Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama: Back to School Event

The President: Hello everyone hows everybody doing today? Im here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And weve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. Im glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, its your first day in a new school, so its understandable if youre a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade youre in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you couldve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning. I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didnt have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasnt too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, Id fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever Id complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But Im here today because I have something important to discuss with you. Im here because I want to talk with you about your education and whats expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now Ive given a lot of speeches about education. And Ive talked a lot about responsibility.

Ive talked about your teachers responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

Ive talked about your parents responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and dont spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

Ive talked a lot about your governments responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that arent working where students arent getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And thats what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something youre good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. Thats the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life I guarantee that youll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? Youre going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cant drop out of school and just drop into a good job. Youve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isnt just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What youre learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

Youll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. Youll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. Youll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you dont do that if you quit on school youre not just quitting on yourself, youre quitting on your country.

Now I know its not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork. I get it. I know what thats 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 wasnt always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didnt fit in.

So I wasnt always as focused as I should have been. I did some things Im not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didnt have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you dont have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and theres not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you dont feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know arent right.

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 youve got going on at home thats no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. Thats no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. Thats no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesnt have to determine where youll end up. No ones written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

Thats what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didnt speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

Im thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, whos fought brain cancer since he was three. Hes 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 hes headed to college this fall.

And then theres Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and shes on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell arent any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

Thats why today, Im calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe youll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe youll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe youll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope youll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you dont feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, youre not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You wont love every subject you study. You wont click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you wont necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

Thats OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones whove had the most failures. JK Rowlings first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you cant let your failures define you you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesnt mean youre a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesnt mean youre stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No ones born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. Youre not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You dont hit every note the first time you sing a song. Youve got to practice. Its the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before its good enough to hand in.

Dont be afraid to ask questions. Dont be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isnt a sign of weakness, its a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you dont know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when youre struggling, even when youre discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you dont ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isnt about people who quit when things got tough. Its about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

Its the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, whats your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. Im working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But youve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So dont let us down dont let your family or your country or yourself down.

Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

PRESIDENT GEORGE H W BUSH -- 1991

PRESIDENT REAGAN -- 1988

BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD -- STOP, HEY, WHAT'S THAT SOUND