Today the White House released a transcript of President Obama’s prepared speech to schoolkids on September 8th. This is a speech that caused a lot of uproar amongst many parents because they felt like Obama was becoming a bit too Big Brother. I think a lot of the controversy could have been avoided if the transcript were released earlier and the somewhat lame lesson plan by the DOE was scrapped. Anyway, I read the entire speech and here are some of my thoughts.
First, the main theme of the speech is that staying in school and working hard is the way to success. I agree with that 100%. If my parents did not pursue their advanced degrees here in America then I would not be here at all; if I did not finish college I also would not be where I am; if my hubby did not get his engineering degree he probably would not be making video games now. I definitely believe that education is the way to upward mobility here in America, and I am actually glad to see a lot of people I know going back to school this year to improve their skills or learn a new trade. Although I have forgotten a lot of the details of things I learned in the 16 years of schooling I had, I think I will be using the basic math and language skills for a lifetime.
Obama also gives a fairly good reason for kids to stay in school. He says that in school you can discover what you are good at by trying out different classes. I think that is somewhat true, but not always. I went to public schools in America for 9 years before going to a public state college for 4 years so I can say with confidence that NOT all schools give kids the opportunity to discover what they are good at due to resource constraints or institutional requirements. Public secondary schools in general are extremely structured and you have to take a core set of classes to graduate. I have known some kids in highschool who were really talented in things that the schools just did not teach at all. Obama is right in saying that school is where you can discover if you are good at things like writing or math because every school teaches those subjects. However, it is not necessarily a good place to discover if you are a good cook or great artist because not all schools have the bandwidth for those “extra” programs. Kids still have to discover their talents on their own, so I think college is really where people can freely experiment with a huge variety of subjects. However, finishing secondary school is usually a prerequisite for college and not everyone could afford to go to college.
Another fairly hefty message in the speech is that failure is acceptable and the way to success always contains some stumbles along the way. That is obviously pretty cliche, but it is also true. Obama suggests that students should overcome failure through hardwork, practice, and seeking for help. All of those are sound advice for kids. Of course he had to throw in that you should not give up on yourself, because “when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country”.
Obviously this was a positive message meant to inspire kids to work hard in school and become successful. However, I felt that it did not really clearly define what success is. There is one short paragraph where Obama said that kids might think that it is easy to become “rich and successful” without any work because TV shows rappers and basketball stars living it up. Honestly I think it is kind of sad that he disparages entertainers and sports stars because many of these people work pretty hard at their professions, too. Also there is another section that talks about how kids need to be able to fight the challenges of this nation with the skills they learn in school and also “build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy”. So is success financial? Is success fame? Is success being more educated by your parents? I don’t think that was extremely clear. To follow the theme of the message, I guess Obama wants kids to figure out what being successful really means.
Anyway, I will stop writing this essay now because it is feeling too much like I am finishing a school assignment. The bottom line is that I definitely feel like having at least a college degree gives people an edge in employment and earning potential, but if you are truly good at something that the schools do not teach then you should go for it. Traditional structured schooling is not right for everyone, and those who are successful share a passionate drive to achieve their dreams, and they all work hard at their goals. Happy Labor Day everyone!!
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3 comments ↓
I honestly don’t understand what the uproar is. I firmly do believe education is the key to success. In fact, i’ve dedicated an entire category to education and have written articles such as “Survey Says: Get 1,300 on Your SAT’s and a 3.9 GPA And You’re Set For Life” and “To MBA Or Not to MBA.”
Xin Lu, I think you’ll like my latest entry, b/c I highlight that a latest academic survey shows Berkeley is the #1 school in the nation!
I used to think education was somewhat of a farce. 10+ years out of school now, i think education is one of the three keys to success.
Best
I am a school bus driver – I transport students from K-12.
My little kids – K-3rd didn’t like it or understand it – it was over their heads – they have to go to school so they didn’t understand why they were being told to stay in school. My older kids slept through it. They said they should have gotten someone fun and famous to do the speech like a muscian or actors. I’m not sure that any of them got it.
This is my take on the whole thing, education is important, but it can not be and should not be forced upon. We learn the best, when we are open to the idea of learning.
When kids are young, let’s see in preschool age, KG age, they want to learn and they are so curious, asking million questions, but as they get older, it becomes all about grades and not about learning, somewhere along the line they lose the sense of curiosity they had.
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