Social Studies

Obama to Students: Work Hard, Take Pride in Differences

By Catherine Gewertz — September 15, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

You’ve probably heard about Obama’s back to school speech (transcript here, video here, our PK-12 blog post here). Steering clear of the controversy sparked by last year’s speech, he urged students to dream big and write their own destinies, no matter how difficult their current circumstances may be. Anything is within reach with hard work and attention to one’s studies, he said. He recounted that he was “kind of a goof-off” in high school, and his mom had to sit him down and exhort him to apply himself. He even worked in an anti-bullying plea for tolerance.

Wonder if the Texas board of ed heard that part. It seems that this panel is never quite finished with rounds of the culture wars. Next week, we are told, it is to consider a resolution warning publishers against an “anti-Christian, pro-Islamic” slant in world history textbooks.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.