so i know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. but i’m here today because i have something important to discuss with you. i’m here because i want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
now i’ve given a lot of speeches about education. and i’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
i’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
i’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the tv or with that xbox.
i’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t 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 that’s 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 you’re good at. 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.
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 you’ll 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? you’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. you can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. you’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.