Obama's school speech - a child's view

BBC
Sep. 09, 2009

Soaked it up like a sponge.

"Afterwards I talked to my friends. One of them thought that he was a bit too demanding in saying that you "had" to get an education and "had" to remain in school."

I guarantee you this child is incredible. - ChrisUS President Barack Obama has delivered a speech to American schoolchildren, broadcast live to classrooms across the country.

The BBC News website asked one audience member - 11-year-old Claire O'Donnell - to write about the speech.

"I was sitting in my fifth period class when I saw President Obama come on the screen. As soon as we saw him the class started clapping. Not everyone, but almost everyone.

He started off smiling, which I think is the best way to start anything. I noticed that all eyes were glued to the screen and everyone was listening.

I liked it when he said: "Everyone has something they are good at." That is true. If it is math, art or sports - everyone has something they can do well.

He also talked about how you need an education to get a good job. I agree with him on that. When I grow up, I want to be a conservationist. To be a conservationist I have to be good at science and math. How do I get good at that? By working hard at school and getting a good education.

I liked the way he talked about previous generations and how our generation will affect the future.

When he concluded his speech we all clapped again, but this time it was louder. The few kids that had not clapped at the beginning were clapping.

Afterwards I talked to my friends. One of them thought that he was a bit too demanding in saying that you "had" to get an education and "had" to remain in school.

However, another friend appreciated that President Obama was directing this speech towards kids. I thought that he could have directed it even more towards kids. At times it seemed like a normal speech directed towards adults.

Overall, I think that it is great that the president of the United States wanted to talk to us. It shows that America depends on the young generation. He asked us how we would change the world.

At some point each of us will all answer that question. America believes in us and I'm not letting her down."