Education Excerpts
know education is important to everybody here, especially Reverend Al. In fact, a while back, he stopped by the White House to talk about education. He was joined by the great mayor of this city, Mike Bloomberg. He was also joined by Newt Gingrich. Newt -- hmm. (Laughter.) Newt said he and Reverend Sharpton were “the original odd couple.” That’s an understatement. (Laughter.)
But I welcomed them to the White House because I don’t think there’s anything odd about the two of them coming together around the importance of education. When there is an achievement gap between students of different races and backgrounds, that’s not a Democratic problem, that’s not a Republican problem -- that is an American problem that we have to address. (Applause.) When too many of our schools are failing our children, too many of our kids are dropping out of school, that’s not a black or white or brown problem -- that is an American problem. We’re going to have to solve that problem. We are all responsible for the education of all of our children.
That starts with parents making sure that we’re doing right at home, staying engaged in our child’s education, setting high expectation. Without parental responsibility, nothing else we do will matter. But we also know that each of us has a responsibility not just as parents, but as civic leaders, as Americans, to do a better job of educating our children.
And that’s why, two years ago, we started something called Race for the Top. We’re saying to states, prove you are serious about improving education not just for some kids, but for all kids. And if you do, we will show you the money. And for less than 1 percent of what our country as a whole spends on education each year, Race to the Top has led 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning and student achievement, and developed plans for some of the schools that are underperforming the worst. And all this was done not in Washington. It was developed by Republican and Democratic governors across the country.
We’re going to have to take same approach when it comes to fixing No Child Left Behind. Instead of measuring students based on whether they’re above or below some arbitrary test, we need to make sure our students are graduating from high school ready for a career, ready for college. That’s what we need to do. (Applause.) Instead of labeling our schools a failure one day -- instead of labeling our schools a failure one day and then throwing up our hands and walking away, we’ve got to refocus on the schools that need help the most. In the 21st Century, it’s not enough to just leave no child left behind. We’ve got to help every child get ahead. (Applause.) That’s our goal -- get every child on a path to academic excellence.
And we need to make sure that that path leads to a college degree. That’s why we ended a system where we were subsidizing banks in the student loan program. They were taking billions of dollars out of the student loan program. We said, why don’t we give that to the students directly? That would make sense. (Applause.) So we made college more affordable for millions of students. Millions of students across the country are now getting student loans that they weren’t getting before and more loans than they were getting before. That’s why we’re making it easier to repay student loans so kids don’t graduate, like Michelle and I did, with massive loan payments each month. It was more than our mortgage for 10 years. It’s one of the things I try to remember -- I try to remind people when they say, well, you’re President now. You’re out of touch. I said, listen, it was only a few years ago I was still paying off my student loans. (Applause.) And it’s true, I don’t pump gas now, but I remember what it was like pumping gas. (Laughter.) I remember. I remember the end of the month. (Laughter.) I remember that. (Applause.)
We appreciate all of you buying the book, Michelle and I. (Laughter.) That’s the college fund right there. (Laughter.) That was not a given. That’s why we’re reinvesting in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (Applause.) That’s why we are -- that’s why we’re upgrading our community colleges that prepare so many working families to succeed in this economy. And by taking all these steps, I’m confident we are going to meet a goal that I set when I took office that I announced in my first State of the Union: By the end of this decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. That is something that we can achieve. That’s something we can achieve. (Applause.)
That’s how we can out-educate countries around the world. That’s how we will out-compete. That’s how we will win the future in the 21st century.
Now, one thing we won’t be able to win is -- if some of our people are falling behind, we will not win the future. The only way for America to prosper is for all Americans to prosper. We’ve seen that in the census that just came out. The face of America is changing. You can’t get away with having a third of our children, half of our children, not doing well. Not today, not in the 21st century. All of us -- black, white, Latino, Native American, Asian American, men, women, disabled, non-disabled -- in America, we rise and fall together.
An America where the American Dream is within reach of everybody, that’s what we’ve been fighting to build over the last two years. That’s what the National Action Network has been fighting to build over the past two decades. I know that there are times where the work is frustrating. I know there are times where it is hard. There are times when change can seem painfully slow to come by. There are times when some of you may have said, I don’t know what Obama is doing there. There are times where you lose hope, times when folks in Washington focus on scoring points instead of solving problems. And some of you may just put up your hands and say, politics is too tough.
But in those moments when we start asking ourselves if change is possible, you’ve got to remember what we’ve done together over the past few years. Remember all the children who will graduate from high school ready for college and beyond. Remember all the Americans who will no longer have to worry about going bankrupt because they got sick. Remember all the families who will no longer be exploited by insurance companies or a credit card company or a mortgage lender.
I’m not asking you to think about what we’ve already done so you can be satisfied with our progress. I know this isn’t the National Satisfaction Network. This is the National Action Network. (Laughter and applause.) But I am asking you to draw inspiration from the fact that we know change is possible. I am living testament that change is possible. (Applause.) We know we have the ability to put our shoulders to the wheel of history and steer America towards the promise of a better day. We know that we stand on other shoulders and step by step, inch by inch, we make progress.
That’s what we’ve been doing. And if you’re as committed as I am to continuing to change this country for the better, if you feel the same determination that I do to tackle the problems that haven’t yet met, if you’re still willing to believe in what we can do together, I am absolutely confident we will do what you’ve been doing for the last 20 years. We will build an America where the ideals of justice and equality and opportunity are alive and well, and we will reclaim the American Dream in our time. So thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
But I welcomed them to the White House because I don’t think there’s anything odd about the two of them coming together around the importance of education. When there is an achievement gap between students of different races and backgrounds, that’s not a Democratic problem, that’s not a Republican problem -- that is an American problem that we have to address. (Applause.) When too many of our schools are failing our children, too many of our kids are dropping out of school, that’s not a black or white or brown problem -- that is an American problem. We’re going to have to solve that problem. We are all responsible for the education of all of our children.
That starts with parents making sure that we’re doing right at home, staying engaged in our child’s education, setting high expectation. Without parental responsibility, nothing else we do will matter. But we also know that each of us has a responsibility not just as parents, but as civic leaders, as Americans, to do a better job of educating our children.
And that’s why, two years ago, we started something called Race for the Top. We’re saying to states, prove you are serious about improving education not just for some kids, but for all kids. And if you do, we will show you the money. And for less than 1 percent of what our country as a whole spends on education each year, Race to the Top has led 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning and student achievement, and developed plans for some of the schools that are underperforming the worst. And all this was done not in Washington. It was developed by Republican and Democratic governors across the country.
We’re going to have to take same approach when it comes to fixing No Child Left Behind. Instead of measuring students based on whether they’re above or below some arbitrary test, we need to make sure our students are graduating from high school ready for a career, ready for college. That’s what we need to do. (Applause.) Instead of labeling our schools a failure one day -- instead of labeling our schools a failure one day and then throwing up our hands and walking away, we’ve got to refocus on the schools that need help the most. In the 21st Century, it’s not enough to just leave no child left behind. We’ve got to help every child get ahead. (Applause.) That’s our goal -- get every child on a path to academic excellence.
And we need to make sure that that path leads to a college degree. That’s why we ended a system where we were subsidizing banks in the student loan program. They were taking billions of dollars out of the student loan program. We said, why don’t we give that to the students directly? That would make sense. (Applause.) So we made college more affordable for millions of students. Millions of students across the country are now getting student loans that they weren’t getting before and more loans than they were getting before. That’s why we’re making it easier to repay student loans so kids don’t graduate, like Michelle and I did, with massive loan payments each month. It was more than our mortgage for 10 years. It’s one of the things I try to remember -- I try to remind people when they say, well, you’re President now. You’re out of touch. I said, listen, it was only a few years ago I was still paying off my student loans. (Applause.) And it’s true, I don’t pump gas now, but I remember what it was like pumping gas. (Laughter.) I remember. I remember the end of the month. (Laughter.) I remember that. (Applause.)
We appreciate all of you buying the book, Michelle and I. (Laughter.) That’s the college fund right there. (Laughter.) That was not a given. That’s why we’re reinvesting in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (Applause.) That’s why we are -- that’s why we’re upgrading our community colleges that prepare so many working families to succeed in this economy. And by taking all these steps, I’m confident we are going to meet a goal that I set when I took office that I announced in my first State of the Union: By the end of this decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. That is something that we can achieve. That’s something we can achieve. (Applause.)
That’s how we can out-educate countries around the world. That’s how we will out-compete. That’s how we will win the future in the 21st century.
Now, one thing we won’t be able to win is -- if some of our people are falling behind, we will not win the future. The only way for America to prosper is for all Americans to prosper. We’ve seen that in the census that just came out. The face of America is changing. You can’t get away with having a third of our children, half of our children, not doing well. Not today, not in the 21st century. All of us -- black, white, Latino, Native American, Asian American, men, women, disabled, non-disabled -- in America, we rise and fall together.
An America where the American Dream is within reach of everybody, that’s what we’ve been fighting to build over the last two years. That’s what the National Action Network has been fighting to build over the past two decades. I know that there are times where the work is frustrating. I know there are times where it is hard. There are times when change can seem painfully slow to come by. There are times when some of you may have said, I don’t know what Obama is doing there. There are times where you lose hope, times when folks in Washington focus on scoring points instead of solving problems. And some of you may just put up your hands and say, politics is too tough.
But in those moments when we start asking ourselves if change is possible, you’ve got to remember what we’ve done together over the past few years. Remember all the children who will graduate from high school ready for college and beyond. Remember all the Americans who will no longer have to worry about going bankrupt because they got sick. Remember all the families who will no longer be exploited by insurance companies or a credit card company or a mortgage lender.
I’m not asking you to think about what we’ve already done so you can be satisfied with our progress. I know this isn’t the National Satisfaction Network. This is the National Action Network. (Laughter and applause.) But I am asking you to draw inspiration from the fact that we know change is possible. I am living testament that change is possible. (Applause.) We know we have the ability to put our shoulders to the wheel of history and steer America towards the promise of a better day. We know that we stand on other shoulders and step by step, inch by inch, we make progress.
That’s what we’ve been doing. And if you’re as committed as I am to continuing to change this country for the better, if you feel the same determination that I do to tackle the problems that haven’t yet met, if you’re still willing to believe in what we can do together, I am absolutely confident we will do what you’ve been doing for the last 20 years. We will build an America where the ideals of justice and equality and opportunity are alive and well, and we will reclaim the American Dream in our time. So thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
