Prior to President Obama’s State of the Union address, he stated that his plan was to discuss “the central mission we have as a country and (his) central focus as president”; after Mr. Obama’s obligatory handshakes and his heartwarming embrace with Congresswoman Giffords, he made his way to the podium for his exceptionally good speech that would do just that. President Obama was born for public speaking, and this was evident in his clear words and inspiring tone. With the 2012 election nearing, Mr. Obama spoke from the heart about several pressing issues our nation is currently facing.
Mr. Obama’s first topic of interest was the end Iraq war. To a standing ovation, the President declared that for the first time in nine years, there were no Americans fighting in Iraq. I think that this was a great first step in the eventual conclusion of the War on Terror, but I also know that that Mr. Obama has a long way to go to fulfill his promise of ending the entire war. President Obama expressed his desire to take the money we will eventually not be spending on war and use it to do “some nation-building right here at home” which was an indirect stab at former President Bush, who claimed that we were” building nations” when we began the war in the Middle East. I believe that we have done far more destruction of the Middle Eastern nations than we have building. The President also discussed the elimination of both Osama bin Laden and the majority of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants.
The part of Mr. Obama’s speech that I related most to was when he said that we should grant our schools flexibility by “ (teaching) with creativity and passion and stop teaching to the test”. Our nation has become overly concerned with high standardized test scores. In Mississippi, eighth and ninth graders have the Algebra 1 test, ninth graders have Biology, tenth graders have English, and eleventh graders have the U.S. History test. In all of these classes, a strong emphasis is placed on test performance rather than the actual comprehension of the subject. Teachers are chastised for swaying from the strict test prep curriculum put forth by our state; this allows little creativity in the classroom, and it forces teachers to suppress what they desire to teach.
I also liked that President Obama’s stance on immigration. He is strongly against illegal immigration, but he stated that in regards to foreign students on school or work visas, “we should be working on comprehensive immigration reform”. This reminded me of the DREAM Act considered last year that I found very appealing. “The DREAM Act would provide an opportunity for eligible undocumented students who have been raised and educated in the United States to earn legal status by pursuing a higher education, or by serving in the U.S. military,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. I believe that if someone is willing to fight for our country or get an education in our country, which is far more than some of our current citizens would do, he or she is qualified to be a citizen. Unfortunately, this Act did not pass.
To conclude his Address, President Obama spoke of his desires to have a more unified nation. He discussed the day that SEAL Team 6 eliminated Osama bin Laden, expressing the cooperation that occurred between the parties involved. That day, he was working with George Bush’s former defense secretary, republican Bob Gates, and Hillary Clinton, his top opponent for the democratic seat in the 2008 election. Their unbiased collaboration mixed with the Navy Seals in-sync actions allowed for the number one threat to our nation to be terminated. If the bold lines dividing the two parties were smudged like they were on this day, I think our nation could be more powerful than ever before.
Mr. Obama’s first topic of interest was the end Iraq war. To a standing ovation, the President declared that for the first time in nine years, there were no Americans fighting in Iraq. I think that this was a great first step in the eventual conclusion of the War on Terror, but I also know that that Mr. Obama has a long way to go to fulfill his promise of ending the entire war. President Obama expressed his desire to take the money we will eventually not be spending on war and use it to do “some nation-building right here at home” which was an indirect stab at former President Bush, who claimed that we were” building nations” when we began the war in the Middle East. I believe that we have done far more destruction of the Middle Eastern nations than we have building. The President also discussed the elimination of both Osama bin Laden and the majority of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants.
The part of Mr. Obama’s speech that I related most to was when he said that we should grant our schools flexibility by “ (teaching) with creativity and passion and stop teaching to the test”. Our nation has become overly concerned with high standardized test scores. In Mississippi, eighth and ninth graders have the Algebra 1 test, ninth graders have Biology, tenth graders have English, and eleventh graders have the U.S. History test. In all of these classes, a strong emphasis is placed on test performance rather than the actual comprehension of the subject. Teachers are chastised for swaying from the strict test prep curriculum put forth by our state; this allows little creativity in the classroom, and it forces teachers to suppress what they desire to teach.
I also liked that President Obama’s stance on immigration. He is strongly against illegal immigration, but he stated that in regards to foreign students on school or work visas, “we should be working on comprehensive immigration reform”. This reminded me of the DREAM Act considered last year that I found very appealing. “The DREAM Act would provide an opportunity for eligible undocumented students who have been raised and educated in the United States to earn legal status by pursuing a higher education, or by serving in the U.S. military,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. I believe that if someone is willing to fight for our country or get an education in our country, which is far more than some of our current citizens would do, he or she is qualified to be a citizen. Unfortunately, this Act did not pass.
To conclude his Address, President Obama spoke of his desires to have a more unified nation. He discussed the day that SEAL Team 6 eliminated Osama bin Laden, expressing the cooperation that occurred between the parties involved. That day, he was working with George Bush’s former defense secretary, republican Bob Gates, and Hillary Clinton, his top opponent for the democratic seat in the 2008 election. Their unbiased collaboration mixed with the Navy Seals in-sync actions allowed for the number one threat to our nation to be terminated. If the bold lines dividing the two parties were smudged like they were on this day, I think our nation could be more powerful than ever before.
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