In Speech to School Students, Obama Offers Encouragement, Avoids Politics

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2009— -- President Obama delivered his back-to-school pep talk to students across the nation today and avoided any mention of the politics and controversy that had preceeded the planned remarks on education.

The president urged students to take responsibility for their own education because of the critical role they will play in the future of the nation.

"If you quit on school, you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country," Obama said in remarks at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. "What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you."

Read the full text of President Obama's prepared remarks.

The president's remarks to the 1,400 students in the high school gym also were broadcast to students across the nation, a move that sparked criticism from some conservative groups and concerned parents who said the president was trying to push a political agenda in his address.

But the president steered clear of politics and partisanship, and his remarks contained a heavy dose of his own personal education experience.

"My father left my family when I was 2 years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and had struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life," he said. "So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things that I'm not proud of, and I got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse."

The president said he was "lucky" and got "a lot of second chances."

There is "no excuse for not trying," Obama cautioned.

"But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher or cutting class or dropping out of school," he said.

Obama's back-to-school speech was expected to be viewed by nearly 56 million school children across the country. Many school districts and schools were being flexible and leaving the decision about viewing the speech up to teachers and parents. Most schools that were not showing the speech said that was because of scheduling issues or lack of proper technology to stream the speech live.

In Indiana, most schools were leaving the decision to show the speech up to teachers' discretion. In Minnesota, the state's Association of School Administrators recommended against showing the president's speech but the president of the state's teachers' union urged principals to show the speech anyway for its educational value.

Closer to home, students in the District of Columbia were encouraged by teachers and principals to watch. According to spokeswoman Jennifer Calloway, no schools had chosen not to show it and the vast majority of schools watched it live. When asked about parent requests to have their children opt-out, Calloway said, "It hasn't even been an issue."

Some schools did not show the speech simply because it conflicted with a scheduled lunch hour for students.