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President Obama has asked Americans to commit to at least one year of school beyond high school. He has equated dropping out of school without a high school diploma with being un-American. He has called on the United States to have the highest percentage of college graduates in the world by 2020. He has told the parents of young Americans to suck it up, turn off the electronics and pay attention to their kids. He drew the money quote, "We are not quitters," from a story about education and having a future as a lawyer, doctor, congressman or President.
He told teachers that we can keep our jobs.
Below the fold, so to speak, is the quoted text. I left out a couple of one-sentence quotations but these blocks are what he said:
The diary continues after two paragraphs.
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What he said:
"The third challenge we must address is the urgent need to expand the promise of education in America.
In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity - it is a prerequisite.
Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma. And yet, just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish.
This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education - from the day they are born to the day they begin a career.
Already, we have made an historic investment in education through the economic recovery plan. We have dramatically expanded early childhood education and will continue to improve its quality, because we know that the most formative learning comes in those first years of life. We have made college affordable for nearly seven million more students. And we have provided the resources necessary to prevent painful cuts and teacher layoffs that would set back our children's progress.
But we know that our schools don't just need more resources. They need more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher performance; pathways for advancement, and rewards for success. We'll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. And we will expand our commitment to charter schools.
It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country - and this country needs and values the talents of every American. That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal: by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.
I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford a higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations, I ask this Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of senator Orrin Hatch as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country - senator Edward Kennedy.
These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner or turn off the TV, put away the video games and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home."
and the source of the money-quote, "We are not quitters:"
"And I think about Ty'Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I visited in Dillon, South Carolina - a place where the ceilings leak, the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a day because the train barrels by their classroom. She has been told that her school is hopeless, but the other day after class she went to the public library and typed up a letter to the people sitting in this room. She even asked her principal for the money to buy a stamp. The letter asks us for help, and says: "We are just students trying to become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself and one day president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina but also the world. We are not quitters."
We are not quitters.
I know, I know; you won't find where the President said teachers can keep their jobs. He said it twice, I think, but in one-liners that weren't worth quoting. He was touting the economic effects of the stimulus act, not talking about education.
Oh, yeah, he is for education reform. If teachers perform, as judged by student success- he didn't say anything so I guess we're still going to judge that solely by test scores- we could get some money. School districts that show student success (sigh, I guess by test scores) could get rewarded, too. That South Carolina school that is in such bad condition but students are still determined to succeed? Teachers teach there.
Teachers are caught in both big and small examples of the Catch-22. If we succeed, students get the credit. If we succeed, we don't need more resources because we must be able to do fine without them. If we succeed, nothing needs to change.
President Obama is not going to challenge the test-culture. President Obama is going to support the charter school movement though it has not proven to be any more effective than a regular school. President Obama is not going to challenge Americans to become teachers. President Obama is going to challenge Americans to stay in school and challenge parents to do their jobs, but he is not going to say how teachers are supposed to meet his challenges beyond a promise of rewards.
And we can keep our jobs.
So I challenge the President. Yes, sir, I challenge you and your administration. If even one teacher in America receives a lay-off notice this year due to school budget concerns, I want you and the Department of Education to find out why. If hundreds of teachers in a school district receive lay-off notices, then what you've said in your speech is empty.
Did you hear that? That will be a discussion-worthy event here at Daily Kos and I'll lead it.
California, by law, has to tell teachers by March 15 if they don't have a guaranteed job for the following fall. My school district, the largest in Orange County, is rumored to be preparing five hundred (500) lay-off notices and perhaps more. Rumor has it that everyone- everyone- hired after 1999 will receive a lay-off notice.
Did you hear that? I'm a veteran teacher but I could have a pink-slip in hand in just a couple of weeks. It's not supposed to work that way. Teachers who do a good job should not have to worry about having a job. When hundreds, THOUSANDS, are scared, what does that say about education priorities?
Come out here, Mr. President. California is the Democratic Party's cash cow but don't come here asking for money. Come here and talk about money. The budget fight in California mirrored the stimulus fight in Washington; Republicans had to be bought and at a high price.
Come out here and tell me, and all of my colleagues, that we can keep our jobs.