Weekly Address: Strengthening the American Education System
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0:05 - 0:07The President: Over the last few weeks, I've been making the case that we
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0:07 - 0:10need to act now on the American Jobs Act,
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0:10 - 0:13so we can put folks back to work and start building an economy
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0:13 - 0:16that lasts into the future.
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0:16 - 0:19Education is an essential part of this economic agenda.
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0:19 - 0:23It is an undeniable fact that countries who out-educate us
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0:23 - 0:26today will out-compete us tomorrow.
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0:26 - 0:28Businesses will hire wherever the highly-skilled and
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0:28 - 0:31highly-trained workers are located.
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0:31 - 0:33But today, our students are sliding against their peers
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0:33 - 0:35around the globe.
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0:35 - 0:38Today, our kids trail too many other countries in math and
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0:38 - 0:40science and reading.
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0:40 - 0:42As many as a quarter of our students aren't even
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0:42 - 0:44finishing high school.
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0:44 - 0:47And we've fallen to 16th in the proportion of our young people
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0:47 - 0:51with a college degree, even though we know that 60% of new
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0:51 - 0:53jobs in the coming decade will require more than a high
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0:53 - 0:55school diploma.
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0:55 - 0:57What this means is that if we're serious about building an
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0:57 - 1:01economy that lasts -- an economy in which hard work pays off with
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1:01 - 1:04the opportunity for solid middle class jobs --
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1:04 - 1:06we had better be serious about education.
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1:06 - 1:10We have to pick up our game and raise our standards.
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1:10 - 1:12As a nation, we have an obligation to make sure that all
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1:12 - 1:15children have the resources they need to learn --
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1:15 - 1:18quality schools, good teachers, the latest textbooks and the
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1:18 - 1:20right technology.
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1:20 - 1:22That's why the jobs bill I sent to Congress would put tens of
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1:22 - 1:26thousands of teachers back to work across the country,
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1:26 - 1:29and modernize at least 35,000 schools.
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1:29 - 1:32That's why Congress should pass that bill right now.
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1:32 - 1:35But money alone won't solve our education problems.
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1:35 - 1:37We also need reform.
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1:37 - 1:40We need to make sure that every classroom is a place of high
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1:40 - 1:42expectations and high performance.
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1:42 - 1:45That's been our vision since taking office.
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1:45 - 1:48And that's why instead of just pouring money into the system
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1:48 - 1:51that wasn't working, we launched a competition called Race
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1:51 - 1:52to the Top.
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1:52 - 1:55To all 50 states, we said, "If you show us the most
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1:55 - 1:58innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student
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1:58 - 2:00achievement, we'll show you the money."
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2:00 - 2:04For less than 1% of what we spend on education each year,
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2:04 - 2:07Race to the Top has led states across the country to raise
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2:07 - 2:09their standards for teaching and learning.
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2:09 - 2:12These standards were developed, not by Washington,
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2:12 - 2:14but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout
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2:14 - 2:16the country.
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2:16 - 2:19And since then, we have seen what's possible when reform
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2:19 - 2:23isn't just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers
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2:23 - 2:27and principals; school boards and communities.
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2:27 - 2:29That's why in my State of the Union address this year,
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2:29 - 2:33I said to Congress, you need to reform the No Child Left Behind
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2:33 - 2:35law based on the same principles that have guided
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2:35 - 2:38Race to the Top.
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2:38 - 2:41While the goals behind No Child Left Behind were admirable,
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2:41 - 2:44experience has taught us that the law has some serious flaws
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2:44 - 2:47that are hurting our children instead of helping them.
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2:47 - 2:50Teachers are being forced to teach to the test,
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2:50 - 2:53while subjects like history and science are being squeezed out.
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2:53 - 2:55And in order to avoid having their schools labeled as
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2:55 - 2:59failures, some states lowered their standards in a race to
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2:59 - 3:00the bottom.
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3:00 - 3:03These problems have been obvious to parents and educators all
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3:03 - 3:05over this country for years.
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3:05 - 3:08But for years, Congress has failed to fix them.
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3:08 - 3:11So now, I will.
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3:11 - 3:13Our kids only get one shot at a decent education.
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3:13 - 3:16And they can't afford to wait any longer.
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3:16 - 3:18So yesterday, I announced that we'll be giving states more
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3:18 - 3:21flexibility to meet high standards for teaching
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3:21 - 3:22and learning.
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3:22 - 3:25It's time for us to let states and schools and teachers come up
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3:25 - 3:28with innovative ways to give our children the skills they need to
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3:28 - 3:31compete for the jobs of the future.
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3:31 - 3:33This will make a huge difference in the lives of students all
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3:33 - 3:35across the country.
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3:35 - 3:37For example, yesterday, I was with Ricci Hall,
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3:37 - 3:41the principal of a school in Worcester, Massachusetts.
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3:41 - 3:43Every single student who graduated from Ricci's school in
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3:43 - 3:46the last three years went on to college.
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3:46 - 3:48But because they didn't meet the standards of No Child Left
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3:48 - 3:53Behind, Ricci's school was labeled as failing last year.
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3:53 - 3:56That will change because of what we did yesterday.
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3:56 - 3:58From now on, we'll be able to encourage the progress at
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3:58 - 4:00schools like Ricci's.
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4:00 - 4:02From now on, people like John Becker,
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4:02 - 4:03who teaches at one of the highest-performing middle
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4:03 - 4:06schools in D.C., will be able to focus on teaching his 4th
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4:06 - 4:10graders math in ways that improves their performance
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4:10 - 4:12instead of just teaching to a test.
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4:12 - 4:16Superintendents like Dave Estrop from Ohio will be able to focus
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4:16 - 4:19on improving teaching and learning in his district instead
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4:19 - 4:21of spending all his time on bureaucratic mandates from
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4:21 - 4:24Washington that don't get results.
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4:24 - 4:27This isn't just the right thing to do for our kids --
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4:27 - 4:31it's the right thing to do for our country, and our future.
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4:31 - 4:34It's time to put our teachers back on the job.
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4:34 - 4:37It's time to rebuild and modernize our schools.
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4:37 - 4:40And it's time to raise our standards, up our game,
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4:40 - 4:43and do everything it takes to prepare our children to succeed
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4:43 - 4:45in the global economy.
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4:45 - 4:49Now is the time to once again make our education system the
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4:49 - 4:51envy of the world.
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4:51 -Thanks for listening.
- Title:
- Weekly Address: Strengthening the American Education System
- Description:
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President Obama explains that states will have greater flexibility to find innovative ways of improving the education system, so that we can raise standards in our classrooms and prepare the next generation to succeed in the global economy.
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 05:03
Claude Almansi commented on English subtitles for Weekly Address: Strengthening the American Education System | ||
Claude Almansi commented on English subtitles for Weekly Address: Strengthening the American Education System | ||
Claude Almansi commented on English subtitles for Weekly Address: Strengthening the American Education System | ||
Claude Almansi commented on English subtitles for Weekly Address: Strengthening the American Education System | ||
Claude Almansi edited English subtitles for Weekly Address: Strengthening the American Education System |