"They don't do it for the fancy office or the big salary, they do it for you. They live for those moments when something clicks, when you amaze them with your intellect and they see the kind of person you can become." President Obama wooed teachers and students alike with his speech on higher education at a public school in Washington D.C. this Wednesday.
Apparently the repercussions from Obama's "political agenda" speech from a few years ago have calmed down significantly. Parents and teachers went into a fury over the White House's planned "educational activities and goals." However, the President recently delivered an eloquent and motivational speech urging students not only to attend some sort of higher education, but to actually finish.
"Our country used to have the world's highest proportion of of young people with a college degree. We now rank 16th. That's not good enough. We need your generation to bring us back to the top," Obama said.
Perhaps the responsibility Obama placed on American students will encourage them to work a little harder to do a little better. Hearing such a strong (the strongest, perhaps) political figure speak directly to the youth of our country sends a powerful message to students making them feel like important individuals.
Both liberals and conservatives welcomed the non-political, genuine message from the President that was broadcasted to students around the country. With the current educational crises in the country, both parents and teachers can agree, it was a much-needed, refreshing push in the right direction.
"You've got to wonder. You've got to question. You've got to explore. And every once in while, you've got to color outside of the lines. That's what school is for: discovering new passions, acquiring the skills, making use of this incredible time that you have to prepare yourself and give yourself the skills that you're going to need to pursue the kind of careers that you want," Obama said.
Perhaps American students need some encouragement to "color outside the lines," rather than being pushed to adhere to strict guidelines in order to meet standardized testing goals. Giving students a little agency and a lot of encouragement could be just the ticket we need to get things back on track.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/politics/obama-back-to-school/
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2011/09/obama_to_nations_students_aim.html
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