white house staffers sent out a letter asking for a lesson plan where children would write an essay about how they would help the president achieve his goals
this comes after they tried to use the AMA to tell doctors to sell they're patients on health care reform
on Sep 8th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Again, I fail to see what the problem was with that, either. Assignments like that used to be considered normal and a regular part of the educational process throughout the course of my primary and high school career. Why is it different now? Because the White House decided to take a proactive role in the education of the nation's kids? Sorry, but condemning a President who wants to engage and educate kids makes absolutely no sense to me.
on Sep 8th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Wives used to be expected to stay at home, hold no job, and take care of the husbands needs. What was acceptable in the past does not necessarily remain so.
Wording wording wording
People in the US value their "independent opinions" .
Being told/expected to agree with anything rubs people wrong the way throwing children into the issue makes it worse.
They changed it to more neutral sounding words after the damage was already done.
Education for all the words is a backburner issue with the president right now healthcare is where he is spending his political efforts.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Comparing the engagement of students in a political exercise in school is a far cry from forcing women to stay home and make sure their husbands slippers are clean, his pipe is packed and a roast is in the oven. Considering you're talking to a dude who was a stay at home dad for the first three years of his daughter's life, I certainly understand that things change, but this anger is entirely misplaced.
People keep claiming that they changed the text of the speech after the complaints started, however the complaints began well in advance of anyone reading the speech. I'm sorry, but complaints made about the content of something before anyone's seen the item/heard the speech/read the words simply don't hold any water.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 9:29 am
I refer not at all to the speech I refer to the activities they wanted children the speech is the pretext regardless how innocuous. A written faux pas in a letter can cost companies millions because it made them seem uncaring, irresponsible, or incompetent.The speech quite frankly is just a speech. And perception carries far more weight than reality. The people that are angry were already that way their voice simply doesn't count unless raised angrily in opposition to the current government.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 10:40 am
And I feel that the fact that the lesson plan being thrown out was a massive FAIL on the part of the President and his advisers. It seemed to me to have the potential to be a fantastic way to engage kids in the political process.
Look, I was vehemently opposed to Bush Jr. and the majority of the policy he and his people imposed on the American public, but I wish he had done something similar to this for kids. It's the type of educational program that could greatly benefit students in the short term and our country in the long term.
In short, I guess we're probably going to have to agree to disagree on this topic. Politely, of course.
on Sep 9th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
This is nonsense. He's the president. This has always been part of the job. Nothing has changed.
If the GOP continues with this sort of conduct, no conservative point of view will be taken seriously by mainstream America. There won't be a Republican party any longer. What will be left? Blue Dog Democrats?