Another year, another nationally televised speech from President Barack Obama. Last year, the State of the Union , perhaps learning from . But with a new Congress before him, what did the president prioritize?
Let鈥檚 break down the speech.
How long was the address?
A precise 60 minutes.
Give me the condensed version.
The State of the Union is strong, except for all the problems.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently announced that in the next iteration of the No Child Left Behind Act. Did the president echo those sentiments?
LOL, no.
So what did he say about education specifically?
- 鈥淭oday, our younger students have earned the highest math and reading scores on record. Our high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high. And more Americans finish college than ever before.鈥�
- 鈥淚t鈥檚 time we stop treating child care as a side issue, or a women鈥檚 issue, and treat it like the national economic priority that it is for all of us.鈥�
- 鈥淭ennessee, a state with Republican leadership, and Chicago, a city with Democratic leadership, are showing that free community college is possible. I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today.鈥�
- 鈥淚 intend to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks, so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world.鈥�
And?
That鈥檚 mostly it.
That鈥檚 not a lot.
The Politics K-12 blog has an of the policy-related stuff that Obama did cover, but he didn鈥檛 devote the same attention to K-12 education policy as in past years. It鈥檚 probably influenced in part by the nature of the speech (everyone wants a piece), and also by how the president鈥檚 educational priorities don鈥檛 get much traction; Republicans in Congress have already pretty much nixed his education agenda where legislation is concerned.
But in subtler ways, the speech touched on the kinds of things that would be considered non-academic factors relevant to student success. To the degree that children benefit academically from ; from not being the target of institutionalized discrimination or informal prejudice; from ; from equal treatment, the or gender; from that hasn鈥檛 been devastated by climate change and global warming鈥攖o that degree, a great deal of the president鈥檚 speech was about education.
To wit:
I want our actions to tell every child, in every neighborhood: your life matters, and we are as committed to improving your life chances as we are for our own kids. I want future generations to know that we are a people who see our differences as a great gift, that we are a people who value the dignity and worth of every citizen鈥娾�攎an and woman, young and old, black and white, Latino and Asian, immigrant and Native American, gay and straight, Americans with mental illness or physical disability.
Any other highlights?
The president had flashes of impromptu humor, including this chastening of Republicans:
Can I have a transcript?
Were any 糖心动漫vlog among the official White House guests?
Yes! The Obamas invited Katrice Mubiru, a career-technical education teacher in Los Angeles. She encouraged Obama for career and technical education, and had previously introduced the president during his visit to Los Angeles Trade-Technical College in July.
The first lady was also joined by Anthony Mendez, a freshman at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, who was the first member of his family to graduate high school. According to a :
Anthony grew up in the South Bronx with his mother and three siblings. In 9th grade, his best friend was shot in his neighborhood. One year later, Anthony's family was evicted, and they moved into a homeless shelter. ... After moving into the homeless shelter, he would get up at 4:30 a.m. for six months to get to school on time.
They didn鈥檛 get shout-outs, but it鈥檚 an honor just to be allowed in the Capitol. (Seriously, try getting in there sometime.)
If I had to choose between watching the speech and watching something else ...
Hayley Atwell plays a post-World War II secret agent on ABC鈥檚 and it is everything you could want from TV.
What if I don鈥檛 have time for that?
Here you go:
Top image: A guy who鈥檚 won two presidential elections. 鈥擬andel Ngan/AP