奥巴马演讲Word下载.docx

1、 And I want to, first of all, thank our principal, Mr. - Dr. John Word. Doctor. （Applause.） Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, Patrick Murphy. I believe that the Arlington County School Board is represented here - where are they? There they are over there. All doing great work. Weve got you

2、r own congressman, Jim Moran, here in the house. And weve got somebody who I believe is going to go down as the finest Secretary of Education weve ever had - Arne Duncan. Now, before I begin, let me just say that like all Americans, I continue to be heartbroken by the images of devastation in Japan.

3、 And I know all of you, young and old, have been watching the full magnitude of this tragedy unfold. I want to reiterate Americas support for the people of Japan, who are some of our closest friends and allies. And Ive said directly to the Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Kan, that the United

4、 States will continue to offer any assistance we can as Japan recovers from multiple disasters, and we will stand with the people of Japan in the difficult days ahead.Now, I just had a chance to talk with some of your teachers, as well as some students, who told me about your all-school project that

5、s weaving the life and music of Duke Ellington into your classes. And by getting students engaged in learning, youre teaching the kinds of skills about how to think and how to work together that young people are going to need in college and beyond. Thats what all of our schools need to be doing. And

6、 in an economy thats more competitive and connected than ever before, a good job and a good career is going to demand a good education. Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs are going to require more than a high school diploma. So, if you want a bright future, youre going to need a col

7、lege degree or advanced training.And as Arne mentioned, unfortunately too many students arent getting a world-class education today. As many as a quarter of American students arent finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. And America has fa

8、llen to 9th in the proportion of young people with a college degree. Understand, we used to be first, and we now rank 9th. Thats not acceptable.And turning these statistics around isnt just the right thing to do for our kids - its the right thing to do for our economy, because the best jobs program

9、out there is a good education. The best economic policy is one that produces more college graduates. And thats why, for the sake of our children and our economy and Americas future, were going to have to do a better job educating every single one of our sons and daughters - all of them.Now, that res

10、ponsibility begins not in our classrooms, but it begins in our homes. It begins with parents who are instilling in their kids not only a love of learning, but also the self-confidence and especially the self-discipline and work ethics that are at the heart of success in school and success in life. W

11、eve got to work hard. Young people, Im talking to you. Ive got a couple of them at home. And the truth is the world is going to be more competitive and nobody is going to just give success to you - youre going to have to earn it. And that means youve got to apply yourself. So that, youre going to le

12、arn at home - first and foremost. But thats not where the responsibility ends. All of us have a responsibility, not just as parents, but as citizens, for giving our kids the best possible education.Now, for a long time we werent sure about how to give our kids that kind of education. There were a lo

13、t of arguments for a lot of years. Some people thought if you just put more money into education that would solve the problem. And then the other side thought, money doesnt matter; what we need is reform. In fact, there were those who argued that we should just dismantle the public education system

14、altogether. Rather than working together, both sides remained locked in this stalemate year after year, decade after decade, and nothing much changed.And then something began to happen in states and local schools districts. Instead of getting caught up in these old, stale debates, people began to ag

15、ree that, you know what, we need both more money and more reform. We need more resources for the schools, but weve got to reorganize how our schools are doing business in order to assure success for our young people. People began coming together - parents, students, teachers, administrators, reforme

16、rs, local officials - and we started witnessing amazing success stories all across America.Theres a school in Denver, Bruce Randolph School, that went from being one of the worst schools in Colorado to graduating 97 percent of its seniors last May. In Cincinnati, Taft High School went from handing o

17、ut only one diploma for every five students to graduating 95 percent of its seniors, and preparing them for careers in technology.So our goal as an administration, my goal as President, has been to build on these successes across America. We know what can work. And so two years ago, we started doing

18、 exactly that - trying to figure out how do we incentivize success by starting something, a competition called Race to the Top. So what were doing is were saying to states, prove youre serious about reform, and well show you the money. And because its a competition for less than one percent of what

19、our country spends on education each year, Race to the Top has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching, learning, and student achievement - and these standards werent developed in Washington but they were developed by Republican and Democratic governors all across this country.So we

20、ve made enormous progress. As Arne has said, this is probably the most significant education reform initiative that weve seen in a generation. But we need to make sure were reaching every child in America, not just those in states or districts that take part in Race to the Top. And thats why not onl

21、y do we need to continue this competition weve got to open it up. Were letting local school districts apply. Were going to let local school districts apply. And thats why we need to take the same bottom-up approach when it comes to reforming Americas most important education law, otherwise known as

22、No Child Left Behind. We have to reform No Child Left Behind. （Applause.）Now, over these last few weeks, during what weve called Education Month around the White House, Ive been traveling across the country talking with folks about education. In fact, weve actually been doing that for the last coupl

23、e of years. And what Ive heard, what Arne has heard, what the rest of my team has heard loud and clear from teachers and students and parents and communities is that No Child Left Behind got some things right and got some things wrong. The goals of No Child Left Behind were the right goals: Making a

24、 promise to educate every child with an excellent teacher - thats the right thing to do, thats the right goal. Higher standards are right. Accountability is right. Shining a light on the achievement gap between students of different races and backgrounds, and those with and without disabilities, tha

25、ts the right thing to do.But what hasnt worked is denying teachers, schools, and states what they need to meet these goals. Thats why we need to fix No Child Left Behind. We need to make sure - （applause） - we need to make sure were graduating students who are ready for college and ready for careers

26、. We need to put outstanding teachers in every classroom, and give those teachers the pay and the support that they deserve. I got some applause for that. （Laughter.）We need to not only hold failing schools accountable, we need to help turn those schools around. In the 21st century, its not enough t

27、o leave no child behind. We need to help every child get ahead. We need to get every child on a path to academic excellence.Now, heres the good news. I am proud of the commitment by Democrats and Republicans in Congress to fix No Child Left Behind, to make this reform a reality - because they recogn

28、ize education is an area where we cant afford to drag our feet. As Arne says, our kids only get one shot at an education, and weve got to get it right. So thats why Im calling on Congress to send me an education reform bill I can sign into law before the next school year begins - （applause） - before

29、 next years school year. （Applause.） I want every child in this country to head back to school in the fall knowing that their education is Americas priority. Lets seize this education moment. Lets fix No Child Left Behind.Now, last week we got a reminder of why its so critical that we reform this la

30、w. According to new estimates, under the system No Child Left Behind put in place, more than 80 percent of our schools may be labeled as failing - 80 percent of our schools. Four out of five schools will be labeled as failing. Thats an astonishing number. And our impulse is to either be outraged tha

31、t the numbers are so high, or skeptical that theyre even true. And lets face it, skepticism is somewhat justified. We know that four out of five schools in this country arent failing. So what were doing to measure success and failure is out of line. In fact, the list of supposedly failing schools includes schools that are actually making extraordinary progress - including Kenmore. So, yes, weve still got more work to do here at this school to close the ach