Your education. The bottom line is that you must take responsibility for it.
“Many of you already know that you have to take charge of your hair and your clothes. Perhaps you know that all too well. You’re also figuring out that you have to take charge of your diet and exercise, of trying to look good and feel good. And you’re figuring out you have to make some tough choices about how you spend your time and whom you spend it with. But some of you may not have figured out the education part. The tendency is to resist what adults want, to say, don’t bother me with that serious stuff now. I’ll worry about that in a few years.
“My suggestion is to start worrying today. Now!
and I guarantee that is the fault of the school. Some of you can’t multiply and divide, and I guarantee that is the fault of the school. Some of you don’t know where the Pilgrims came from, which direction they went in, or where they landed when they got there. Some of you don’t know the names of the oceans, the freezing point of water, or what 8 times 8 is. And I guarantee that all this is the fault of the school. Some of you don’t know the most basic things that any second-grader can understand and learn. Why don’t you know these things? I guarantee it’s the fault of the school.
“See what you’re up against??
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
-I want to know more. I want to be educated.
“So, as I say, take control of your education. Any time you see a word you don’t know, look it...