President Obama's Speech to America's Students... one month later

I'm sure you remember the controversy over President Obama's speech, which was broadcast nationwide, to America's primary and secondary school students. That day I did not have a class at the time the President was delivering his speech. But I had several students in my class that met soon after who seemed to think there wasn't anything political about his words at all. One student called it "an academic pep talk."

If you care to watch the 19 minute speech, here is the video.


You can go to WhiteHouse.gov for a transcript of the speech as well.

Now it has been one month... did his speech make a difference?
Are our students working harder because they have a better understanding of long term goals, a point President Obama tried to amplify?
Are our students seizing the opportunity to learn from their errors, or are they still arguing with their teachers to get a couple more points added to a test grade?
Are our students persevering because they feel a patriotic responsibility to do well in school?

I think I can predict the answers to those questions, and they aren't the answers I would have hoped for a month ago. Put aside the political debate over whether it was proper for our President to address our children directly. Even staunch Republicans who disagree with most of President Obama's decisions can't disagree with this quote:

"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."

My questions to you are these:
How do we make this message more lasting?
How do we get our students to understand the connection between trying hard in school and making a lasting contribution to our global society?
How do we inspire this generation to put in the time it takes to acquire the knowledge and skills we know they need when they have grown accustomed to "Googling" every little problem they encounter?

I have a few ideas, but I'm only one teacher in one classroom. What are your ideas?

Comments

  1. AnonymousMonday, October 26, 2009 4:29:00 PM

    Good questions. I continue to think the best way to make our students begin to understand the President's message is to keep critical thinking, high standards and rigor in the classroom even when it gets really tough. Kids are capable of such much more than we expect sometimes, and when their intellect is honored, many will rise to the occasion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pat BoyeTuesday, October 27, 2009 12:53:00 PM

    Children learn what they live--isn't that right? If parents and teachers are apathetic, then children will be as well. After 8 years of the Bush administration, changes come slowly and many view the idealistic talk of Obama with suspect, however ultimately it is the day to day influence of adults on children and adolescents which shape them and mold them into being something more than a couch potato.

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