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Obama Back To School Speech 2010

September 14, 2010 by · Comments Off on Obama Back To School Speech 2010 

Obama Back To School Speech 2010, President Obama brought a simple message to students in his speech back to school today: hard work, because your future success depends on it.

Obama spoke at the Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia this afternoon. Last year, the president’s speech back to school was rocked by controversy when conservatives accused him of trying to use the event to promote their political agenda (although the actual speech, the time of delivery, was well received.)

The chairman of a prepared speech released by the White House today in advance of their appearance in Philadelphia, seems to offer little fodder for critics. Obama reminds students at the school, which serves grades 5-12, they will need a wide range of academic skills to succeed in the workplace, and to compete for jobs internationally.

“I’m sure there will be times in the coming months when you are staying up late cramming for a test, or dragging yourself out of bed on a rainy morning and wonder if it’s worth all that” , says the transcript. “Let me tell you, no doubt about it. Nothing will have such an impact on your success in life and their education.

“Increasingly, the types of opportunities that are open to you will be determined by the distance to go to school. In other words, the farther you go in school, go further in life. And at a time other countries are competing with us as never before, when students from around the world are working more than ever, and better than ever, your success in school will also help determine the success of the United States in the 21st century. ”

Obama also admits that was not always the most motivated student in school, and recounts a conversation in which her mother suggested she was too “casual” to consider his future.

“You can not just sit around,” she said, ‘waiting for the chance to see through, “the president recalls his mother telling him that he was preparing to apply for college. “She said I could enter at any school in the country, if I just put a little effort. Then he looked at me hard and said,” Remember what that is? Effort? ”

Events surrounding Obama’s speech last year caused a stir when, in the period prior to his talk, the Department of Education was suggested lesson plans for teachers and students on its website, one of which asked students to students, “they write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.” Critics said it sounded like the administration was to promote a partisan agenda, and the lesson plan has subsequently been reworked to eliminate that language. The speech Obama finally gave a similar message apolitical as this year’s version appears to do. Media coverage of this year suggests that some schools are adopting a cautious approach to broadcasting the president’s last speech back to school. Meanwhile, a critical speech last year, former Florida Republican state, party chairman Jim Greer, has publicly apologized to Obama. Greer, who resigned amid a financial scandal, said his statements were an attempt to “appease the extremists” who he believes to dominate his party.

This year, Obama out of personal experience in an effort to inspire his audience. She talks about her experience of mixed race and said that some students “may be working through their own questions at this time” in terms of dealing with their identity.

Obama’s speech comes after several months of furor over religion and politics (driven by cable television and radio) about plans to locate an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in Manhattan and, more recently, plans for a Florida pastor finally left to record a copy of the Koran. The chairman of the talks, while without any mention of the controversy, calls on students to be respectful of people of different origins, a prospect that he says makes the country stronger.

“[L ife] is beautiful, and part of its beauty lies in its diversity,” he says. “We should not feel shame for the things that make us different. We should be proud of them. Because they are the things that make us different that makes us who we are. And the strength and character of this country have always come from our ability recognition in the other, no matter who we are or where we come from, how we look, or what abilities or disabilities we have. ”

UPDATE: The president’s speech back to school and delivery was about as uncontroversial as we read in the paper. Obama tried to establish a personal connection with his student audience, talking about his own education and childhood anxiety about their racial identity. He also talked about being “a kind of booby-off” at school, at times, he needed an occasional boost of motivation.

Anthony Mullen, a former blogger for our sister publication, Maestro, weighs his reaction on CNN.

A video of the speech should be available later on the website of the White House. What to do with Obama’s message? Will it resonate with students?

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