Umm..you are still missing the point. Parents are choosing to take their kids to church (or not take them), and choosing what church. So, it's a terrible argument in this thread.
I wasn't arguing the choice, I think SOME churches are saying things far more dangerous than anything the president will say... Nobody gave a fuck when Bush wanted to talk.
BUt the kids listening in the church are with their parents that brought them there. It's 2 completely different things. Seriously, how can you not see that?
And I'm not sure if you got this, but I agree, I don't know why it's a big deal.
I have no problem involving a child in politics from the moment they can comprehend the concept, provided that they are encouraged to think for themselves on the topic at hand, and to be objective and critical in the way they process the information in front of them. Parents indoctrinating their kids to think exactly as they do is no better than the president doing so…. Problem is, I don’t trust many parents to make ‘no agenda’ their agenda any more than I do Obama. The letter posted above is not partisan …but is self-promotional….
If we’re talking indoctrination; not taking kids to church, nor teach them partisan politics…why not take the final plunge and object to nationalized education in general? Is it not the very definition of state-sponsored indoctrination? My daughter started grade one last week….first thing they did? Sang the national anthem. There is a thread on the train about army recruiters targeting students. Pro-military propaganda, revisionist history texts, Pavlovian work-day structures, intense nationalist programming….I can't wait to start butting heads with my kids' teachers
Of course, most parents are either not willing or able to provide an objective, ‘proper’ education to their kids, and with the amount of ingnorant hate in the world, I shudder to think what would be taught by most parents if they home-schooled…but I wish we could find a better way to control curriculum in our schools.
One thing that's pretty consistent about acoustic guy is that he starts these threads and seems to disappear after doing so. Love to hear back from him.
Peace
It's easy to not post back when the original post itself was ridiculous.
Either that or he's scouring the right-winged web pages for a rebuttal.
lol no no no.
The summer is my busy season for my business and I actually have been so tied up in it, I forgot that I posted this. I was simply asking all of your opinion. I like to hear what you all have to say because most of you do not share my views on politics so I am interested.
I got upset about him addressing the children because I heard some things I did not agree with. OF COURSE its normal for a president to talk to kids about drugs and staying in school etc... even better for minority children so they can look to him as a roll model. But, in my opinion he is an extrememly radical lefty and I would not want someone like that talking to my kids about his views. I think its up to parents to teach their kids both sides and let them decide for themselves when they are mature enough to understand all of it.
I was not picking a fight. And again, I dont site hear and jump into conversations often because I am not at my computer. Sorry if that bothers you.
And eralier someone wrote that if you dont like him you will always find a negative view with him. That maybe true to a point, but that works both ways. Some of you think he could never do any harm which I think is totally insane.
xoxoxo.
Get em a Body Bag Yeeeeeaaaaa!
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
lol no no no.
The summer is my busy season for my business and I actually have been so tied up in it, I forgot that I posted this. I was simply asking all of your opinion. I like to hear what you all have to say because most of you do not share my views on politics so I am interested.
I got upset about him addressing the children because I heard some things I did not agree with. OF COURSE its normal for a president to talk to kids about drugs and staying in school etc... even better for minority children so they can look to him as a roll model. But, in my opinion he is an extrememly radical lefty and I would not want someone like that talking to my kids about his views. I think its up to parents to teach their kids both sides and let them decide for themselves when they are mature enough to understand all of it.
I was not picking a fight. And again, I dont site hear and jump into conversations often because I am not at my computer. Sorry if that bothers you.
And eralier someone wrote that if you dont like him you will always find a negative view with him. That maybe true to a point, but that works both ways. Some of you think he could never do any harm which I think is totally insane.
xoxoxo.
happy labor day ac!
let em ask you this...would you have gotten upset if you agreed and liked the president? not obama but any president?
as has already been mentioned...reagan and both bushes talked to school kids...why no outrage then?
One thing that's pretty consistent about acoustic guy is that he starts these threads and seems to disappear after doing so. Love to hear back from him.
Peace
It's easy to not post back when the original post itself was ridiculous.
Either that or he's scouring the right-winged web pages for a rebuttal.
lol no no no.
The summer is my busy season for my business and I actually have been so tied up in it, I forgot that I posted this. I was simply asking all of your opinion. I like to hear what you all have to say because most of you do not share my views on politics so I am interested.
I got upset about him addressing the children because I heard some things I did not agree with. OF COURSE its normal for a president to talk to kids about drugs and staying in school etc... even better for minority children so they can look to him as a roll model. But, in my opinion he is an extrememly radical lefty and I would not want someone like that talking to my kids about his views. I think its up to parents to teach their kids both sides and let them decide for themselves when they are mature enough to understand all of it.
I was not picking a fight. And again, I dont site hear and jump into conversations often because I am not at my computer. Sorry if that bothers you.
And eralier someone wrote that if you dont like him you will always find a negative view with him. That maybe true to a point, but that works both ways. Some of you think he could never do any harm which I think is totally insane.
xoxoxo.
i think this is a manufactured outrage. completely driven by the rightwing aspect of the media who are just completely making up shit that he is going to talk about. it serves no purpose but to rile up their base because face it, nothing is more frustrating that being told half truths when trying to figure out the real truth. this is the same strategy they used for encouraging all of us to support the wars, complete lies and distortions. it is that they are in the minority this time so people are not buying it as easily. you have fallen for the fear that has been put out there by the usual suspects in the right wing media.
i am sure if he was going to talk about faith, abstinance, and patriotism all would have been ok. actually since he is muslim and was born in africa then those topics would have been outrageous as well... :roll:
edit- spelling
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
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g under p
Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
One thing that's pretty consistent about acoustic guy is that he starts these threads and seems to disappear after doing so. Love to hear back from him.
Peace
It's easy to not post back when the original post itself was ridiculous.
Either that or he's scouring the right-winged web pages for a rebuttal.
lol no no no.
The summer is my busy season for my business and I actually have been so tied up in it, I forgot that I posted this. I was simply asking all of your opinion. I like to hear what you all have to say because most of you do not share my views on politics so I am interested.
I got upset about him addressing the children because I heard some things I did not agree with. OF COURSE its normal for a president to talk to kids about drugs and staying in school etc... even better for minority children so they can look to him as a roll model. But, in my opinion he is an extrememly radical lefty and I would not want someone like that talking to my kids about his views. I think its up to parents to teach their kids both sides and let them decide for themselves when they are mature enough to understand all of it.
I was not picking a fight. And again, I dont site hear and jump into conversations often because I am not at my computer. Sorry if that bothers you.
And eralier someone wrote that if you dont like him you will always find a negative view with him. That maybe true to a point, but that works both ways. Some of you think he could never do any harm which I think is totally insane.
xoxoxo.
It's understood why you've not been able to answer back on this occasion and in the past . Obama along with any other President can do harm in various situations just absolutey NOT in THIS case.
Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
lol no no no.
The summer is my busy season for my business and I actually have been so tied up in it, I forgot that I posted this. I was simply asking all of your opinion. I like to hear what you all have to say because most of you do not share my views on politics so I am interested.
I got upset about him addressing the children because I heard some things I did not agree with. OF COURSE its normal for a president to talk to kids about drugs and staying in school etc... even better for minority children so they can look to him as a roll model. But, in my opinion he is an extrememly radical lefty and I would not want someone like that talking to my kids about his views. I think its up to parents to teach their kids both sides and let them decide for themselves when they are mature enough to understand all of it.
I was not picking a fight. And again, I dont site hear and jump into conversations often because I am not at my computer. Sorry if that bothers you.
And eralier someone wrote that if you dont like him you will always find a negative view with him. That maybe true to a point, but that works both ways. Some of you think he could never do any harm which I think is totally insane.
xoxoxo.
happy labor day ac!
let em ask you this...would you have gotten upset if you agreed and liked the president? not obama but any president?
as has already been mentioned...reagan and both bushes talked to school kids...why no outrage then?
I said in my post I think it s fine for a president to talk to kids about school and drugs etc...
Happy Labor Day to you as well my friend. lol
Man what you all would do to me if I met you all in a bar? Ha!
It would be ugly but I would win.
Get em a Body Bag Yeeeeeaaaaa!
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
It's understood why you've not been able to answer back on this occasion and in the past . Obama along with any other President can do harm in various situations just absolutey NOT in THIS case.
Peace[/quote]
Maybe. I just dont trust him. Simple as that.
Get em a Body Bag Yeeeeeaaaaa!
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
In a bar, I'd buy you a drink. We don't agree, but you seem like a good guy!
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
lol no no no.
The summer is my busy season for my business and I actually have been so tied up in it, I forgot that I posted this. I was simply asking all of your opinion. I like to hear what you all have to say because most of you do not share my views on politics so I am interested.
I got upset about him addressing the children because I heard some things I did not agree with. OF COURSE its normal for a president to talk to kids about drugs and staying in school etc... even better for minority children so they can look to him as a roll model. But, in my opinion he is an extrememly radical lefty and I would not want someone like that talking to my kids about his views. I think its up to parents to teach their kids both sides and let them decide for themselves when they are mature enough to understand all of it.
I was not picking a fight. And again, I dont site hear and jump into conversations often because I am not at my computer. Sorry if that bothers you.
And eralier someone wrote that if you dont like him you will always find a negative view with him. That maybe true to a point, but that works both ways. Some of you think he could never do any harm which I think is totally insane.
xoxoxo.
happy labor day ac!
let em ask you this...would you have gotten upset if you agreed and liked the president? not obama but any president?
as has already been mentioned...reagan and both bushes talked to school kids...why no outrage then?
I said in my post I think it s fine for a president to talk to kids about school and drugs etc...
Happy Labor Day to you as well my friend. lol
Man what you all would do to me if I met you all in a bar? Ha!
It would be ugly but I would win.
haha you would win because yout buddy Brick would be throwing tridents and hand grenades while the rest of us would be throwing fists
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
0
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Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
lol no no no.
The summer is my busy season for my business and I actually have been so tied up in it, I forgot that I posted this. I was simply asking all of your opinion. I like to hear what you all have to say because most of you do not share my views on politics so I am interested.
I got upset about him addressing the children because I heard some things I did not agree with. OF COURSE its normal for a president to talk to kids about drugs and staying in school etc... even better for minority children so they can look to him as a roll model. But, in my opinion he is an extrememly radical lefty and I would not want someone like that talking to my kids about his views. I think its up to parents to teach their kids both sides and let them decide for themselves when they are mature enough to understand all of it.
I was not picking a fight. And again, I dont site hear and jump into conversations often because I am not at my computer. Sorry if that bothers you.
And eralier someone wrote that if you dont like him you will always find a negative view with him. That maybe true to a point, but that works both ways. Some of you think he could never do any harm which I think is totally insane.
xoxoxo.
happy labor day ac!
let em ask you this...would you have gotten upset if you agreed and liked the president? not obama but any president?
as has already been mentioned...reagan and both bushes talked to school kids...why no outrage then?
I said in my post I think it s fine for a president to talk to kids about school and drugs etc...
Happy Labor Day to you as well my friend. lol Man what you all would do to me if I met you all in a bar? Ha!
It would be ugly but I would win.
Why would it be ugly, you are human right? I would shake your hand and ask what are you drinking it's on me and it doesn't have to be alcohol.
Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
haha you would win because yout buddy Brick would be throwing tridents and hand grenades while the rest of us would be throwing fists [/quote]
I love lamp.
Get em a Body Bag Yeeeeeaaaaa!
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
In a bar, I'd buy you a drink. We don't agree, but you seem like a good guy!
Of course I am I'm a Pearl Jam fan!
Exactly... And if I can't have a drink with another Pearl Jam fan, I don't know what to believe in anymore.
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
I said in my post I think it s fine for a president to talk to kids about school and drugs etc...
Happy Labor Day to you as well my friend. lol
Man what you all would do to me if I met you all in a bar? Ha!
It would be ugly but I would win.
yeah but you qualified that by saying obama is lefty blah blah blah...that leads me to believe you think obama is the only president to have an agenda and hence obama shouldn't talk to children
you don't like obama...fine...i'm not much of a fan either but anyone getting upset over this is wasting time...where is the outrage over where did the billions of "stimulus" money that has been doled out like candy come from? outrage over 2 wars that are still going on and killing people on a daily basis?
how about we all focus our outrage on things that matter instead of petty bullshit like this
I said in my post I think it s fine for a president to talk to kids about school and drugs etc...
Happy Labor Day to you as well my friend. lol
Man what you all would do to me if I met you all in a bar? Ha!
It would be ugly but I would win.
yeah but you qualified that by saying obama is lefty blah blah blah...that leads me to believe you think obama is the only president to have an agenda and hence obama shouldn't talk to children
you don't like obama...fine...i'm not much of a fan either but anyone getting upset over this is wasting time...where is the outrage over where did the billions of "stimulus" money that has been doled out like candy come from? outrage over 2 wars that are still going on and killing people on a daily basis?
how about we all focus our outrage on things that matter instead of petty bullshit like this
Well said....
Get em a Body Bag Yeeeeeaaaaa!
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
The President:
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.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
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Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
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.
Loved this closing statement and if this isn't inspiring to an American teen or any teen then something has truly gone wrong in America.
Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
I'm guessing the people are upset with this hidden sublimibal message.
"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."
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
0
g under p
Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,200
I'm guessing the people are upset with this hidden sublimibal message.
"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."
You're starting to become a regular comedian. Your German is pretty good too
Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
I'm guessing the people are upset with this hidden sublimibal message.
"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."
haha nice one Cosmo....i have been laughing at this for awhile...
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
The President:
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.
I really want to try to understand the mindset.... i really do.
As much as i disliked George W. Bush when he was our President, i never once thought he was 'A Nazi' or trying to destroy America. His poor decision and policy making spoke for itself... and his twisting of facts with skewed or misreading of data, half-truths, over exaggerations and outright lies. But, i never thought he was the Anti-Christ, like these people feel about Obama.
I want to know... where do they get this stuff and what is the mental process... the logic that's employed... that is used to digest it.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
I really want to try to understand the mindset.... i really do.
As much as i disliked George W. Bush when he was our President, i never once thought he was 'A Nazi' or trying to destroy America. His poor decision and policy making spoke for itself... and his twisting of facts with skewed or misreading of data, half-truths, over exaggerations and outright lies. But, i never thought he was the Anti-Christ, like these people feel about Obama.
I want to know... where do they get this stuff and what is the mental process... the logic that's employed... that is used to digest it.
...
I know...
Do people actually think the President is going to go on television in 5th grade classrooms and drone on about Health Care and the reasons why very large corporations and financial institutions needed heavy government bail-outs? It's going to be one of those, 'Don't be a Fool... Stay In School' things.
How is THAT like Hitler?
Seriously... how is that like Hitler? (I really need to know)
The only thing that you can compare hitler and obama with is health care reform. the T4 and obamacare are the same. Look it up!
In my lifetime, I have conquered the Multiverse by force of trUth.
I want to know... where do they get this stuff and what is the mental process... the logic that's employed... that is used to digest it.
people will fundamentally believe anything. especially if they perceive it to be from someone "knowlegable", "credible", or in a position of power or authority. why else would people believe cult leaders, clergymen, the talking heads on tv, or politicians? i believe that people try to come up with the most off the wall claims they can think of and spread it as the truth. they play to their base and it gets the base riled up and before you know it there is an entire movement based on lies and B.S. it happens all the time. disinformation is always more interesting or titilating than the truth. not to invoke hitler again, but wasn't he the one that said something like "the bigger the lie the more people will believe it"?
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
I want to know... where do they get this stuff and what is the mental process... the logic that's employed... that is used to digest it.
people will fundamentally believe anything. especially if they perceive it to be from someone "knowlegable", "credible", or in a position of power or authority. why else would people believe cult leaders, clergymen, the talking heads on tv, or politicians? i believe that people try to come up with the most off the wall claims they can think of and spread it as the truth. they play to their base and it gets the base riled up and before you know it there is an entire movement based on lies and B.S. it happens all the time. disinformation is always more interesting or titilating than the truth. not to invoke hitler again, but wasn't he the one that said something like "the bigger the lie the more people will believe it"?
Amen brother
In my lifetime, I have conquered the Multiverse by force of trUth.
Comments
BUt the kids listening in the church are with their parents that brought them there. It's 2 completely different things. Seriously, how can you not see that?
And I'm not sure if you got this, but I agree, I don't know why it's a big deal.
If we’re talking indoctrination; not taking kids to church, nor teach them partisan politics…why not take the final plunge and object to nationalized education in general? Is it not the very definition of state-sponsored indoctrination? My daughter started grade one last week….first thing they did? Sang the national anthem. There is a thread on the train about army recruiters targeting students. Pro-military propaganda, revisionist history texts, Pavlovian work-day structures, intense nationalist programming….I can't wait to start butting heads with my kids' teachers
Of course, most parents are either not willing or able to provide an objective, ‘proper’ education to their kids, and with the amount of ingnorant hate in the world, I shudder to think what would be taught by most parents if they home-schooled…but I wish we could find a better way to control curriculum in our schools.
The summer is my busy season for my business and I actually have been so tied up in it, I forgot that I posted this. I was simply asking all of your opinion. I like to hear what you all have to say because most of you do not share my views on politics so I am interested.
I got upset about him addressing the children because I heard some things I did not agree with. OF COURSE its normal for a president to talk to kids about drugs and staying in school etc... even better for minority children so they can look to him as a roll model. But, in my opinion he is an extrememly radical lefty and I would not want someone like that talking to my kids about his views. I think its up to parents to teach their kids both sides and let them decide for themselves when they are mature enough to understand all of it.
I was not picking a fight. And again, I dont site hear and jump into conversations often because I am not at my computer. Sorry if that bothers you.
And eralier someone wrote that if you dont like him you will always find a negative view with him. That maybe true to a point, but that works both ways. Some of you think he could never do any harm which I think is totally insane.
xoxoxo.
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
happy labor day ac!
let em ask you this...would you have gotten upset if you agreed and liked the president? not obama but any president?
as has already been mentioned...reagan and both bushes talked to school kids...why no outrage then?
i am sure if he was going to talk about faith, abstinance, and patriotism all would have been ok. actually since he is muslim and was born in africa then those topics would have been outrageous as well... :roll:
edit- spelling
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
It's understood why you've not been able to answer back on this occasion and in the past . Obama along with any other President can do harm in various situations just absolutey NOT in THIS case.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Happy Labor Day to you as well my friend. lol
Man what you all would do to me if I met you all in a bar? Ha!
It would be ugly but I would win.
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
Peace[/quote]
Maybe. I just dont trust him. Simple as that.
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Why would it be ugly, you are human right? I would shake your hand and ask what are you drinking it's on me and it doesn't have to be alcohol.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
I love lamp.
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
yeah but you qualified that by saying obama is lefty blah blah blah...that leads me to believe you think obama is the only president to have an agenda and hence obama shouldn't talk to children
you don't like obama...fine...i'm not much of a fan either but anyone getting upset over this is wasting time...where is the outrage over where did the billions of "stimulus" money that has been doled out like candy come from? outrage over 2 wars that are still going on and killing people on a daily basis?
how about we all focus our outrage on things that matter instead of petty bullshit like this
Sweep the Leg Johnny.
I just need to know... what specifically did you find in here that you so vehemately disagree with... and which ones are 'Radical Leftist' views?
ref. http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/st ... px?rss=672
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
The President:
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.
Hail, Hail!!!
Loved this closing statement and if this isn't inspiring to an American teen or any teen then something has truly gone wrong in America.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
"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."
Hail, Hail!!!
You're starting to become a regular comedian. Your German is pretty good too
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
seriously though, reading this in full, i was wondering if you have changed your thoughts at all since your original post?
As much as i disliked George W. Bush when he was our President, i never once thought he was 'A Nazi' or trying to destroy America. His poor decision and policy making spoke for itself... and his twisting of facts with skewed or misreading of data, half-truths, over exaggerations and outright lies. But, i never thought he was the Anti-Christ, like these people feel about Obama.
I want to know... where do they get this stuff and what is the mental process... the logic that's employed... that is used to digest it.
Hail, Hail!!!
Maybe it's his forked tail. :twisted:
The only thing that you can compare hitler and obama with is health care reform. the T4 and obamacare are the same. Look it up!
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2009/3 ... er_t4.html
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Amen brother