U.S. President
I was really lucky to have a great education. I didn’t have a lot of money. My parents weren’t famous. In fact, my father left when I was two years old, so I really didn’t grow up with a father in the house; mostly it was my mom and my grandparents. But they always emphasized education and they were able to send me to good schools, and by working hard I was obviously in a position to do some good stuff.
My wife, Michelle, same thing. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Her dad was actually disabled, he had multiple sclerosis, but he still worked every day in a blue collar job. And her mom didn’t work, and when she did she was a secretary. But because Michelle worked really hard in school she ended up getting a scholarship to Princeton and to Harvard Law School and ended up really being able to achieve a lot.
So that’s the reason why we are spending a lot of time talking to folks like you, because we want all of you to understand that there’s nothing more important than what you’re doing right here at this school. And your school is improving all the time, but ultimately how good a school is depends on how well you guys are doing.
Every single one of you could be doing the same kinds of things that I’m doing, or you could be running a company or inventing a product – anything you can imagine, you can accomplish, but the only way you do it is if you’re succeeding here in school. And we are spending a lot of money to try to improve school buildings and put computers in and make sure that your teachers are well trained and that they are getting the support they need.
But ultimately, what matters most is how badly you want a good education. If you think that you can tilt your head and somebody is going to pour education in your ear, that’s just not how it works. The only way that you end up being in a position to achieve is if you want it – if inside, you want it.
You’re right at the point now in your lives where what you do is really going to start mattering. My daughters are a little younger than you – Malia is 11, Sasha is eight – but when you’re in grade school, you’re playing, but hopefully somebody is making sure you’re doing your homework when you get it. You’re still just kind of learning how to learn.
By the time you get to middle school, you’re now going to be confronted with a lot of choices. You’re going to start entering those teenage years where there are a lot of distractions, and in some places people will say you don’t need to worry about school or it’s uncool to be smart. I’ll be honest, I went through some of that when I was in high school, and I made some mistakes and had some setbacks.
So I just want everybody to understand right now that nothing is going to be more important to you than being hungry for knowledge. And if all of you decide to do that, then there are going to be teachers and principals and secretaries of education who are going to be there to help you. So hopefully you guys will take that all to heart.
Edited from remarks made Nov. 4 at James C. Wright Middle School, Madison, Wisconsin.