Academic

President-elect Obama?s Legacy of Quality Education for our Children

By Kimberly Norwood

President-elect Barack Hussein Obama?s mark on history is clear and undeniable.  For the last 20 months, I have watched and listened to so many people, particularly Black Americans, who just could not believe that in their lifetime a Black man would be elected as our Nation?s leader.  His mark on history is so vast and so deep that it was a little difficult trying to decide what the theme of this essay should be.   How could I isolate one single important legacy of the many President-elect Obama has provided to choose from?  I pondered this question deeply as my 10 year old daughter and I did our ?Get out the Vote? canvassing on Election Day.  My answer came that night.  I was overcome with incredible emotion on Election night as I heard and watched CNN declare Senator Obama as the next President of the United States.   Many of the feelings stirred in me that night — feelings of pride, feelings of overwhelming joy, feelings of utter disbelief and feelings of exasperating relief — were also evident in the expressions of my 18 year old daughter, who voted for the first time and in the expressions and jubilation of my 16 year old twin boys, who rarely care about anything political.  As President-elect Obama spoke on Election night, I could see the hope in the eyes of my children — the same hope that has been one of the primary themes of his campaign.  I thought how profound it must be for my children to see him, to hear him, to see his family, and to see crowds of diverse people around the world rejoicing and cheering for him.   What a wonderfully lasting image for Black children to dream about on that monumental night in the history of this great country.

            The impact that President-elect Obama will have on Black youth in particular will be astounding.  And no where will this be felt more, I believe, than in the area of education.  Not only is President-elect Obama?s commitment to education unwavering and strong, his life and his victory this week are strong testaments to the value of education and what education can do to advance the hopes, dreams and successes of all.  He understands that public education in America is in crisis.  He understands the devastating drop-out rates.  He understands the horrifically low proficiency levels, particularly in reading skills and in math.  He understands that teachers are undervalued and underpaid.  He understands that we need to put real money and real commitment into the education of our youth.   And he understands that all of these hardships in public education have fallen, disproportionately, on Black youth, particularly Black males.  President-elect Obama believes access to a meaningful and adequate education is the key to success in life.  And as a living example of the power of education as the true social and economic equalizer, President-elect Obama represents our most promising hope and opportunity for true and lasting educational reform.    

Since his first official entrance on the national scene in 2004, President-elect Obama has delivered a consistently powerful message about the value of education and the necessity that government take steps to fix its very broken public school system.  And, to his credit, he has pushed us to acknowledge that although there are problems that the government can and must deal with, the government can not do this alone.  The government cannot make children walk away from the television, or the streets, or drugs, or gangs, or do homework or even show up for and participate in school.  Rather we, as parents, educators, and citizens, must work together in a unified ?Yes We Can? mantra to motivate our children and convince them that they must take advantage of the educational opportunities that do exist.  So, while it is true that public schools in inner cities, particularly those with majority-minority populations, are often under-resourced and underperforming and building facilities often lacking, this reality should not thwart our youth?s drive towards obtaining an education and our commitment to provide it to them.  We must enhance both?the infrastructure of the public education system and the determination of our youth—to make historic and lasting changes in access to a quality education in this country.

President-elect Obama understands that we must get our children excited about learning.  We have to re-instill the lesson most of us undoubtedly were taught during our youth about doing one?s best and striving for excellence.  Somehow many of our youth have lost that drive.  But with this new presidency, I see a tremendous opportunity for this lost thirst for knowledge and excellence to be restored.  During the Obama presidency, we can reinvigorate our youth.  Many of us have already started this journey and with this great victory this week, our road should be a little easier to travel. Indeed, after January 20, 2009, Black youth will regularly see a President and a first lady who are professionals, who are intelligent and well educated, and who believe in striving, at all times, for excellence.  They will see a President and a first lady who understand the value of education and who are living illustrations of how education can impact and transform lives.  And most importantly, they will see a President and a first lady who look like them.  And seeing role models who look like them in positions of such national prominence and power will tell them, unabashedly, that ?Yes?, with the proper educational tools, they can too. 

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Full post as published by BlackProf on November 06, 2008 (boomark / email).