President Obama urged students to set goals and persevere in a back-to-school address Tuesday from Arlington’s Wakefield High School that largely avoided its preceding controversy.
“Your goal can be something as simple as doing all of your homework,” Obama said, keeping his message free of partisan language while impressing upon students their role in securing a stable future for the nation.
In Arlington County and in districts throughout the Washington area, schools downplayed the politics of the moment and allowed principals to decide if and when to show the speech.
At Montgomery County’s Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Obama was broadcast in every classroom, but students had the option of reporting to the school cafeteria. None did, said Principal Karen Lockard. The president suggested a handful of aspirations — read each day, stand up for bullied students — despite his own admissions of adolescent negligence.
“I wasn’t always as focused as I should’ve been. I did some things I’m not proud of,” he said.
At Wakefield, the speech held the quiet attention of nearly 1,600 people packed into a 1950s-era basketball gym hung with green and white banners. Students arrived free of backpacks for the sake of security, but armed with cameras. They crowded rickety bleachers, while star students and school and county officials earned folding chairs center stage.
“I hope he makes everyone want to learn,” said 11th-grader Roxana Hernandez, explaining that the speech could help combat Wakefield’s reputation as a “ghetto” school.
Senior Darian Hill, wearing a T-shirt painted with the president’s profile, said Obama “made me believe in myself.” Per Obama’s request, Hill set a goal to “make it to Howard University.”
Outside the school, a small group of protesters carried signs with messages like “Mr. President, stay away from our kids.” Some waved “Don’t tread on me” flags expressing opposition to the federal government influencing schools traditionally run by local officials.
After the speech ended and “Hail to the Chief” played, most students streamed back to class for the official start to the school day. But a handful slipped out with the crowd of adults.
Senior Randy Salinas, sheepish and a block from school, said he connected with the president’s personal story of growing up in a single-parent home, but the inspiration only went so far.
“If I can get a job after school, that will help,” he said. “And I need help with organizing — that’s how my grades have slipped.”
Benjamin Giles contributed to this story.
