Rhetorical Analysis Of Obama's Speech

President Obama initiated a new platform for education that would replace the (No Child Left Behind Act). The President, implemented a compelling education approach that guaranteed that every student will receive exceptional education. In his 2008 campaign, he increased the public awareness, by improving the education system K-12. “While NCLB has been invaluable in providing a clear picture of which schools and students are struggling, it is only the beginning of education reform" (Press release, July 16, 2008). 2008) President Obama stated, “I will not settle for an America where some kids don’t have a chance. I’ll invest in early-childhood education. (Speech at 2008 Democratic Convention Aug 27,

In this part of the speech Obama is using ethos. He is trying to be trustworthy. From line 95 Obama again set himself up as the country father. He explains that there is no excuse for having a bad attitude and also no excuse for not trying hard and giving your best towards education.

In the year 2008 the world was a much different place. Before countless racial protests and riots in streets, before NFL players knelt during the National Anthem for what they believed in, and before our president spoke of nonsensical chauvinistic principles on a regular basis, our country appeared to have a greater sense of unification. This unifying bond between the American people was due in part by Barack Obama, whose entire campaign to become president may have been the most difficult struggle for anybody in the lineage of presidential candidates to go through. As part of his strategy to win over voters and soothe the skepticism of whites who may have had any doubting questions, Obama gave this speech on race; a speech which still

He does this by stating that no matter how much you love your child, you cannot protect and raise them by yourself. That the task takes “the help of neighbors, the help of the community, and the help of the nation...”(Obama) That the children belong to all of us and that we all owe

Grounds B1: A summary of President Barack Obama’s speech presented by Christopher Hass, “President Obama on Higher Education and Reforming Student Loans,” published in April 2009 by My.BarackObama.com, “There are few things as fundamental to the American Dream or as essential for America 's success as a good education.  This has never been more true than it is today.  At a time when our children are competing with kids in China and India, the best job qualification you can have is a college degree or advanced training.  If you do have that kind of education, then you 're well prepared for the future -- because half of the fastest growing jobs in America require a Bachelor 's degree or more.  And if you don 't have a college degree, you 're more than twice as likely to be unemployed as somebody who does.  So the stakes could not be higher for young people like Stephanie.”

Obama reminds us of an important piece of history. Education was not always as simple as is is today. We did not always have the rights we do now to be freely educated. At times blacks could not be taught at all for fear of being penalized greatly. At time women could only partake of certain education, never to be higher up, or more successful than a man. On a high note she reminds us that now, in the United States of America we are free to go to school no matter our color, gender, or our religious beliefs. We are reminded that this was not an easy accomplishment for our nation, great loss was to be had for this opportunity of education, and that is why education is to be taken seriously. Obama invites us “If you have a friend or family member who is not taking school seriously go shake them up a bit!” She feels very strongly about this topic of education and does not take lightly her own education. She shares that her schooling was paid for in loans, grants, miscellaneous jobs, and by her dear father. She felt she owed if not to herself, to her hard working dedicated father to finish school and to be successful. To close we are once again reminded by the First Lady that there has been, and continues to be great sacrifice for education so work hard at it. Finally she offers her love well wishes to the graduates of BSU.

In the article “Opinion: America Needs to Raise the Bar on Education for Our Students,” Michelle Obama’s strongest argument was that a high school education is not enough to get a satisfactory job because of the competition. To be able to compete for these jobs, students need to be encouraged to go to college through programs like Reach Higher. Her argument that students need to step up and work extremely hard to achieve their goals may not be an option to many students. Students can do all that they can but if they are needed to help care for their families or their parents disagree about their choice of career, it is not up to them.

“ I would say that if a student’s test scores, drive, motivation, good grades, responsibility, and potential is based on their success in high school or before, then I would say, foster that learning and success so that we have more productive individuals in this society. By limiting the education of an individual who is undocumented, you are limiting the potential of young people who could be great leaders.”

According to U.S. Deputy Secretary Tony Miller, more than 1.2 million students do not finish their high school education every year in the United States. As stated in the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only twenty-six percent of twelfth grade students are at or above the proficient level in mathematics, and thirty-eight percentage of the students are at their grade reading level. It is evident that there are serious problems in the education system, and the quality of education needs to be improved. I watched the speech called “Our failing school. Enough is enough.”

Obama starts with the economy by stating the fact that America has the most durable economy in the world. He explained how every American is required to get an education in order to get a good job. The reform “No Child Left Behind” was such a crucial start in increasing early childhood education, raising high school graduation rates, and having more and more graduates in fields like engineering. Having a strong start is important, but higher education is what shapes an individual’s life. The President said that even though student loans have been reduced, it is now time to cut the cost of college.

Specifically discussing education, he predicted that “over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school education, and yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren’t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree” (Obama). The President himself, the face of the country and one who should be displaying the greatest optimism and hope, is afraid for the state of American education.

He stated that the No Child Left Behind’s program, which was introduced in 2001 wasn’t working as well as it promised it would when it was introduced by former President Bush. By speaking the truth about the act, and its failures he now had the educators on his side. Obama takes a quote directly from Thomas Jefferson: “Talent and virtue, needed in a free society, should be educated regardless of wealth or birth” (The Denver Post, 2008). What better way to sway people’s opinions in your favor than by quoting not just a past president, but president who has his likeness carved into the side of a mountain, that mountain being Mt. Rushmore. He was attempting to show that his methods were in line with Thomas Jefferson’s. At this point we can further see that he used logic to expose the flawed education system.

and that this issue is an important issue to discuss and to solve. He addressed that he wants all children to be able to get out of poverty and graduate high school, and possibly college. He said that to the able to break out of poverty, it is important to break the cycle of violence.

President Obama’s next issue in the State of the Union Address was the need for education reform. President Obama talked about the need to improve the quality of education. Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country introduced a plan last year called Race to the Top; to summarize it states “If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we'll show you the money.” The President supported Race to the Top by giving an example of a high school in Colorado rated to be one of the worst in the state; after the first year the school went through rectification ninety-seven percent of the seniors graduated.

The speech was held by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, at the DC High School as an educational event for the sophomores. The overriding subject of the speech is education which is an area Michelle Obama and her husband, Barack Obama, has spent a lot of time and resources on. After the introduction of the speech she speaks of a goal that her husband has set for America. She tells that it should be the goal of the entire country to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world in 2020. She explains that it is very important because America was number one in college graduates a generation ago and now they are