Obama Slams Hoop Dreams for High School Diplomas (good for him!)

[highplainsdem]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/obama-slams-hoo.html

08, 2008 1:01 PM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Barack Obama took a "tough love" message to African American youth, telling that finishing high school is a better route to success in life than an unlikely trip to the NBA or the top of the rap industry.

"You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil' Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school," Obama, D-Ill., told a cheering crowd, brought to a standing ovation at a town hall meeting in Powder Springs, Georgia.

The presumptive Democratic nominee was speaking about high school drop out rates and the need for people to be committed to working hard in school so they can get a job after school.

Obama said he knows some young men think they can't find a job unless they are a really good basketball player.

"Which most of you brothas are not," Obama, who played basketball in high school, a sport he continues to play to this day, said jokingly. "I know you think you are, but you're not. You are over-rated in your own mind. You will not play in the NBA."

Obama, who will be the first African American presidential nominee of a major party when he accepts the Democratic nomination on August 28, 2008, in Denver, spoke to a predominantly black audience at the Georgia event.

The candidate regularly voices a "tough love" message in front of all groups –- telling parents to turn off the video games, get off the sofa, and if their child is in trouble in school to "not cuss out the teacher."

-snip-

[Zynx]

1. I remember when I said the same thing in my elementary school when I was ten

I was called a racist and insensitive.

[Connie_Corleone]

4. Depends on the messenger.

[TheDonkey]

11. It sort of is, I respect Obama talking like this but generally it isn't very helpful or positive

I'm sure someone could say trying to grow up to be President is also IMPOSSIBLE (and it nearly is) but you shouldn't lecture someone that it is impossible and they will never be able to do it. However, I think a solid backup plan or educational platform needs to be promoted. Let someone play basketball or rap if they like but they also need to get a degree just in case.

[BlooInBloo]

12. "Just is case" what is 99.99999% probable actually takes place? BWAHAHAHAA!!!!

"Just in case", indeed.

[TheDonkey]

18. so we should tell kids not to strive to be president

or other obscure jobs out there. You need to show tact and respect when dealing with someones dreams.

[BlooInBloo]

22. That's approximately the stupidest fucking comeback EVER....

When one strives to become President, and fails (in all likelihood), one has approximately 1 JILLION other good options. Not so becoming striving to become a pro basketball player.

Fucking duh.

[geek tragedy]

23. Do people drop out of school thinking

they have the skillz to be drafted in the Presidential lottery?

[BlooInBloo]

13. Damn reverse-racism whiny ass titty babies.

[goldcanyonaz]

2. That is awesome, I fucking hated that movie, did you see the follow up?

[vaberella]

3. See, they didn't use my favorite quote of his from that meeting, "You are overrated in your mind."

[skooooo]

5. School need some way to introduce discipline in the classroom.

I think things have gotten way to permissive.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. Uh... huh?

What's that got to do with the OP?

[skooooo]

8. tangentially..

"The candidate regularly voices a "tough love" message in front of all groups –- telling parents to turn off the video games, get off the sofa, and if their child is in trouble in school to "not cuss out the teacher."

[roguevalley]

20. living in a fantasy is a trademark of youngsters that age but at some

point reality has to be applied. Education is something that can't be taken from you. A misstep on the playing field can.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

24. Unrealistic goals and stereotypes aside...

what's that got to do with discipline and behaviour problems?

[skooooo]

26. Ask Barack.

He's the one who brought it up.

[goldcanyonaz]

7. basketballs are cheap and no field is needed

[Renew Deal]

10. What?

This just gets more confusing.

[PVnRT]

17. I like cheeseburgers

Oh, and deep dish pizza, too.

[tblue37]

9. I have an article about that on my

Teacher, Teacher website:
"The Inmates Are Running the Asylum"
http://www.teacherblue.homestead.com/inmates.html

You might like to read it.

[skooooo]

16. Thanks I read it.

The thing is, whenever I've broached the topic of discipline in schools it seems like many people take offense - like discipline is some sort of child abuse. Until we get past it, and agree that children need to respect boundaries or suffer some kind of consequence, our society will continue to go down the crapper.

As far as college kids, you can kick their behinds out of the classroom.

[tblue37]

29. Actually, you can't kick college kids out of your

classroom any more, even if they misbehave. There has to be a disciplinary hearing, and many kids' parents lawyer their kids up for such hearings. The department and university will not thank a teacher who puts them through that sort of trouble.

Also, students fill out evaluation forms on each of their teachers at the end of the semester, and if they don't like you because you don't give easy grades or because you try to maintain some sort of discipline in the classroom, they can nail you on the evaluation form.

Nowadays, many (in many universities, most) undergraduate classes are taught by adjunct faculty with no tenure, no job protection. If your students don't give you good evaluations, you lose your job. If the evaluations are just good, not great, youll probably keep your job, but your already paltry merit raise will be significantly lowered.

This is one of the factors that has contributed to grade inflation. (There are other factors, of course.) It's hard for a teacher to give a student an honest grade knowing that the student can then give the teacher a bad evaluation and possibly cause him to lose his job.

I am an effective enough teacher that even students who don't like their grades have to admit that I am grading fairly. They don't always play fair with me on evaluations, but more do than not, so I still do well on evaluations. But although my evaluations still are significantly higher than average, they are not as good as they once were, because as time goes on, American students become less and less tolerant of correction and reasonable criticism of their work.

When I have a large number of international students in my classes, my evaluations go through the roof--as they used to even when all or most of my students were American. But instead of giving me what amounts to A+ evaluations, as I regularly received in the past, my American students tend to give me just B or B+ range evaluations. I am no less effective a teacher than I ever was--but my American students expect As and Bs for decidedly weak work, and they get very upset when they get Cs--even though I have succumbed to grade inflation to the degree that some of those Cs are very generous grades.

[AwakeAtLast]

14. I challenge you to teach in a classroom for one week

without having one parent call you on the phone to chew you out and threaten to have your job taken away from you.

In other words, parents are the beginning of discipline in the classroom.

[skooooo]

15. I guess it needs to come from both places...

...and don't make assumptions about what I have or haven't done. :)

[roguevalley]

21. parents and weak assed admin. I quit rather than continue in the

downward spiral that is american education. The difference between now and 25 years ago is awesome.

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

28. "parents are the beginning of discipline in the classroom"

Ohhh well said! Mind if I steal that?

[AwakeAtLast]

31. Absolutely!

:pals:

[sniffa]

19. Awesome sentence structure and grammar for a post about school

:thumbsup:

[skooooo]

25. Thanks sniffa!

Good to see you in a good mood!

:hi:

[ulysses]

30. *snort*

Yes, it's the schools' fault.

:eyes:

[anonymous171]

27. Nader is going to call him a racist.

That's what the MSM is hoping for, I bet.