UPDATE: Here is state schools chief Jack O’Connell’s response to Obama’s speech:
“We in California feel the same excitement and apprehension of starting a new school year, of seeing old friends, of meeting new teachers. The months ahead are filled with so many possibilities. I appreciate the President taking the time to reach out to America’s students and inspire them to do their best and to stay focused on their education. I believe these words of encouragement coming from the President of the United States do indeed motivate students and their families to work harder in school and in life.
“The President recounted his own challenges as a student, and his mother’s intervention, which students most certainly can relate to. He went on to take his education seriously, and I hope that our students in California take heed to the path he selected and where it ultimately led him.
“The President told students not to be ‘embarrassed by the things that make us different.’ In California, we are proud to celebrate diversity and the potential of our young people – for they are our future regardless of their past. We must do all we can to set them on the right course by investing in their education.”
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What a difference a year makes.
Last year, President Barack Obama’s speech the nation’s school children stirred up weeks of controversy as sides volleyed accusations of using students as tools for a political end.
On Tuesday, Obama addressed a high school audience in Philadelphia, but the speech caused little to none of the stir that last year’s address ignited.
In this year’s version, streamed live online through the White House website, the president touched on many of the same issues that marked last year’s back to school address.
He again urged students to not only work hard for themselves, but for the good of their neighbors and country. He pressed students to press on when academic challenges get rough and to persevere when troubles outside of the classroom seem to mount.
“I know a lot of you are also feeling the strain of these difficult times,” he said. “You know about what’s going on in the news and your own family’s lives. You read about the war in Afghanistan. You hear about the recession we’ve been through. You see it in your parents’ faces and sense it in their voice.”
“It’s a lot to handle; it’s more than you should have to handle. And it may make you wonder at times what your own future will look like; whether you’ll be able to succeed in school; whether you should set your sights a little lower, and scale back your dreams,” he said. “But here is what I came to Masterman to tell you: nobody gets to write your destiny but you. Your future is in your hands. Your life is what you make of it. And nothing – absolutely nothing – is beyond your reach. So long as you’re willing to dream big. So long as you’re willing to work hard. So long as you’re willing to stay focused on your education.”
Obama said more than students’ personal futures are at stake.
“And at a time when other countries are competing with us like never before; when students around the world are working harder than ever, and doing better than ever; your success in school will also 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.”
“The truth is, an education is about more than getting into a good college or getting a good job when you graduate,” he said. “It’s about giving each and every one of us the chance to fulfill our promise; to be the best version of ourselves we can be.”
Did you watch the speech? If you are a teacher, did you build a lesson plan around it? What was the response?