By: MJ
On August 25, a Press Release from the White House announced:
“As students begin their school year, President Barack Obama will deliver his second annual Back-to-School Speech at 1:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, September 14 at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia, PA, a 2010 National Blue Ribbon School.”
On Sept. 9, a Boston Globe article stated:
When President Barack Obama delivers his second back-to-school speech to the nation’s students, he’ll do so from a magnet school in Philadelphia. The White House said Thursday that Obama will travel to the Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Center City on Sept. 14 to give the speech at midday.
Last year, the president spoke from a school in Arlington, Va., just outside Washington. He encouraged students to study hard, stay in school and take responsibility for their education.
Some parents and conservative critics objected to his remarks then, saying Obama was making a political speech.
According to an article by the Daily Pensylvanian dated today Sept. 14th:
“The invitation-only event will be held at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School, at 1699 Spring Garden St., and will be streamed live on WhiteHouse.gov and broadcast on CNN, according to a White House press release.”
After the controversy last year, it was promised that parents would have ample notification. While the White House press release was dated Aug. 25, there was not much reported in the media or the press regarding the upcoming speech.
According to Neal McCluskey at the Cato Institute, this year’s speech would most likely not cause the same stir as last year.
So the coming address is not likely to launch nearly the same seismic outrage as last year’s. But there’s still good reason to object to it.
Snip
But there is one other, more mundane argument against this speech, and it is being made — as it was in 2009 — by the Washington Post’s Jay Matthews: the president will once again be eating up student learning time. As U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has often opined, American students probably need to spend significantly more time learning, not less.
Read the Remarks of President Barack Obama – Back to School Speech.
Or listen here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2010/09/14/president-s-back-school-speech
In remarks today to students, President Obama mentioned how students are facing new challenges with the economic situation.
“And beyond all these concerns, I know a lot of you are also feeling the strain of these difficult times. You know 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.
A lot of you are having to act a lot older than you are; to be strong for your family while your brother or sister is serving overseas; to look after younger siblings while your mom works that second shift; to take on a part-time job while your dad is out of work.”
Exactly which policies created the current economic situation?
And the President mentioned the benefits of a good education:
“More and more, the kinds of opportunities that are open to you will be determined by how far you go in school. In other words, the farther you go in school, the farther you’ll go in life. 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.”
What the president did not tell students was that with the Education Reform bill that was attached to the Health Care bill, very few students will ever be able to attend college – or if they do attend college, they will need to commit to government service for several years to “pay” for it, enslaving them for years.
The President explained to students that they should take responsibility and reach for their “dreams.”
Yes, we need to take responsibility for our own lives. But what makes us who we are is that here, in this country, we not only reach for our own dreams, we help others do the same. This is a country that gives all its daughters and all its sons a fair chance. A chance to make the most of their lives. A chance to fulfill their God-given potential.
The president mentions that “All should have a fair chance” – but that is quickly disappearing with all the legislation and policies that have been put into place since January 2009. Who will take responsibility for the policies enacted since January 2009?
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Update: Knowledge Creates Power – Education – Taking Responsibility
