In today’s hyper-partisan political climate, it’s no surprise that President Obama’s speech to America’s school children caused such controversy. But this is a moment to set aside the usual battles in Washington.
We should appreciate the president’s advice to school children and his role as a symbol of what anyone can achieve through hard work. He has more to do, however. Next he needs to address the educational establishment.
The president made several important observations during his speech, which families, teachers, and the rest of us should underscore. The first is that responsibility for education starts with students.
The role of parents and teachers obviously is critical. But nothing, even “the best schools in the world,” Obama told our kids, “will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities.”
Second, the president affirmed the key role of education and exploration in unlocking each individual’s talents. “Every single one of you has something to offer,” he told the kids, “And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is.”
Then there is preparation. Obama told the nation’s young: “You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? …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.”
Obviously, the president isn’t the first person to bring this message to young people. However, he has a unique credibility that many of us–parents, teachers, administrators–lack.
Here is the nation’s first African-American president, who grew up in difficult circumstances. Did some of the children listening suffer through tough times? Of course, and he addressed them directly:
“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.”
Nor was he afraid to admit that he’d messed up: “I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have.” But he and his wife, Michelle, had good people in their lives, and took advantage of the opportunities they found.
Perhaps most important, he told students to forget lame excuses and self-serving rationalizations. Life’s circumstances, he emphasized, are “no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude.” They aren’t a reason to drop out of school. And they most certainly don’t justify “not trying.”
Poor children, in particular, may have suffered from racial, ethnic or religious discrimination, economic hardship, parental failure, decrepit communities, and abysmal schools. But, emphasized the president, “Where you are now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you.” Obama understands as he wrote his own destiny.
Poor children, in particular, may have suffered from racial, ethnic or religious discrimination, economic hardship, parental failure, decrepit communities, and abysmal schools. But, emphasized the president, “Where you are now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you.” Obama understands as he wrote his own destiny.
This message of hope and encouragement is one that has to be repeated again and again. Next Sunday night on MSNBC, the Independent Women’s Forum is hosting an event to discuss exactly these issues: the real problems that face children growing up in poverty and the obligation that parents, communities, and all of us have in make sure that opportunities exist so that all children can thrive.
Of course, not all of the responsibility rests on individual children, or even individual families. The president avoided politics in his speech. But we can’t avoid politics in thinking about education.
Too often, public schools fail the kids who most need a good education to overcome difficult life circumstances. High school graduation rates are down over the last 40 years. Math and reading scores have stagnated and American students lag behind children in many countries.
Obama should take his “no excuses” talk to the educational establishment. Argues Paul E. Peterson of the Hoover Institution: “The president didn’t hesitate to tell American kids to take responsibility for their behavior. It’s time he delivered that same message to states, school districts and unions.”
Obviously, not all public schools are bad, just as not all private schools are good. But competition forces the latter, which have to convince parents to pay tuition, to be better. In contrast, public schools compete politically for bigger appropriations. Too many institutions are rewarded more for failure than for success.
While there is no simple solution for improving American education, providing parents with choice is the most important single change that we could make. Give parents authority, and they will get more involved in their children’s education.
Give parents options, and they will punish poorly performing public schools by withdrawing their kids. Force all schools, public and private alike, to compete by improving their educational performance, and we all will win.
Obama is uniquely positioned to speak out on behalf of minorities and the poor. His message should be no more excuses … it is after all, about our children. If the public schools can’t satisfy the needs of the most disadvantaged in our society, then we must support alternatives.
“Make us all proud,” Obama urged America’s school children. To help them do that, we should create an educational system that makes us all proud.
Examiner contributor and MSNBC analyst Michelle D. Bernard is the president and CEO of the Independent Women’s Forum and Independent Women’s Voice and will host “About Our Children” on MSNBC on Sunday, September 20, 2009.
