Monday, September 07, 2009

Read President Obama's speech to America's students here


Everyone can read the remarks President Obama plans to make to America's students tomorrow right here.

The President will be at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia when he speaks.

Sorry, but the reaction against this speech, this idea and this President was ill-advised and downright silly.

We'll use it to motivate the children with whom we work to stay in school, work hard and see the hope that can be created as we stick together.


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9 comments:

lucydrake said...

Send the kids or don’t send them…either way, they will find out what was said…with the media and people talking, it will get out…

c hand said...

Will your children/grandchildren write out pledges of service to President Obama?

Larry James said...

c hand, before I respond to your question, I'll quote a couple of sections of the President's speech:
"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 quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your 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. . . I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Now, what was your question? Oh, yeah, The speech doesn't ask them to do that and I understand the worksheet is not being used now thanks to people who don't like the President. But, since you asked, yes. If the President asked us to do that, I'd make it a family exercise. Sort of a "devotional" in thought about how we might help solve problems, lift our neighbors and make the nation stronger and better. Sure, I would ask them to do that, why wouldn't I. And just for the record, I would have done the same for George W Bush.

Read the speech, c hand. It will surprise you.

Anonymous said...

You can't expect people to read these things... not when Papa Bear O'Reilly tells everyone what to think.

Jeff said...

Larry -- did you know that when President Bush spoke to students in 1991, the Democrats actually investigated and held hearings???

I wonder if they will do the same thing this time?

;-)

Anonymous said...

Jeff, give us a reference so we can read about the hearings.

Jeff said...

Here you go:

http://tinyurl.com/l5zqje

So, how about it? Will the Democrats investigate and hold hearings this time?

Larry James said...

Jeff, the Dems likely won't investigate. And no one should have been critical of Bush's address. Though if you read your own source, you'll see that the controversy was never over the speech or the President's ideas. The investigation was over the staging and motive for the speech re the fast approaching political season. Those who have attacked the Obama address have attacked him and his values. And, they have done so in a way that defies comparison.

Anonymous said...

The speech to the kids was just laying the groundwork for his health care speech.