President Obama’s Speech to School Children
OK, everybody… Ready for the big scary indoctrination? Ready for some kind of evil fascist-communist-Democrat-Marxist-eepycreepyist propoganda that will be crammed down the throats of innocent school children turning them into librul slaves of their evil Obamacrat Overlords?
Hide the children! They’re about to be told to never give up. They’re about to be encouraged to READ and attend school, and set goals for themselves! They’re about to be reminded of their potential and given inspiring stories of other children who have risen above circumstance and succeeded! Keep them home! Inspiration, hope and a good work ethic is the first step down the slippery slope that will lead to this country’s ruination!
Yes, the speech is wonderful. Perhaps we should all enourage school administrators to give out handi-wipes to all the children who will be engaged in “other activities” during the President’s address. That way they can bring them home to their parents who will undoubtedly need them to wipe the egg off their faces.
Here is the transcript of the speech that will be delivered tomorrow by the President.
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Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility. I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But 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.
And 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. 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.
Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
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.
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. That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.
And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. 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.”
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.
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. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
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.
The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
Certainly could have done without the last sentence.
“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.”
To me this was the crux of the whole address. We need to help our kids to ask questions — why are we studying this … why do we do this every day … why do we have to go to school … how will school help me in my life? And most importantly, when I’m older and facing a crisis, what questions will I be prepared to ask?
It all comes down to learning those things you don’t know. And if you don’t ask questions … like the prez said, how will you ever find out?
I am so proud of my president for talking about things he doesn’t know, and admitting he needs to talk to others who can answer his questions.
If our kids can do that, as a country we can truly be proud of them.
Great job, Mr. President! I wish my kids were still in school to experience your address, because I think it would have impacted them greatly.
Oh, the unmitigated horror! The President of the United States wants to speak to our school-aged children and encourage them to get a good education! Stuff their ears with cotton, and send them to school blindfolded, Mildred! We don’t want our children exposed to this sort of nonsense! Maybe the kids should take a sick day.
Surely there’s something more important, more vital worth causing a hoopla about than President Obama giving a speech to our children. How about we channel our hoopla-creating skills into doing something positive about turning the economy around? Or, gasp, fixing the health-care system, if indeed it can be fixed?
Re: post #63 – It is James Dobson – believe me I know. My sister has every book he ever wrote + all his ridiculous newsletters (she kept them in her bathroom – kind of ironic if you ask me). Most Evangelicals/Southern Baptist LOVE him as well as the members of SP’s church.
I am sad to say that to the rest of the world (who really like President Obama) we look like a bunch of morons. You can thank the MSM that SP so dearly hates. There is hardly anything on the meetings that are pro-health care just the stupid teabaggers in all their glory. Why they don’t report the pro – hmmm, I wonder? I know they look ridiculous, you know they look ridiculous but it must sell.
Think about President Obama’s words (below) and then think about Ms Quitty pants.
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The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
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What a difference in role models for our youth. Palin, who barely got an BA degree, and then quit mid-stream for the money. Gee kids, don’t study, don’t work hard, don’t be concerned with keeping your word….just go for the cash. Shameful.
She has the nerve to think she has the right to be adding her opinion to President Obama’s policies? She doesn’t deserve to be in the same room with him.
All teachers in the group: I just heard Bill Kristol saying that it was a slap in the face to teachers for the White House to provide the teaching aides to educators on this speech. Said it made it seem like they wouldn’t know how to handle it without it being provided by Obama. Would you please jump in and tell him about curriculum aides? You can tell he has never been a teacher!
The school my daughter goes to will preview the speech and select what will be shown. I have it scheduled to record at home and will let her watch the whole thing tonight. I will also be sending my nieces and nephews who live with thier dad a copy of the speech, as I know how he stand on this. I’ve had to call him on several e-mails that were about PO and I knew were just lies, he’s probably one of the parents that called ASD complaining about this. I hope it gets on YouTube also, if it does I will be e-mailing them that as well.
I emailed the school to see if the speech would be shown to classrooms. That was on Saturday and the principal replied that it would not — that the kids could see it at home if they chose. I replied that I was truly sorry that they weren’t being given the opportunity to see it in the classroom or at school, as they were missing a wonderful teaching opportunity. My child will certainly see the speech one way or another!
This whole thing is embarassing and shameful. The speech is wonderful, as we knew it would be. But, to force the President of the United States to release the text of his speech in advance???? Unbelievable.
This is the party of “Christians”, right? Wow…today’s Christianity sure knows how to hate, don’t they? Amazing.
I have always been a very proud American but I find I am even prouder today. President Obama is doing something so wonderful; so needed for our country to succeed; so wonderful for all of these school children. I wish the President would have spoken to me when I was in school. I might have studied more; might have been interested more in what I could do to make this world a better place.
We are so behind in our schools compared to so many other countries. We fall more behind each year. Why is this? Our children are not interested in studying. They are interested in being the pitcher on the school’s baseball team; the quarterback for their football team. Sports is the only thing that some parents are interested in for their children. Being top of the class comes a far second.
We need this speech for our survival in this world’s economy. We need educated children; children that are interested in going on to college and making this country a better place.
God bless you, President Obama for taking such a great interest in my grandchildren. God bless you for wanting more for our country.
I am a very proud Grandmother who sees so much potential in her grandchildren right now and pray that they see this in themselves, too, and have a desire to study and make a mark in our world.
To all the parents, educators and politicians advising children to avoid this beautiful speech, SHAME ON YOU!
What if people had covered their ears rather than hear, “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”? Isn’t he basically saying the same thing?
How much hate they must have in their hearts, and isn’t that pathetic?
The rethugs just can’t STAND having a biracial president.
Most folks do not have the courage or honesty to admit their prejudice, so they complain about an innocent speech to school children, phony death panels, “tea parties” etc.
If they looked in the mirror they would see a racist starring back.
They just can’t admit it.
Not every republican is a racist, but every racist is republican.
It’s sad, really.
Gosh, that speech is gooood.
Copy going to my kids and I will try to arrange a private viewing. We might be in Europe but thank heaven for INTERNET! If there is a way of brainwashing kids into studying and getting smart, tell me about it, pleeeeeease. Signed Desperate Mum
kareninTexas Says:
September 7th, 2009 at 6:04 PM
LisanTX….where are you in Texas? I live near Austin,
************************************************************************************kaereninTexas, three of my children and three of my grandchildren live in Austin. The wingnuts appear not to have poisoned the water there yet. If you haven’t found a voice of sanity for Texas akin to Mudflats for Alaska, I urge you to check out http://www.kissmybigbluebutt.com
I swear my friend Susan channels Molly Ivins.
Lee, exactly.
I wish that Margaret and Helen lived with me (with some help.) I would always be apace of things, marveling at them, and envious of their wit and wisdom while learning precious life lessons. They are just the best.
I get motivated just reading this speech, and I left my schooldays many years ago. In a time when there is so much to pull young people down, this call to action is irresistable!
But of course, the wacko right is going to read big-time subversiveness in those two little words, “critical thinking”! That’s just what they DON’T want: an informed, intelligent population that thinks for themselves!
I am planning on having my 4 1/2 yr old Grandson over tomorrow to watch the speech with Grandma. He doesn’t start pre-school for another week and needs to share this moment with his older siblings. He will get some of it and be proud that our President wanted to talk to him. I am sure we will be playing Fisher Price Little People in between as we did the last time we watched President Obama.
You should see us playing Health Care Reform, Mrs. Squirrel went bankrupt )o:
I don’t care what color or age, as long as the message is for bettering ourselves and the country we need to hear it.
The high school parents don’t want their kids to hear this and compare it with the inane drivel delivered by the previous Republican President. The kids might just get the idea that there is worth to higher education, hard work and community service. They might realize that greed isn’t everything and the “me first, I, I, I” way isn’t the point of getting a diploma. Their kids might actually start thinking for themselves, questioning the choices of their parents and, horror of horrors, might realize that Democrats aren’t the Nazi, socialistic, pinko commie freaks their parents and Fox News have made them out to be.
The local tv station had another article about the speech up today. For 2 days we were able to read the dozens of hateful rants about brainwashing and indoctrination on their website. Tonight, after the speech is released, only 21 comments. All except one were positive. The story has disappeared from the website.
Crickets. That’s what I’m hearing tonight. And they sound great!
Who, exactly, is doing the brainwashing here? It certainly isn’t the President. Seems to me that it’s the nitwit neocons who are brainwashing their children and their children’s school boards. Shame big time! The continued ignorance and dumbfounding stupidity is mind-boggling.
OMG. I just read Obama’s speech; good thing I had on my tin foil hat and held my electric toothbrush, so I wouldn’t be brainwashed.
BTW: if any mudpups saw the photograph on tv of President George H.W.Bush leaning against a chalkboard, talking to students (1991)- that was my classroom. Unlike these wingnuts, we were welcoming and polite.
Sheesh.
What a great way for kids to start their school year. I hope a video of the speech will be easy to find on the internet for the kids who don’t see it in school or for those who want to watch/listen again.
I wish I didn’t think that the majority who have opposed this speech are afraid their children might have a positive impression of our President which conflicts with what they’re being taught at home….and nothing to do with politics.
Margaret & Helen website has a new posting – hilarious!
She makes some good points about the upcoming speech, as well as mentioning Bachmann’s burning bush revelation. Are they really in
their 80s?
Where in Texas? What part of that is already taking place? Holy goblins!
I visit a BB that you would think had kind thinking ladies, but alas, they are vulgar and worry about everything in this speech as “serving the President” to capitalism and socialism, but it all comes down to negroism….they can not handle a black man as President and telling their kids to serve him.
I am appalled at the comments on that BB and ashamed to even know some of them, Obama did not create this economy but for some reason they blame him.
Their minds will never be changed and even when they read the text of the school speech, somehow they found something reading between the lines.
Shows me a lot of paranoia.
I wish I was back in school and be able to listen to him tell me I matter to my country, maybe I would have done better then I did.
I have pride in my country and I will serve it in any way I can, not tear her down.
We need to start thinking how we look to other countries and start it with respecting ourselves first.
Thanks, Riverside. Your previous post was pretty eerie…some of that is already taking place in Texas.
kareninTexas,
Sorry, I know you just were trying to defend Texas’s right to keep Laura.
She is, after all, a Texas gem.
Wonderful speech.
Reading through it brought tears to my eyes as I considered the unjustified, blind hatred which has been constantly thrown at this fine man who is the democratically elected leader of our country.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I’ve got it. Rick Perry is going to invite Charles Dobson to address Texas school children in The President of the United State’s place. Dobson will come out strongly for reinstating corporal punishment in the schools and will invite everyone to pray for God’s help in doing so. Perry will then solve the dropout problem by putting dropouts in jail where they will have to attend classes or face life sentences and whipping at the stake. In this way, socialism will be avoided.
Riverside….I was just offering Rick as a substitute for Laura. I don’t think anyone wants him, well, maybe Palin. No hard feelings, please.
What this will do for our Black kids gives me great hope. I worked in the Black area of Seattle (Ranier Valley South) as a teacher. I realized that there was only so much I, as a white woman, could do to give these children hope that they really did have a future. When Obama became President I cried for joy thinking of all those children who now had their role model. Both the President and his wife have “been there” and these kids know it.
Here’s a pretty funny parody of that woman crying on CNN about this speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofxVMlU97yA
I just finished reading the speech and my indoctrination is now complete. I was just thinking that the reason the former president didn’t give such a speech to the students is that the guy couldn’t speak. Can you imagine how confused our kids would have been listening to Bush for 10 minutes? I ran across the funniest graphic today about the whole situation. Enjoy. http://zaiusnation.blogspot.com/
I too, have read the speech. As an educator of young children, I think they will watch it without getting too wiggly. Yes, the young ones won’t understand much of it, but they will understand that a very important adult is talking to them. I remember seeing a film of Eisenhower talking to children when I was young. I have no idea what he talked about, but I remember that the President talked to us. I was a great Eisenhower fan!
Good teachers will follow up the speech with some simple explanations suited to the children’s level.
@34/Karen and @43/weaver57 – I’ve only lived in rural western KY for just over 20 years and am still amazed at the blatant racism. JustAFarmer is in eastern KY and then LexKY is apparently in the Lexington area, so we do have some representation of a positive nature. Although my grandchildren are out of school, I still voiced my opinion to the local school board but I doubt it will do any good. We have our own share of homegrown terrorists close by – large contingent of KKK about 30 miles from where I live, and I’m sure they and the white supremacists – along with all the super-religious – have come out strongly in opposition to the speech.
BTW – anyone interested in where the hate groups are in your own states, go to the Southern Poverty Law Center at www dot splcenter dot org
Then click on the Hate Groups Map button.
Did Rick Perry go to school in Texas? I wonder if he thinks Texas kids need to be protected from ever seeing or hearing the President of the United States speak. I bet he wouldn’t want just any country’s president to speak to Texas school kids. Would he mind if the president of a non-socialist country spoke?
So who do you think Rick Perry would let speak to kids in Texas schools? Is there any record? Is he keeping his kids home tomorrow?
Does Rick Perry let firemen and policemen speak to Texas School kids?
Has he ever spoken in the schools?
Does he know any non-socialist countries except Texas?
What makes you think Kentucky would want him?
It appears that President Obama just wants to encourage kids to stay in school and be productive citizens. He wants to connect with the new generation, and show them that he is concerned for their future. With all the burdens young people carry today, they need encouragement from the highest Office.
I’ll bet someone is jealous. A hint; It’s a “she” and her initials are SP.
beautiful talk to our young people, we are falling so far behind the education levels of other countries, we are jeopardizing our role/position as world leaders.
How could we put any of the rethugs out to the world as leaders with the crap that has been coming out of their mouths…how could anyone ever trust them to act with respect to other world dignataries …
I fear for America and Americans unless we can continue to educate our young people …despite what some of their parents may think, education is vital
I am so proud of our President and yes, we need to show our support for him…
I’m glad Laura Bush finally spoke up for what is right. We’ll keep her here in Texas and to heck with the secessionists! We will send you Rick Perry, though.
It’s a big deal here in pennsyltucky due to a school which invited Shrub to speak refuses to allow its students to watch due to “the political nature of the speech.” How’s that for hypocrisy?
Most districts apparently will allow only social studies teachers to show the coverage (but only if the affected teachers so choose) otherwise kids are sh** out of luck. I gave my kidlets the option of being pulled for a couple of hours should they want to see the broadcast live. And I b**ched like h**l to the superintendent for being so politically narrow-minded. I even accused him of violating the kidlet’s Article 7 and 1st Amendment Rights.
Wonder if he’ll respond. …
Well, that’s torn it. The successionists in Texas will not be inviting Laura Bush to any future rallies. She’ll have to get outta Texas when they take over. I’m not sure about Kentucky, though. She has a Kentucky look. She might even be related to Daniel Boon. Spunky. She might still be welcome in Kentucky.
Have you watched children around your President .They seem in awe of him .
same with babies.
That is what the people fear not his words.
Riverside,
You know, I sometimes wonder if some people don’t just want to restart the civil war. Because that went so well.
____________________________________________________________________
ROFLMAO Thanks!!!
LisanTX….where are you in Texas? I live near Austin, the school districts where I used to teach are leaving it up to the teachers. I heard from one who is “not going to show it, because she doesn’t want Obama to influence these kids”! OMG, I stewed about it for a day, then sent her an email, asking her to read the transcript and reconsider showing the speech. I just can’t imagine people being so closed minded! I even sent her a link where Laura Bush concurs that it is a good thing. What’s happening to our state? and to our nation?
Thanks Amy for sharing the info about Laura Bush’s comments. I rather like her a bit – after all she is a ….. librarian.
OMG, he’s gotten to Laura Bush now too! Oh, woe is me…
It will be interesting to see how they spin it. The bubble headed blondes at FAUX News will be up all night. What a bunch of tools.
I thought that non-news station would be done for; but like cockroaches they just keep coming.
Republicans are nasty people. When they lose, they just keep attacking their opponent in any way they can. Sadly, this evil minority may keep the majority from having decent health care. Our President will have to fight much harder if he expects to win this fight. He needs to stop worrying about bipartisanship and just get the job done. The people are behind him; he needs to lead.
Karen – I think there are several of us Mudpups in Kentucky. Hmmm.
You know, I sometimes wonder if some people don’t just want to restart the civil war. Because that went so well.
Or is it just that divide and conquer is a reflexive action for certain interests in the United States, a playbook as old as the hills. The ghosts of the Pinkerton Army ride again.
(My great grandmother was a Scottish Immigrant, the Clearances? The Tayside foothills, the lairds who cared less about people than sheep and profits? Maybe resistance is in my blood.)
How the hell is Obama gonna’ indoctrinate our kids with this speech? He didn’t quote from the Communist Manifesto, he doesn’t make the kids sing even a single verse of “the Internationale”, he doesn’t make them chant “Down with Capitalism,” he doesn’t make them march in unison, and he doesn’t even mention Lenin or Stalin once!
We were told in shrill feverish rants how Obama was going to brainwash our impressionable little tykes and turn them all into fascist/commie zombies! This speech won’t make no zombies! I want zombies!
What exactly was all of the fuss all about?
After hearing the actual content of the speech, maybe Glenn Beck will have a change of heart. Maybe Beck will realize how wrong he as been about President Obama and offer an on air apology tomorrow night.
And as Mike Myers said while portraying Wayne Campbell, “Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.”
Karen, that would explain the sputtering SIL, you can take the boy out of Kentucky and move him to Alaska, and he is still a bigot surrounded by other bigots. I miss New England so much, hard to put into words. Does a place where people aren’t so batsh#t crazy properly describe it? Perfect by no means, but most were better educated and a Palin had zero chance of elected office.
Karen, you are 100% correct!! They cannot imagine that their children might see President Obama as an intelligent, caring person..as opposed to the demon they have portrayed him to be over the supper table.
And don’t forget that his speech might also inspire black kids….
I’m in central-western PA, “clinging to guns and religion” and complete racism country. (I think the biggest KKK unit in USA is about 40 miles from here). Every intelligent person in this area know what this is all about.
Just a like top, they are empty too!
Now what will they say……….
President Barack Obama’s back to school speech got a thumbs-up from former first lady Laura Bush
http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0909/laura_bush_on_school_speech_9a6540d8-370b-4e63-9b18-f1faf2a71196.html
Their poor little heads will be spinning.
I’m printing it out for my 8 year old to read. There are some things in the speech that I’ve been saying to him for 2 years. Maybe if the President says it, mom isn’t such a nag after all. 😉
But they are, thankfully, not the majority.
I am going to school tomorrow to watch the address with my son–and see which RWNJs pulled their kids out of class.
I think they freaked out because quite a few of them have been pouring racist hate into their kids’ heads since November. They can’t let them hear a rational, sensible President NOW….it won’t match up with mommy and daddy’s Evil Black Terrorist description, dontcha know?
You can laugh, but you probably won’t if you’re in Kentucky like I am. The racism in many of these people’s families goes back for generations, as far as anyone can recall. It’s world-class, Olympic-level ignorance.
Nekolibrarian: Which is why I said “any GOOD teacher.” We all know ther are some bad ones out there.
One of the things that gives me hope is hearing NPR’s From The Top. It is a program that salutes talented teens in music. What I love about this program is that the participants are really smart, funny and talented kids. It gives me hope that not all kids are being dumbed down. I still think television has had a lot to do with a non-thinking nation.
All of us underemployed adults need to study for new careers, too. I’m working as a substitute teacher, tutoring math, studying math so I can pass the single subject math teacher exams in California, and taking a phlebotomy class to get certified as a CPT I and work in health care. In this ecomomy we all need backup plans and locally useful skills.
Maybe adults who don’t want their kids to watch the President’s remarks for school children are afraid that they might have to take some responsibility for their own adult education as well.
On the other hand, he does mention quitting as a bad thing, so Palin supporters might see it as an attack on her presidential aspirations. And he mentions helping others as a good thing, which could be interpreted as a socialist slogan. (Some might beleive he should be telling schoolchildren to get the better of everyone else and make the biggest profit possible from them.) Yea, I can totally see how this whole speach is a Nazi-Communist-Liberal ploy to disrespect Sarah Palin and get kids to put the interests of the country first. (Is loving America socialist? Could be.)
I guess it all comes down to which side you are on. Union or dissolution.
Texas wants to dissolve the union so blocking out the President of the United States from addressing Texas students makes perfect sense, right?
“Barack Obama.
Believe.
Achieve!”
What’s wonderful about this speech is that the President isn’t talking down to the kids, it’s as if he’s talking to them personally, in terms they can understand. What a refreshing change from the My Pet Goat debacle, and Reagan blatantly talking war and capitalism to students.
Unfortunately, the parents who are terrified about Obama’s school speech will read this text and find some reason to pick it apart, egged on by the Wrought Wing talking heads. To me, those parents aren’t comfortable with the thought that their kids could possibly achieve a better life than they have. Sad!
psminidivapa – I hate to tell you, but there ARE teachers in my town who have stated in public they will refuse to show the speech to their students tomorrow. And their parents are proudly telling everyone in town how patriotic they are. ::headdesk::
Ok, AKM, how about some “Proud to be and Obamabot” shirts? And maybe, “Barack Obama, Pro-education.” Let’s have a competition for ideas.
Ok, AKM, how about some “Proud to be and Obamabot” shirts? And maybe, “Barack Obama, Pro-education.” Let’s have a competition for ideas.
It’s a very good speech for teens. I wonder if the vocabulary level is appropriate for really young kids (I would have gotten it in kindergarten, though probably not all the references, but I was a very verbal child; 90% of my cohort would have wandered off to the blocks and teddies by the time he was halfway through).
It would be nice if he could end a speech without god for once, but I guess that’s such an ingrained thing in politics that it can’t be helped. sigh.
I posted this on my Facebook page today because I got tired of seeing the anti-speech wingnuttery. Someone responded that the “stay in school and study hard” message was fine it’s the “damn socialist message that’s disgusting.” I reread the speech. Then I reread the Wiki entry on socialism. I still can’t figure out where they’re getting the connection.
The sane answer is that there isn’t a connection. Fox News says it’s socialism, and a bunch of people parrot it. I, quite frankly, am sick and tired of it. It seems as though President Obama’s biggest sin was having a black father. I swear it all comes down to that.
This president shares my values in a way that few people ever have. I will defend him with my last breath.
I am a big fan of President Obama. His speech about not giving up, not quitting, and working hard is definitely something I want my children to see and hear.
I also want President Obama to heed his own advice and continue to work hard despite difficult circumstances. I want him to drive single-payer public Health Care through the legislature even if it means ramming it through and alienating the Right Wing.
My first real criticism of President Obama is that he needs to worry less about appeasing the opposition and listen more carefully to his supporters and those who have placed their faith in him.
Most of all, he needs to stand firm and set a strong example of taking proper action when needed.
I’m printing a copy of the speech to keep in my school’s library (I’m a part time school librarian) – it’s a private school so I don’t know if they’re going to let the students watch. I’m also going to have my hs freshman son read it. I also live in Florida – in the Redneck Riviera (panhandle); our school superintendent said that the public schools can elect to show the speech. However, our schools have been in session for 2 weeks already, and some teachers may decide they don’t want their class time interrupted (yeah, right).
And I did send an email via whitehouse dot gov thanking the President for his speech.
My school district will leave it up to individual teachers to decide.
Students in classes where it WILL be shown will have to have a signed parent permission slip.
Ignorance runs amok….
Thanks AKM,
I loved our Presidents speech today and I love this speech also.
I can’t even imagine that one public school in this country would not show this speech, how foolish.
Baker’s Dozen: I’m an educator and I welcome President Obama’s encouraging words to students, as most of my national colleagues have. Those opposing have been ill-informed, misguided parents and community members who choose to believe the “hype” presented by the repebs and Fox.
Any good teacher that I know would love to have the lesson plans, etc.. and would certainly use them. I know I will provide follow-up.
Your statement about “educators…stupidity” has nothing to do with who REALLY was opposed to the President’s speech. I have worked with hundreds of educator colleagues this weekend getting the word out to schools and communities about this. Educators are not stupid.
It would be good if at least a few of the paranoid parents out there would read/hear this speech, recognize the intelligence, common-sense and complete lack of “brain-washing” and then, in turn, realize how distorted were the sources feeding their fears. It would be good: but I fear it won’t happen.
WakeUp America—I’ll take that challenge! My school district will NOT be broadcasting the speech. See, that’s another example of the mentality around here that drives me crazy and makes me feel so isolated.
I will be discussing this with my kids. They “get” what’s going on.
Spitting nails today. Son in Law went on a spiel re “Obama being the first impeached black president.” I left him sputtering in the garage and took my two grandkids to the computer and read them the speech. Encouraged the 2nd grader to listen tomorrow, the little one is preschool and while she listened to me read it, doubt she has the attention span to do it again. Who knows though, Pres Obama is such a great speaker, she just might.
MY SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAS MORE HILLYBILLIES AND REDNECKS THAN YOUR DISTRICT!!! Oh, it’s not a competition for ignorance? I can’t tell you how angry I am at our superintendent here in Cow County (Kern), CA. I did point out to her that even Anchorage, Alaska schools would be showing the speech and refused to bow to public pressure. Feels like the paranoi is spreading.
..Says something about the fear mongering going on with the right wing nuts, and the over reporting of it, doesn’t it ?? …but ..wait !!!! I AM AN OBAMABOT, I AM AN OBAMABOT..I AM being SO silly !! 🙂
oh rats – the teacher in me talkin – must continue to study spelling….sigh
Bush Sr. speech in 1991! Forgot to name the year…
Yes, I know we are all in trouble now – I am feeling so indoctrinated that I think I must continue to strive to take personal responsibility for myself and contribute constructively to the world – oh, the horror – and my campaign is to encourage you all to write a THANK YOU letter to the pres via the White House dot gov page to let him know you appreciate the speech – let’s counter some of the pooh pooh nonsense. Yes, that is the teacher in my talkin’.
We all know that it is not about the speech…Bush Sr. spoke to students and Reagan did it in 1988! God keep President Obama safe from the ignorant and thank you God for giving me the good sense to become a liberal!
Can the people who object to our President addressing the youth of this troubled nation HONESTLY read this speech and see malevolence? They should be thanking him for his thoughtfulness and time. But they won’t. So we will.
Seems we should have a sense of pride that this man was elected by the likes of us, wouldn’t you say?
Susan in Florida (The Back Peddler State) 😉
I am pleased that this will be my child’s first experience / memory at Kindergarten.
This kind of President may be ‘learned,’ but his intellect is not backed up by a dangerous arrogance and certainty that would be sowing seeds of trouble.
We had to put up with a know nothing Governor pretending to address exceedingly high High School drop out rates in Alaska for a couple years, where is it an affront to have our Nation’s President speak to our kids for 10 minutes?
OK my spelling sucks.
Great speach. If my kids were still in school and they weren’t going to show it, I’d be down there demanding that they watch at school, be provided with an open, friendly forum for discussing it, do the lesson plans and have follow up lessons during the year.
Educators may have higher degrees, but sometimes that means they just have higher degrees of stupidity.
Oh noes! I read a few lines…..now I am indoctrinated!!!!!!!
OMG – now they’re gonna scream because he brought up Harry Potter. He’s trying to introduce witchcraft!
We are lucky to have such a fine, intelligent President. May the Universe bless President Obama and all of yu mudpuppies as well!
My grandchildren who are in the Frisco, TX IDS do not get to watch at school.
Of course that is just next door to Dubya’s house. This is so ridiculous.
Already there is backpedaling out of Florida…much more to come I am sure.
We need to remember that he is willing to do what we will support. He needs our strength to accomplish the goals he set out in his campaign. That includes health care. Lots of us are disappointed – me included – in how that has gone so far. But I think the last few days we have seen the tide start to turn, and that is because we have been outspoken.
This speech to the kids shows that our President really does want what is best for them, and best for the country. Once again, he hits it out of the park. (Wonder what nonsense Beck will make up about this now!??)
and God Bless President Obama. We are very lucky to have this man leading our nation……even when it appears that he isn’t firm enough, or whatever the complaints are. There is always more to the story, and I still trust this guy…..it is the ones around him I am not sure of.