Read the text before you critique it. I think it is a remarkably outstanding speech; indeed, a gift of God’s common grace to American students. A couple of excerpts:
“I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox….But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities.”
“Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team….And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it.”
The question is not: Should a president be able to address American students this way? Rather, the question is: Why has such a message been so rarely delivered by a U.S. president in the last 20 some years? Arguably, the last time was George H.W. Bush in 1991, which House Majority leader at the time, Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), called “paid political advertising.”
This link lists a number of media reports from 1991 which show the remarkably ironic similarity in the presidential messages and the reaction by the opposing political party.
John Piper is similarly impressed with Obama’s education speech.
Related: My previous reflections on the permissibility of the president addressing American students on taking responsibility for their education.