PORT ANGELES — Many students on the North Olympic Peninsula and throughout the nation will tune in to C-SPAN at 9 a.m. today to watch President Barack Obama’s live speech about staying in school and working hard in class.
Critics are calling it an attempt to push a political agenda on young Americans. It’s a claim Obama officials, including Education Secretary Arne Duncan, dispute.
“It’s a sad state of affairs that many in this country politically would rather start an ‘Animal House’ food fight rather than inspire kids to stay in school, to work hard, to engage parents to stay involved and to ensure that the millions of teachers that are making great sacrifices continue to be the best in the world,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday.
Obama will deliver his prepared remarks at Wakefield High School in suburban Arlington, Va.
A transcript of the speech was made available by the Obama administration Monday afternoon. It is available at the White House Web site, www.whitehouse.gov.
Some conservatives have urged schools and parents to boycott the address. They say Obama is using the opportunity to promote a political agenda.
Schools don’t have to show the speech, and some school districts have decided not to, partly in response to concerns from parents.
In Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks, district officials will let teachers decide whether or not to show the speech.
No district-wide plans
There are no plans to show it district-wide in those three cities.
Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Diana Reaume said a teacher who shows the speech would be expected to tie it into a lesson.
“If a teacher chooses to do so, they certainly may,” Reaume said of showing the speech.
No student will be forced to view it.
Port Townsend School District Superintendent Thomas Opstad told the Peninsula Daily News last week that the speech would not likely be shown simply because today is the first day of the new school year.
‘Pay attention’
In his remarks, Obama tells students that all the work of parents, educators and others won’t matter “unless you show up to those schools, pay attention to those teachers.”
Obama make no reference in his prepared remarks to the controversy surrounding his speech. Nor did he make an appeal for support of tough causes like health care reform.
He used the talk to tell kids about his at-times clumsy ways as a child and to urge them to identify an area of interest, set goals and work hard to achieve them.
‘Quitting on country’
The president also warned students that if they quit on school, “you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.”
Obama acknowledged that “being successful is hard” but told the students the country badly needs their best effort to cope in an increasingly competitive global economy.
“What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country,” Obama will say.
“What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.”
Buckle down
The president noted that he was raised by a single mother who made him buckle down and work harder at times. He said he’s glad she did.
The federal Education Department has taken some heat for proposed lesson plans distributed to accompany the speech.
On Sunday, Duncan acknowledged that a section about writing to the president on how students can help him meet education goals was poorly worded. It has been changed.
“We just clarified that to say, ‘Write a letter about your own goals and what you’re going to do to achieve those goals,'” Duncan said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, both Republicans, delivered similar speeches to students.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com
