Posted on 09/14/2010 1:03:07 PM PDT by mdittmar
U.S. President Obama Tuesday urged students to take responsibility for their educational choices because "nobody gets to write your destiny but you."
Speaking at the Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School, a 2010 National Blue Ribbon School in Philadelphia, Obama in his back-to-school message said that as a parent and one-time student, he understood some of the feelings students feel at this time of year.
"You're a little sad to see the summer go, but you're also excited about the possibilities of a new year," he said. "But I know some of you may also be nervous about starting a new school year. ... And beyond all of these concerns, I know a lot of you are also feeling the strain of these difficult times."
Despite worries about home and school, students must be responsible for their own educational success and control their own fate, he said.
"(Here) is what I came to Masterman to tell you ... nobody gets to write your destiny but you," Obama said. "Your future is in your hands. Your life is what you make of it. And nothing, absolutely nothing, is beyond your reach."
In today's world, an education is vital, Obama said.
"Nothing is going to have as great an impact on your success in life as your education," he said. "More and more, the kinds of opportunities that are open to you will be determined by how far you go in school. The farther you go in school, the farther you'll go in life."
Because of the nature of global competition, "your success in school is not just going to determine your success, it also will help determine America's success in the 21st century," he said. "So, you have an obligation to yourselves, and America has an obligation to you to make sure you're getting the best education possible."
And it takes a lot of work on a lot of levels to ensure students get the best education possible, he said, from federal and state government officials to school system administrators to teachers and parents.
"But you've got a job, too. You've got to show up to school on time. You've got to pay attention in class. You've got to do your homework ... and stay out of trouble," Obama said. "That kind of discipline, that kind of drive, that kind of hard work ... is absolutely essential for success."
He encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones because "we each have our own gifts and talents we need to discover. ... You may find you have talents you've never dreamed of."
Obama's first back-to-school pep talk last year was greeted by controversy, with critics saying he was trying to use the message to push his policies. Some parents kept their children from listening to the speech.
finger in ears...Im not listening, idiot!
What incentive do they have to take responsibility when Big Daddy Government will be there to save them from any mistakes they make?
Ever the smooth classy speaker/s
Preacher heal thyself first!
“Take Responsibility?”
What? AHAHAHAHA HA HA HA ....
Teach them how YOU do it - “It’s Bush’s fault!”
You first, Barry.
Respect Authoriter.
Spoken like a true hypocrite.
Seth the president who’s never done anything on his own in his entire life.
Did Barry apply for loans only as a US citizen and has he paid them back for his financial support in college? At any of them? Show us the records.
barry.....”take responsibility”.....hide ALL records so nothing can be used against you.
People don’t understand, not only is Obamao trying to prop up the [communist ideological] education bubble, control the system of education and thereby reward only those who fit into the ideology presented, he’s trying to enslave students into a lifetime of debt revoked at his whim, for service, or hammered down on those who don’t see as he does, but not limited to him alone.
When the government destroys business, and takes over business, government can determine what constitutes the requirements for having a job. While that edges closer, they also determine who can afford to go to school, and what students must do to warrant that govermental redistribution of wealth, via Pell grants (Remember last year, there was a bill that instituted mandatory servitude, of unspecified details), and the price of “education” rockets higher and higher. This is all planned, and all part and parcel to the control that is being implemented, little by little, or leap by leap, as the case may be.
Take care of you and yours.
Boom! Nice one.
Show us YOUR grades, Barry. Then we’ll hear what you have to say.
Well, he DID write his own history...
He lives in a world far removed from reality. The irony of his own words doe not even register in the pebble that is his brain.
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!!!
“Nothing is going to have as great an impact on your success in life as your education,” he said. “More and more, the kinds of opportunities that are open to you will be determined by how far you go in school. The farther you go in school, the farther you’ll go in life.”
Just like people say the devil can tell half truths, that deceive those unacquainted with the full truth, so does Obama.
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