Category: News Author : AHN Posted: September 8, 2009
Tags : Barack Obama, obama, obama education speech transcript, obama school speech text, president's speech to school children, sept 8 obama school speech, socialist indoctrination
Amid Controversy, Obama Begins School Year With National Address To Students
President Barack Obama marks the new school year on Tuesday with an address to students highlighting the importance of taking responsibility for one’s education. The White House says the address is not a policy speech, and has posted the remarks online amid controversy over material for classroom activities that asked children to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the President.
Obama delivers his national address at noon from Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia.
He plans to say, “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.” “That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself,” the President will also say. “Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.”
The Education Department has provided educators with material listing activities for school children to “stimulate classroom discussions about the importance of education.”
One of the activities recommended for Pre-K – 6 has been changed by the White House after conservatives criticized Obama for “indoctrinat[ing] America’s children to his socialist agenda.”
The activity, listed under the after-remarks items, used to say, “Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”
It now says, “Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short?term and long?term education goals. Teachers would collect and redistribute these letters at an appropriate later date to enable students to monitor their progress.”
Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer had issued a statement last week warning parents about the speech.
“As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology,” he said. “The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies… is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power.”
But the President on Monday received the support from an unlikely quarter: former First Lady Laura Bush.
She told CNN, It’s “really important for everyone to respect the president of the United States… I think there is a place for the president … to talk to schoolchildren and encourage” them.
The same day, the Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters, “It’s a sad, sad day that the political back and forth has intruded on anyone speaking to schoolchildren and teachers and parents about the responsibilities that they have as we enter a new school year. If one kid in one school hears one message and goes from being a D student to a C student, then the speech is worth it. If one kid decides not to drop out of school, then the speech is worth it. Right now nearly three in 10 kids in school will not walk across a stage and get a high school diploma… It’s a sad state of affairs that many in this country politically would rather start an ‘Animal House’ food fight rather than inspire kids to stay in school.”
The President aims for the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, a goal he first announced during his address to the joint session of Congress a month after being sworn into office.
President Barack Obama marks the new school year on Tuesday with an address to students highlighting the importance of taking responsibility for one’s education. The White House says the address is not a policy speech, and has posted the remarks online amid controversy over material for classroom activities that asked children to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the President.
Obama delivers his national address at noon from Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia.
He plans to say, “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.” “That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself,” the President will also say. “Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.”
The Education Department has provided educators with material listing activities for school children to “stimulate classroom discussions about the importance of education.”
One of the activities recommended for Pre-K – 6 has been changed by the White House after conservatives criticized Obama for “indoctrinat[ing] America’s children to his socialist agenda.”
The activity, listed under the after-remarks items, used to say, “Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”
It now says, “Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals. Teachers would collect and redistribute these letters at an appropriate later date to enable students to monitor their progress.”
Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer had issued a statement last week warning parents about the speech.
“As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology,” he said. “The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies… is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power.”
But the President on Monday received the support from an unlikely quarter: former First Lady Laura Bush.
She told CNN, It’s “really important for everyone to respect the president of the United States… I think there is a place for the president … to talk to schoolchildren and encourage” them.
The same day, the Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters, “It’s a sad, sad day that the political back and forth has intruded on anyone speaking to schoolchildren and teachers and parents about the responsibilities that they have as we enter a new school year. If one kid in one school hears one message and goes from being a D student to a C student, then the speech is worth it. If one kid decides not to drop out of school, then the speech is worth it. Right now nearly three in 10 kids in school will not walk across a stage and get a high school diploma… It’s a sad state of affairs that many in this country politically would rather start an ‘Animal House’ food fight rather than inspire kids to stay in school.”
The President aims for the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, a goal he first announced during his address to the joint session of Congress a month after being sworn into office.
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