President Obama on Education

On Tuesday, September 8, 2009 President Obama challenged students of the nation to take personal responsibility for their academic futures, and thus contribute to the future of America.

This challenge applied not only to our nation's schoolchildren, but to military service members using the GI Bill to achieve their higher education goals.

Improvements in the Post-9/11 GI Bill, most significantly the expansion of military tuition assistance, have made it even more financially viable for military service members to attend universities and online colleges, and to participate in vocational training and apprenticeship programs.

The new GI Bill shows that the government truly understands the importance of education for military servicemen and women.

President Obama said that ultimately, however, education is not the responsibility of your government; it is the responsibility each individual has to the nation, each by achieving and contributing his or her own success.

The message: if we want a better world then we must have the courage to better ourselves. "...don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself you give up on your country," President Obama encouraged.

In his historic education speech broadcast in schools around the nation to much controversy, President Obama spoke as if from a military doctrine of self-reliance, discipline, and responsibility for your own destiny - that each individual has a duty to achieve his or her personal goals because those goals will decide the future of America.

President Obama challenged each of us to commit to education not only for ourselves and our immediate families, but because it is our civic duty.

Obama's education speech also recognized that some people begin their educational path with extreme disadvantages, by facing physical or economic hardships. Many returning soliders come home from deployment with disabilities and financial responsibilities to their families that make getting their degrees a particular challenge. President Obama said that questioning was a sign of strength, and adversity was a stepping stone to success. Despite setbacks, Obama reminded us that ultimately, nobody else is in charge of your destiny. Only you.

President Obama has charged every US citizen and military service member with the responsibility to create that better nation, through individual education. "Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is."

The challenge to embrace success applies especially to those in the military, who have been trained to rise in the face of adversity and shape the future of this country.

Now is the time to apply yourself, and apply your Post 9-11 GI Bill benefits to the future of your country.