President Obama’s second back-to-school address contained a similar message of studiousness on Tuesday, but unlike last year, the speech failed to ignite partisan flames and cries of socialist indoctrination.
Controversy over the president’s first such address stemmed from a suggested lesson plan issued by the Education Department that asked students to reflect on how they could help the president. That exercise, though later modified, prompted some critics to keep their children home.
This time around, the White House appeared to have learned its lesson and avoided a similar media frenzy by issuing Mr. Obama’s straightforward and — judging by the lack of conservative backlash — uncontroversial address ahead of time.
In his remarks, made at a magnet school in Philadelphia, Mr. Obama told students nothing is out of their reach if they apply themselves to their education, and he used his own experience of being chided by his mother over his studies to urge them not to be discouraged.
“Eventually, her words had their intended effect. I got serious about my studies. I made an effort. And I began to see my grades — and my prospects — improve. And I know that if hard work could make the difference for me, it can make the difference for you, too,” Mr. Obama told students at the Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School.
The president noted that the current recession and an increasingly global marketplace meant the stakes were even higher for today’s students. He urged them to overcome challenges such as bullies or broken families and dedicate themselves to their studies.
Mr. Obama’s education policies are one of a few areas in which he often breaks with traditional allies. Teachers unions and some civil rights groups have been turned off by his marquee “Race to the Top” initiative, which advocates rewarding good teachers based on performance while penalizing those who don’t show progress. The federal grant program also calls for radical steps to turn around failing schools.
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Kara Rowland, White House reporter for The Washington Times, is a D.C.-area native. She graduated from the University of Virginia, where she studied American government and spent nearly all her waking hours working as managing editor of the Cavalier Daily, UVa.’s student newspaper.
Her interest in political reporting was piqued by an internship at Roll Call the summer before her ...
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