President Obama spoke to America’s school children today, urging them to take responsibility for their education. He delivered the speech to a packed gymnasium of students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA.
The President spoke about his own childhood experiences, sharing that as a boy living overseas in Indonesia, he woke up at 4:30 in the morning for schooling from his own mother. Using this as one of his examples, Obama enforced a strong point that there is no excuse to not rise above any circumstance or situation to be a good student.
The President said, “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new . . . . And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.”
After much of the recent controversy regarding the speech, the speech was relatively non-controversial. The speech was broadcast to schools all over the country, however, there were some schools that chose not to show the speech. Reasons for not giving students an opportunity to view the speech varied. Some claim it was for political reasons, but for many more said it simply did not fit into their curriculum and there was not enough time for it on the first day of school.
Some parents asked that their children not view the speech, but there were no reports of large groups of parents collectively asking schools not to show the speech.
Loading ...