After reading President Obama's prepared remarks to our nation's pramary and secondary school students, even as a recent college graduate I couldn't help but feel drunk with inspiration and hope.
In education, it's always parental invlovement/teacher quality/more education funding/etc. or some other external phenomenon that's touted as the magic bullet to calm the slackluster torpor of what can very justly be defended as our nation's greatest public policy failure. How refreshing it is to hear someone pay due credence to the most significant piece of the puzzle: the task of the student to take responsibility for his/her education and truly make the most of it -- not just for themselves, but for all of us.
One of my favorite quotes from Mr. Obama's remarks:
"I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it."
It's a shame that our President's message of accountability, responsibility, and motivation has gotten mired in partisan wrangling and political polarization. I hope more students than not are able to take advantage of this unique opportunity to hear directly from the Chief Executive of our country about how they can make America a better place for all of us to live and thrive.
Education as a line-item on the agenda of America's future -- what a revolutionary ideal.
Catch President Obama's speech live @ 12pm EST on either www.CSPAN.org or www.WhiteHouse.gov. Check out the speech @ http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/.
About Me
- MJ Brewer
- Atlanta, GA, United States
- Michael J. Brewer, 25, is one of Atlanta’s youngest emerging leaders. A burgeoning political voice, Brewer helped re-elect Georgia State Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan (HD-39) to her fifth term in July 2010, and has served as LGBT Coordinator for the Democratic Party of Georgia, staff for the Black Alliance of Educational Options, and Co-Chair of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s LGBT Advisory Committee. Brewer has been honored as a fellow with both the highly-regarded New Leaders Council (NLC) and People for the American Way’s (PFAW) nationally-recognized Front Line Leaders Academy. Brewer has been featured nationally on MTVU’s “My Shot With Michael Eric Dyson” and “The Dean’s List,” and was named nationally as one of Out Magazine's "Out 100" in 2008. Brewer has also been featured in the Los Angeles Times, VIBE Magazine and several blog and web articles. Currently, Brewer serves as Chief-of-Staff to State Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan and Field Organizer at Georgia Equality, the state’s largest advocacy organization for LGBT advocacy. Brewer graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in May 2009.
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