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Marion students tune in to president's speech

Obama admonishes kids to study hard, stay in school

photo by Holly Ramsey

By Holly Ramsey | The McDowell News

Published: September 8, 2009

Jan Goodson's sixth-grade class at Marion Elementary was one of many classes in schools throughout the country that took part in Tuesday's nationwide address by President Barack Obama. The address was directed to students in all grades, and took place at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va.

Most classrooms at Marion Elementary tuned in to the broadcast via Internet, logging on to the White House Web site, while a few kindergarten and first-grade classes were able to watch it on CNN. Goodson's class viewed the event on a projection screen, while some huddled around computer monitors.

Principal Elaine Seals stated the reason for the younger kids viewing the broadcast on TV and not online was due to the fact that those classrooms had cable connections for instructional purposes, such as viewing programs like "Reading Rainbow."

Obama's broadcast began at noon, which, for Goodson's class, along with other sixth-graders, usually means lunchtime. So to compensate, meals were moved from the cafeteria to the classroom in order to catch the show.

The online broadcast was choppy video-wise, but students were still able to hear the president's motivational message loud and clear:

"Every single one of you has something you're good at," said Obama. "Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide."

Other encouraging words he gave were, "Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future."

Using himself as an example, Obama informed students of his tough upbringing, and how his mother, who couldn't afford to send him to American schools while living in Indonesia, would give extra lessons to Obama every morning, beginning at 4:30 a.m.

He also gave examples of other students who had prevailed through extrememly challenging situations:

"I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall," Obama said.

The president's well intended speech was met with warm responses by those who viewed it in Goodson's class.

"I thought the president's speech was very important for all students in school. Something I learned out of it was not to quit on myself just for getting a bad grade on an assignment," said Maurice Washburn.

"I thought the president was very informative, and it was good that he took the time to come share with everyone what he thought," Megan Moomaw stated. "I learned that it's very important to not worry yourself over one bad grade, but to try again harder so it won't happen next time."

"I thought the speech was very empowering, and it was sweet of the president to take time out of his way to come speak with us," Emily Clark added.

"It was really nice that he come out to talk with us, so kids who may want to drop out might think twice about it," said Luke Hensley.

"How could you be more positive?" Seals asked after the presentation.

Only a handful -- 28 students -- at Marion Elementary were kept from taking part in today's event, Seals stated. McDowell public schools sent home letters last week advising parents of the president's planned address. They were advised to sign and return the note if they did not want their children to hear the message.

The peptalk was meant to motivate back-to-school students, and not to push a personal or political agenda on them, as many had speculated.