美国总统的开学演讲稿英文

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2024-06-04
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以下是小编为大家整理的美国总统的开学演讲稿英文，本文共5篇，欢迎阅读与收藏。

美国总统的开学演讲稿英文

Hello, everybody! Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, everybody.

All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat.

How is everybody doing today? (Applause.) How about Tim Spicer? (Applause.) I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia.

And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade.

And I am just so glad that all could join us today.

And I want to thank Wakefield for being such an outstanding host.

Give yourselves a big round of applause.(Applause.)

大家好!谢谢你们。谢谢你们。谢谢你们大家。好，大家请就坐。你们今天都好吗?(掌声)蒂姆·斯派塞(Tim Spicer)好吗?(掌声)我现在与弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿郡韦克菲尔德高中的学生们在一起。美国各地从小学预备班到中学级的学生正在收听收看。我很高兴大家今天都能参与。我还要感谢韦克菲尔德高中出色的组织安排。请为你们自己热烈鼓掌。(掌声)

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school.

And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous.

I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now -- (applause) -- with just one more year to go.

And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.

我知道，今天是你们很多人开学的日子。对于进入小学预备班、初中或高中的学生，今天是你们来到新学校的第一天，心里可能有点紧张，这是可以理解的。我能想象有些毕业班学生现在感觉很不错——(掌声)——还有一年就毕业了。不论在哪个年级，你们有些人可能希望暑假更长一点，今天早上还能多睡一小会儿。

I know that feeling.

When I was young, my family lived overseas.

I lived in Indonesia for a few years.

And my mother, she didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education.

So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday.

But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning.

我了解这种感觉。我小时候，我们家生活在海外。我在印度尼西亚住了几年。我妈妈没有钱送我上其他美国孩子上的学校，但她认为必须让我接受美式教育。因此，她决定从周一到周五自己给我补课。不过她还要上班，所以只能在清晨四点半给我上课。

Now, as you might imagine, I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early.

And a lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table.

But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she’d say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.

” (Laughter.

)

你们可以想见，我不太情愿那么早起床。有很多次，我趴在餐桌上就睡着了。但每当我抱怨的时候，我妈妈都会那样地看我一眼，然后说：“小子，这对我也并不轻松。”(笑声)

So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school.

But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you.

I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

我知道你们有些人还在适应开学后的生活。但我今天来到这里是因为有重要的事情要和你们说。我来这里是要和你们谈谈你们的.教育问题，以及在这个新学年对你们所有人的期望。

Now, I’ve given a lot of speeches about education.

And I’ve talked about responsibility a lot.

我做过很多次有关教育问题的演讲。我多次谈到过责任问题。

I’ve talked about teachers’ responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.

我谈到过教师激励学生并督促他们学习的责任。

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.

我谈到过家长的责任，要确保你们走正路，完成家庭作业，不要整天坐在电视前或玩Xbox游戏。

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working, where students aren’t getting the opportunities that they deserve.

我多次谈到过政府的责任，要制定高标准，支持教师和校长的工作，彻底改善不能为学生提供应有机会的、教育质量差的学校。

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world -- and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.

然而，即使我们拥有最敬业的教师，最尽力的家长和全世界最好的学校——如果你们大家不履行你们的责任，不到校上课，不专心听讲，不听家长、祖父祖母和其他大人的话，不付出取得成功所必须的勤奋努力，那么这一切都毫无用处，都无关紧要。这就是我今天讲话的重点：你们每个人对自己的教育应尽的责任。

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something that you’re good at.

Every single one of you has something to offer.

And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is.

That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

我首先要讲讲你们对自己应尽的责任。你们每个人都有自己的长处。你们每个人都能做出自己的贡献。你们对自己应尽的责任是发现自己的能力所在。而教育能够提供这样的机会。

Maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that English paper -- that English class paper that’s assigned to you.

Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but you might not know it until you do your 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.

你或许能成为一名出色的作家——甚至可能写书或在报纸上发表文章——但你可能要在完成那篇英文课的作文后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名创新者或发明家——甚至可能设计出新一代iPhone或研制出新型药物或疫苗——但你可能要在完成科学课的实验后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名市长或参议员或最高法院的大法官——但你可能要在参加学生会的工作或辩论队后才会发现自己的才华。

And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it.

You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers.

You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job.

You’ve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

不论你的生活志向是什么，我敢肯定你必须上学读书才能实现它。你想当医生、教师或警官吗?你想当护士、建筑师、律师或军人吗?你必须接受良好的教育，才能从事上述任何一种职业。你不能指望辍学后能碰上个好工作。你必须接受培训，为之努力，为之学习。

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future.

What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country.

The future of America depends on you.

What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

这并非只对你个人的人生和未来意义重大。可以毫不夸大地说，教育给你带来的益处将决定这个国家的未来。美国的未来取决于你们。你们今日在校学习的知识将决定我们作为一个国家是否能够迎接我们未来所面临的最严峻挑战。

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment.

You’ll need the insights and critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free.

You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

你们将需要利用你们通过自然科学和数学课程所学到的知识和解决问题的能力来治愈癌症、艾滋病及其他疾病，开发新的能源技术和保护我们的环境。你们将需要利用你们在历史学和社会学课堂上所获得的知识和独立思考能力来抗击贫困和解决无家可归问题，打击犯罪和消除歧视，使我们的国家更公平、更自由。你们将需要利用你们在所有课堂上培养的创造力和智慧来创办新公司，增加就业机会，振兴我们的经济。

We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems.

If you don’t do that -- if you quit on school -- you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

我们需要你们每个人发挥你们的聪明才智和技能，以便帮助老一辈人解决我们面临的最棘手问题。如果你们不这样做，如果你们辍学，你们不仅仅是自暴自弃，也是抛弃自己的国家。

Now, I know it’s not always easy to do well in school.

I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

我自然知道要做到学业优秀并非总是易事。我知道你们许多人在生活中面临挑战，难以集中精力从事学业。

I get it.

I know what it’s like.

My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us the things that other kids had.

There were times when I missed having a father in my life.

There were times when I was lonely and I felt like I didn’t fit in.

我明白这一点。我有亲身感受。两岁时，我父亲离家而去，我是由一位单亲母亲抚养成人的，母亲不得不工作，并时常为支付生活费用而苦苦挣扎，但有时仍无法为我们提供其他孩子享有的东西。有时，我渴望生活中能有一位父亲。有时我感到孤独，感到自己不适应社会。

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I’m not proud of, and I got in more trouble than I should have.

And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

我并非总是像我应该做到的那样专心学习，我也曾做过我如今不能引以为豪的一些事情，我曾惹过不应该惹的麻烦。我的人生原本会轻易陷入更糟糕的境地。

for immediate release september 8, 20**

remarkbthe president

in a national addresto america'schoolchildren

wakefield high school

arlington, virginia

the president: hello, everybody! thank you.

thank you.

thank you, everybody.

all right, everybodgo ahead and have a seat.

how ieveryboddoing today? (applause.

) how about tim spicer? (applause.

) i am here with studentat wakefield high school in arlington, virginia.

and we've got studenttuning in from all acrosamerica, from kindergarten through 12th grade.

and i am just so glad that all could join utoday.

and i want to thank wakefield for being such an outstanding host.

give yourselvea big round of applause.

(applause.

)

i know that for manof you, todaithe first daof school.

and for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it'your first dain a new school, so it'understandable if you're a little nervous.

i imagine there are some seniorout there who are feeling prettgood right now -- (applause) -- with just one more year to go.

and no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probablwishing it were still summer and you could've stayed in bed just a little bit longer thimorning.

i know that feeling.

when i wayoung, mfamillived overseas.

i lived in indonesia for a few years.

and mmother, she didn't have the moneto send me where all the american kidwent to school, but she thought it waimportant for me to keep up with an american education.

so she decided to teach me extra lessonherself, mondathrough friday.

but because she had to go to work, the onltime she could do it waat 4:30 in the morning.

now, ayou might imagine, i wasn't too happabout getting up that early.

and a lot of times, i'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table.

but whenever i'd complain, mmother would just give me one of those lookand she'd say, “thiino picnic for me either, buster.” (laughter.)

so i know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school.

but i'm here todabecause i have something important to discuswith you.

i'm here because i want to talk with you about your education and what'expected of all of you in thinew school year.

now, i've given a lot of speecheabout education.

and i've talked about responsibilita lot.

i've talked about teachers' responsibilitfor inspiring studentand pushing you to learn.

i've talked about your parents' responsibilitfor making sure you staon track, and you get your homework done, and don't spend everwaking hour in front of the tv or with the xbox.

i've talked a lot about your government'responsibilitfor setting high standards, and supporting teacherand principals, and turning around schoolthat aren't working, where studentaren't getting the opportunitiethat thedeserve.

but at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schoolin the world -- and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unlesall of you fulfill your responsibilities, unlesyou show up to those schools, unlesyou paattention to those teachers, unlesyou listen to your parentand grandparentand other adultand put in the hard work it taketo succeed.

that'what i want to focuon today: the responsibiliteach of you hafor your education.

i want to start with the responsibilityou have to yourself.

eversingle one of you hasomething that you're good at.

eversingle one of you hasomething to offer.

and you have a responsibilitto yourself to discover what that is.

that'the opportunitan education can provide.

maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articlein a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that english paper -- that english claspaper that'assigned to you.

maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough to come up with the next iphone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but you might not know it until you do your 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 tea

and no matter what you want to do with your life, i guarantee that you'll need an education to do it.

you want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? you want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? you're going to need a good education for eversingle one of those careers.

you cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job.

you've got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

and thiisn't just important for your own life and your own future.

what you make of your education will decide nothing lesthan the future of thicountry.

the future of america dependon you.

what you're learning in school todawill determine whether we aa nation can meet our greatest challengein the future.

you'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skillyou learn in science and math to cure diseaselike cancer and aids, and to develop new energtechnologieand protect our environment.

you'll need the insightand critical-thinking skillyou gain in historand social studieto fight povertand homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free.

you'll need the creativitand ingenuityou develop in all your classeto build new companiethat will create new joband boost our economy.

we need eversingle one of you to develop your talentand your skilland your intellect so you can help uold folksolve our most difficult problems.

if you don't do that -- if you quit on school -- you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

now, i know it'not alwayeasto do well in school.

i know a lot of you have challengein your liveright now that can make it hard to focuon your schoolwork.

i get it.

i know what it'like.

mfather left mfamilwhen i watwo yearold, and i waraised ba single mom who had to work and who struggled at timeto pathe billand wasn't alwayable to give uthe thingthat other kidhad.

there were timewhen i missed having a father in mlife.

there were timewhen i waloneland i felt like i didn't fit in.

so i wasn't alwayafocused ai should have been on school, and i did some thingi'm not proud of, and i got in more trouble than i should have.

and mlife could have easiltaken a turn for the worse.

but i wa-- i walucky.

i got a lot of second chances, and i had the opportunitto go to college and law school and follow mdreams.

mwife, our first ladmichelle obama, she haa similar story.

neither of her parenthad gone to college, and thedidn't have a lot of money.

but theworked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schoolin thicountry.

some of you might not have those advantages.

maybe you don't have adultin your life who give you the support that you need.

maybe someone in your familhalost their joand there'not enough moneto go around.

maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friendwho are pressuring you to do thingyou know aren't right.

but at the end of the day, the circumstanceof your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much moneyou have, what you've got going on at home -- none of that ian excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school.

that'no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school.

there ino excuse for not trying.

where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up.

no one'written your destinfor you, because here in america, you write your own destiny.

you make your own future.

that'what young people like you are doing everday, all acrosamerica.

young people like jazmin perez, from roma, texas.

jazmin didn't speak english when she first started school.

neither of her parenthad gone to college.

but she worked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to brown universit-- inow in graduate school, studying public health, on her wato becoming dr.

jazmin perez.

i'm thinking about andoni schultz, from loaltos, california, who'fought brain cancer since he wathree.

he'had to endure all sortof treatmentand surgeries, one of which affected himemory, so it took him much longer -- hundredof extra hour-- to do hischoolwork.

but he never fell behind.

he'headed to college thifall.

and then there'shantell steve, from mhometown of chicago, illinois.

even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoodin the city, she managed to get a joat a local health care center, start a program to keep young people out of gangs, and she'on track to graduate high school with honorand go on to college.

and jazmin, andoni, and shantell aren't andifferent from anof you.

theface challengein their livejust like you do.

in some casethey've got it a lot worse off than manof you.

but therefused to give up.

thechose to take responsibilitfor their lives, for their education, and set goalfor themselves.

and i expect all of you to do the same.

that'whtodai'm calling on each of you to set your own goalfor your education -- and do everything you can to meet the your goal can be something asimple adoing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time each dareading a book.

maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community.

maybe you'll decide to stand up for kidwho are being teased or bullied because of who theare or how thelook, because you believe, like i do, that all young people deserve a safe environment to studand learn.

maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more readto learn.

and along those lines, bthe way, i hope all of you are washing your handa lot, and that you stahome from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu thifall and winter.

but whatever you resolve to do, i want you to commit to it.

i want you to reallwork at it.

i know that sometimeyou get that sense from tv that you can be rich and successful without anhard work -- that your ticket to succesithrough rapping or basketball or being a realittv star.

chanceare you're not going to be anof those things.

the truth is, being successful ihard.

you won't love eversubject that you study.

you won't click with everteacher that you have.

not everhomework assignment will seem completelrelevant to your life right at thiminute.

and you won't necessarilsucceed at everything the first time you try.

that'okay.

some of the most successful people in the world are the onewho've had the most failures.

rowling'-- who wrote harrpotter -- her first harrpotter book warejected 12 timebefore it wafinallpublished.

michael jordan wacut from hihigh school basketball tea he lost hundredof gameand missed thousandof shotduring hicareer.

but he once said, “i have failed over and over and over again in mlife.

and that'whi succeed.

”

these people succeeded because theunderstood that you can't let your failuredefine you -- you have to let your failureteach you.

you have to let them show you what to do differentlthe next time.

so if you get into trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it meanyou need to trharder to act right.

if you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just meanyou need to spend more time studying.

no one'born being good at all things.

you become good at thingthrough hard work.

you're not a varsitathlete the first time you plaa new sport.

you don't hit evernote the first time you sing a song.

you've got to practice.

the same principle applieto your schoolwork.

you might have to do a math problem a few timebefore you get it right.

you might have to read something a few timebefore you understand it.

you definitelhave to do a few draftof a paper before it'good enough to hand in.

don't be afraid to ask questions.

don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

i do that everday.

asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it'a sign of strength because it showyou have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allowyou to learn something new.

so find an adult that you trust -- a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them to help you staon track to meet your goals.

and even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

the storof america isn't about people who quit when thinggot tough.

it'about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their countrtoo much to do anything lesthan their best.

it'the storof studentwho sat where you sit 250 yearago, and went on to wage a revolution and thefounded thination.

young people.

studentwho sat where you sit 75 yearago who overcame a depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rightand put a man on the moon.

studentwho sat where you sit 20 yearago who founded google and changed the wawe communicate with each other.

so today, i want to ask all of you, what'your contribution going to be? what problemare you going to solve? what discoveriewill you make? what will a president who comehere in 20 or 50 or 100 yearsaabout what all of you did for thicountry?

now, your families, your teachers, and i are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions.

i'm working hard to fix up your classroomand get you the bookand the equipment and the computeryou need to learn.

but you've got to do your part, too.

so i expect all of you to get seriouthiyear.

i expect you to put your best effort into everything you do.

i expect great thingfrom each of you.

so don't let udown.

don't let your famildown or your countrdown.

most of all, don't let yourself down.

make uall proud.

thank you vermuch, everybody.

god blesyou.

god blesamerica.

thank you.(applause.)

end

12:22 p.

edt

开学英文演讲稿

The president:

Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? (applause.) How about tim spicer? (applause.) I am here with students at wakefield high school in arlington, virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across america, from kindergarten through 12th grade. And i am just so glad that all could join us today. And i want to thank wakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a big round of applause. (applause.)

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now -- (applause) -- with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could've stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When i was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didn't have the money to send me where all the american kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an american education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, monday through friday. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning.

Now, as you might imagine, i wasn't too happy about getting up that early. And a lot of times, i'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever i'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she'd say, “this is no picnic for me either, buster.” (laughter.)

So i know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But i'm here today because i have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because i want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now, i've given a lot of speeches about education. And i've talked about responsibility a lot.

I've talked about teachers' responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the tv or with the xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working, where students aren't getting the opportunities that they deserve.

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that english paper -- that english class paper that's assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough to come up with the next iphone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but you might not know it until you do your 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. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? you want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? you're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of america depends on you. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and aids, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that -- if you quit on school -- you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now, i know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what it's like. My father left my family when i was two years old, and i was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when i missed having a father in my life. There were times when i was lonely and i felt like i didn't fit in.

So i wasn't always as focused as i should have been on school, and i did some things i'm not proud of, and i got in more trouble than i should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But i was -- i was lucky. I got a lot of second chances, and i had the opportunity to go to college and law school and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady michelle obama, she has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have a lot of money. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you, because here in america, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across america.

Young people like jazmin perez, from roma, texas. Jazmin didn't speak english when she first started school. Neither of her parents had gone to college. But she worked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to brown university -- is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to becoming dr. Jazmin perez.

I'm thinking about andoni schultz, from los altos, california, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's had to endure all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer -- hundreds of extra hours -- to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind. He's headed to college this fall.

And then there's shantell steve, from my hometown of chicago, illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods in the city, she managed to get a job at a local health care center, start a program to keep young people out of gangs, and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

And jazmin, andoni, and shantell aren't any different from any of you. They face challenges in their lives just like you do. In some cases they've got it a lot worse off than many of you. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their lives, for their education, and set goals for themselves. And i expect all of you to do the same.

That's why today i'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education -- and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like i do, that all young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, by the way, i hope all of you are washing your hands a lot, and that you stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

But whatever you resolve to do, i want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes you get that sense from tv that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality tv star. chances are you're not going to be any of those things.

The truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won't click with every teacher that you have. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.k. rowling's -- who wrote harry potter -- her first harry potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “i have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's why i succeed.”

These people succeeded because they understood that you can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. So if you get into trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. The same principle applies to your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right. You might have to read something a few times before you understand it. You definitely have to do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allows you to learn something new. So find an adult that you trust -- a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of america isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation. Young people. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded google and twitter and facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, i want to ask all of you, what's your contribution going to be? what problems are you going to solve? what discoveries will you make? what will a president who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country?

Now, your families, your teachers, and i are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part, too. So i expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down. Don't let your family down or your country down. Most of all, don't let yourself down. Make us all proud.

Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless america. Thank you. (applause.)