Barack Obama July 29, 2010 Speech on Education
Barack Obama, the President of the United States gave a speech on Education during the National Urban League Centennial Conference. He spoke at the 100th anniversary convention of the National Urban League in Washington D.C. He was addressing the Urban Leaguers on the importance of reforming the American Educational system for better education of the American children. The issue of Education reform sounded an alarming issue to him since he termed it as “the economic issue of our time” (The CNN Wire Staff). Obama uses words and people’s examples on how the education sector can be reformed. He begins his speech by thanking a number of people before going to his main topic.
“I want to devote the balance of my time, the balance of my remarks, to an issue that I believe will largely determine not only African American success, but the success of our nation in the 21st century and that is whether we are offering our children the very best education possible.” On July the 29th 2010, Barack Obama in his speech on Education, at the National Urban League’s annual convention, used this sentence. From the open sentence one can see that this speech is not just any speech, performed by any speaker. It is a speech with a main message, performed for the people, to create a brighter future for all the American children and to change history education wise.
President Barack Obama’s speech on Education to the National Urban League was to defend education policies in the United States by pushing for a shake up and other critical interventions in the education sector. He speaks to the American people with the purpose of congregating them together with spirit of togetherness to create a unity and patriotism in reforming the education system n the United States. He encouraged people to stand together and make the world a better place for all kids, regardless of their skin color by making education enormously important.
Throughout the speech, Obama uses much Pathos and occasionally Ethos. Pathos is used to create emphasis with the speaker, and to appeal to feelings. You can see the use of Pathos all over the entire speech, but a great example is when Obama talks of his accomplishment that was brought up by good educators he says “I'm here because of great teachers," Teachers are the single most important factor in a child's education from moment they step into the classroom. I want higher salaries. I want more support. I want them to be trained like the professionals they are" (Remarks by the President on Education Reform at the National Urban League Centennial Conference). Obama applies his own experiences with great teachers and how they made him who he is now. This statement creates self-confidence to his audience and this will make them believe in him and strive in helping educators raise their children’s achievement. When he talks about teachers being the reason of who he is now Obama gives the impression that he is in touch with reality, but he also makes the audience feel that they are listening to real, authentic voices.Obama says “We can do that” (Obama) which obliquely lets the American people know that they can work it out together and again it is a use of Pathos and a bit Ethos, since it appeals to common sense. Other than pathos, Obama also utilizes the other two modes of rhetoric, ethos and logos, the art of using social ethics and logic and examples, although logos is used far less frequently compared to the other two modes. He identifies with his audiences as a parent when he says “All I’m asking in return, as a president and as a parent.” He shows his accountability as the people’s president and a parent and this makes the audience to respond to his call.
President Barack Obama’s speech has all the constituents that are appealing to the American public, from all races and colors. It is ironic that his own profile of mixed race is what would primarily attract viewers from across the color spectrum to listen to his speech, but Obama also utilizes this in his speech by mentioning it not as a score point but as a fact of our national psyche. He says “All parents and students deserve the means of attending the school of their choice, regardless of race or income, whether it’s through a scholarship program, a tuition tax credit, or some other means” (Obama). This is convincing because he is from the black race yet he is the President of the United States and this makes the audience believe in him that everything is possible if they work together with him in reforming the education system. He further adds that “It's essential that we put a college degree that's in reach of everyone (who) wants it." Obama wants good education for all.
Obama as the orator of the speech is a superb speaker. He is frank and candid and tries to address publicly issues that have been brushed under the carpet. He says to the National Urban League's 100th Anniversary Convention in Washington; "Now, I know some argue that during a recession, we should focus solely on economic issues but education is an economic issue, if not the economic issue, of our time" ( Obama). The oratorical resonance of parallel stands out to further prove his delivery style. He is ready to make sure that issues not considered important are dealt with. Obama uses people’s lives history to make his speech powerful an example is when he uses his Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who has made excellence in American education for all our students. He argues that Arne has tried to unlock the potential of every child in the US. Moreover, his intonation, emphasis on certain words and subtle pauses help him highlight the points he really intends to strike home and as an orator, he has the ability to reach out to the people and identify with them.
The rationale behind the speech was to improve America's education system and show his opinion on what should be done in order to provide better education for all American children. This worked as it allowed him to represent his take on key but controversial issues in the education sector with utmost sincerity to the public.
In conclusion, Obama’s speech on Education, at the National Urban League’s annual convention was very appealing to the audience since all parents want a good education for their children. He lobbied for a reform in the education system so as at termed it as an economic issue because the unemployment rate for college students is almost double. Conversely, in his speech, he admits that his plan for Race to the Top does not cover all the American kids. He says “I know there’s a concern that Race to the Top does not do enough for minority kids, because the argument is, well, if there’s a competition, then somehow some states or some school districts will get more help than others” (Obama). This is true and something has to be done in order to provide equal opportunities to all children including the minority kids in the US. President Obama should make sure that quality education is available for all kids from all races. Moreover, he should make sure that all children are able to access College and even University after high school and this will increase the employment rate since there will be more professionals in different fields.
Works Cited
Obama, Barack. "Remarks by the President on Education Reform at the National Urban League Centennial Conference." Washington Convention Center. Washington, D.C. 29 July 2010. Address.
The CNN Wire Staff. Obama says education plan includes charter schools, teacher salaries. CNN Politics, 29 July 2007. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. ‹http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/29/education.speech/›.
Sam, Dillon, “Obama Calls for Major Change in Education Law,” New York Times 13 March 2010. Print.
