I just transferred to Wakefield. This is my first day, said Tiara,
a senior transfer from T.C. Williams.
“When my mom dropped me off to this morning she was like, ‘Why are there so many police cars and news people
here’?
We spoke with other Wakefield students were willing to share their thoughts on Obama’s speech.
“I’m a third generation Wakefield student. I almost decided
to transfer this year. I’m so excited that I didn’t transfer”,
said Wakefield student Brianna, who will be the first in her family to attend college after graduating. “This just empowered me to do my best in school right now.”
We asked students what they would say to parents who kept their kids from seeing or listening to Obama’s back-to-school
speech today.
“Try to have an open mind. Try not to be so narrow- minded. Just
be open-minded. Instead of protesting, why don’t you come in here and listen
to what he has to say before you decide you don’t want to hear it at all.”
Even former first lady, Laura Bush in a CNN interview, said “It's really
important for everyone to respect the president of the United States."
"I think there is a place for the president
... to talk to school children and encourage" them, she said. Parents should follow his example and "encourage their own children
to stay in school and to study hard and to try to achieve the dream that they have." (Read more here).
Wakefield, for the fourth year in a row,
scored high on the state mandated (SOL) Standard of Learning test, and succeeded the federal ‘No Child Left Behind Standard”
scoring a 3 or above, (way over the national average).
President Obama admonished the students to
stay in school, even when the work is tough.
“No matter what you want to do with
your life, I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You cannot
just drop out of school, and into a good job.”
Obama told the Wakefield students that they
could become the next generation of innovators who invent the next I-phone, new medicine, or vaccine, or become the next generation
of inventors of social networking sites such as Twitter, or Facebook.
“But you might not know it until you
do your project for your science class”, said Obama.
“Every single one of you has something
that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. Maybe you could write a book. But you
might not know it until you write that English class paper that is assigned to you.”
What resonated so profoundly over and over
to the more than a half-dozen students we interviewed was Obama’s message to the students that despite their adversities,
they can still achieve.
“His whole life story is kind of similar
to most people in this school. How he and his family struggled to get to where
he is now”, said eleventh grader, Terrelle Rowe.
Despite being raised in a single parent household,
Barack Obama reached souring heights to overcome obstacles he faced.
“My dad left when I was just two…
there were times I felt like I didn’t always fit in…I got in more trouble than I should have, were stories Obama
shared with the students.
Students at Wakefield know about those challenges
first hand.
“I’m facing challenges at home,
right now, said another 17 year-old student. My mom is a single mom, and I'm helping to raise my three brothers and
sisters. His message just motivated me to keep on striving and not to give up.”
"The fact that he came from nothing, and
made it to be president was inspiring to me."
Even the teachers at Wakefield were inspired
by the presidential message.
“It was exciting for me. I had chills the whole time”, said senior year Wakefield government teacher, Deneen Snow.”
We asked whether hearing the president tell
the students what their teachers and parents have been telling all along, makes the message more meaningful, or if it resonates
just the same.
“It just makes it authentic.”
“To hear someone at the top of their
game say you ‘gotta work hard’ is a different perspective for them to hear”, added Snow.
Seventeen year-old senior, DiDier Martinez
agrees. “It means the same to me”, Martinez said.
Martinez, an only child who lives with his
mom and uncle, loves to draw and plans to attend either George Mason University, or James Madison to study either electrical
engineering or architecture.
“Coming from my mom, especially, means
a lot to me; and of course, coming from the president, his speech was beyond powerful.”
While Wakefield‘s SAT scores were slightly down, cites principal Jackson,
the number of students who applied for and took the college preparatory exam increased in 2009. Several students were admitted
to colleges across Virginia, and other states.
Looking forward, we think that after hearing the president took the time to specifically address the students at Wakefield
High, those numbers are likely to increase, even more.
As the president admonished the students in his address, "Make us proud!"
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