Many people see the President of the United States and think politics and being the leader of America. When President Barack Obama made an appearance at North High School it was to talk about one thing.
Education.
Obama took questions from students, family members, faculty and other invited guests. All of the questions having that one thing in common.
When Obama was asked the question, “What do you believe the roll of a teacher should be?” said by Angelica Reyes, junior at North High, Obama quickly related the question back to his own life.
“My mom had this great love of learning. She was my first great teacher,” he said. “When I think back to all the great teachers I’ve had, it’s not so much the facts that they taught me because I can get those from books, but it has been teachers who have been able to spark in me a sense of curiosity.”
Another audience member asked about advice for his daughter Malia as she will soon be going off to college. He didn’t hesitate to answer, “Not to stress too much on getting in to one particular college… Keep your grades up until you get in then make sure you pass… Be open to new experiences when you go to college. Don’t go to college just to duplicate your experience in high school. The whole point is to push yourself out of your comfort zone.”
Obama got asked, out of all the candidates running for president, who has the best ideas for education to make it more affordable?
“If the candidates say the main problem with education is teachers, you shouldn’t vote for them,” he said.
Another North student, Junior JaDicela Aguilar, asked, “how is visual arts important to our school and how can you save it?”
His reply was, “The arts are what make life worthwhile… The things that make you laugh, cry, connect, love, so much of that is communicated through the arts.”
Obama left the crowd of students, parents, teachers and everyone watching at home via White House live stream thinking about education.
“What he would tell his daughter really made me feel better about not knowing what I want to do,” Riley Barbour, senior at North, said.
Maria Lantz, student improvement leader at Harding Middle School, said that one thing that stood out about the Town Hall Meeting was “how much [Duncan and Obama] truly care about education and kids.”
Even after Obama and Duncan left, the members of the crowd were still impacted by their powerful words.