On September 8th, President Obama addressed primary and middle school students at wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, stressing the importance of going to school and encouraging students to study hard. The following is the full text of the speech, translated by the State Council International Information Bureau (IIP). White House Press Secretary's Office September 8, 2009 President's Speech to American Primary and Secondary School Students Location: wakefield High School, Arlington County, Virginia East Daylight Time noon 12:06 President: Hello, everyone! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all. Ok, please sit down. How are you all today? How's Tim spicer? I'm here with students from Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. Students in grades 12 from elementary school preparatory classes to middle schools in the United States are listening. I'm glad everyone can participate today. I also want to thank wakefield High School for its excellent organization. Please clap for yourselves. I know today is the day when many of you start school. It is understandable that today is your first day in a new school for students who enter the preparatory classes of primary school, junior high school or senior high school. I can imagine that some graduating students are feeling very good now-(Applause)-they will graduate in a year. No matter what grade you are in, some of you may want to have a longer summer vacation and sleep more in the morning. I know the feeling. When I was a child, our family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for several years. My mother has no money to send me to other American children's schools, but she thinks I must receive an American education. Therefore, she decided to make up lessons for me from Monday to Friday. But she has to work, so she can only give me classes at 4: 30 in the morning. As you can imagine, I don't want to get up so early Many times, I fell asleep at the dinner table. But whenever I complain, my mother will look at me like that and say, "Boy, it's not easy for me either." I know some of you are still adjusting to life after school. But I came here today because I have something important to tell you. I'm here to talk to you about your education and your expectations for the new school year. I have made many speeches on education. I have talked about responsibility many times. I talked about the responsibility of teachers to motivate students and urge them to study. I talked about the responsibility of parents, to make sure that you are on the right track, finish your homework, and don't sit in front of TV and play Xbox games all day. I have said many times that the government has the responsibility to set high standards, support the work of teachers and principals, and thoroughly improve schools with poor education quality that cannot provide students with the opportunities they deserve. However, even if we have the most dedicated teachers, the best parents and the best schools in the world-if all of you don't fulfill your responsibilities, attend classes, listen attentively, listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults, and make the necessary efforts for success, then all this is useless and irrelevant. This is the focus of my speech today: each of you should be responsible for your own education. First of all, I want to talk about your responsibility to yourself. Each of you has your own strengths. Each of you can make your own contribution. Your responsibility to yourself is to find out what you can do. And education can provide such an opportunity. You may become an excellent writer-you may even write a book or publish an article in the newspaper-but you may not discover your talent until you finish the composition in that English class. You may be an innovator or inventor-you may even design a new generation of iPhone or develop a new drug or vaccine-but you may not discover your talent until you finish the experiment in science class. You may be a mayor, a senator or a judge of the Supreme Court, but you may not find your talent until you join the student union or debate team. No matter what your life ambition is, I believe you must go to school to realize it. Do you want to be a doctor, a teacher or a policeman? Do you want to be a nurse, an architect, a lawyer or a soldier? You must receive a good education before you can engage in any of the above occupations. Don't expect to find a good job after dropping out of school. You must be trained, work hard and learn from it. This is not only of great significance to your personal life and future. It is no exaggeration to say that the benefit of education will determine the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you learn at school today will determine whether we as a country can cope with the most severe challenges we will face in the future. You will need to use the knowledge and problem-solving ability you have learned through natural science and mathematics courses to cure cancer, AIDS and other diseases, develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You will need to use the knowledge and independent thinking ability you have gained in history and sociology classes to fight poverty and solve the problem of homelessness, fight crime and eliminate discrimination, and make our country more fair and free. You will need to use your creativity and wisdom in all courses to start new companies, increase employment opportunities and revitalize our economy. We need each of you to give full play to your intelligence and help the older generation solve the most difficult problems we face. If you don't do this, if you drop out of school, you will not only give up on yourself, but also abandon your country. I naturally know that it is not always easy to get excellent academic results. I know that many of you are facing challenges in life and it is difficult to concentrate on your studies. I see. I have a personal feeling. My father left home when I was two years old. I was raised by a single mother. My mother has to work and often struggles to pay the living expenses, but sometimes she still can't provide us with what other children enjoy. Sometimes, I long for a father in my life. Sometimes I feel lonely and incommensurate with society. I don't always concentrate on my studies as I should. I did something I can't be proud of now, and got into trouble I shouldn't have. My life can easily get into a worse situation. However, I had a good time. I've had many second chances. I am lucky to go to college, law school and pursue my dream. My wife, our first lady Michelle Obama, had a similar experience. Her parents didn't go to college and her family was poor. But they are diligent, and so is she, so they can be admitted to some of the best schools in America. Some of you may not have these advantages. Maybe there is no adult in your life to provide you with the support you need. Maybe someone in your family is unemployed and financially strapped. Maybe you live in a community that makes you feel unsafe, or friends force you to do something you know is wrong. In the final analysis, however, the environment in which you live, the color of your skin, your background, your financial income, your family situation and so on cannot be the reason why you don't study hard and work hard. There is no reason for you not to listen to your teacher, play truant or drop out of school. There is no reason not to work hard. Your present situation does not determine your future. No one decides your fate. In America, you decide your own destiny. You control your future. This is what young people like you do every day, all over the United States. Jazmin Perez from Rome, Texas is an example. She didn't speak English when she first started school. Neither of her parents went to college. However, she was very diligent and got excellent grades, and won a scholarship from Brown University. Now she is a graduate student majoring in public health and will soon become Dr. Jazmin Perez. I thought of Andoni Schultz in Los Altos, California. He has been fighting brain cancer since he was three years old. He had to endure the pain caused by various treatments and operations, one of which affected his memory, so he spent much more time on his homework than the average person, hundreds of hours more. However, he never fell behind. He will enter the university this autumn. I also think of my hometown Chantelle Steve in Chicago, Illinois. She lived in the most difficult community in Chicago and was fostered by many different families, but she finally got a job in a local medical center and started a program to help young people stay away from gangs. She will graduate from middle school with honors and then go to college. Jazmin, Andoni and chantel are no different from each of you. They, like you, are facing all kinds of challenges in life. In some cases, their situation is worse than many of you. But they refused to give up. They decided to take responsibility for their own life and education and set various goals for themselves. I hope you all do. Therefore, today I call on each of you to set goals for your education and try your best to achieve them. Your goal can be simple things, such as finishing your homework, paying attention in class, or spending a little time reading a book every day. Maybe you will decide to take part in extracurricular activities or volunteer in your community. Maybe you will decide to stand up and protect those children who are teased or bullied because of their identity or looks, because you and I both believe that all young people should enjoy a safe environment suitable for studying. Maybe you will decide to take better care of yourself, so that you can have more energy to study. By the way, besides these, I hope everyone should wash their hands frequently and stay at home when they are unwell, so as to prevent people from catching the flu in autumn and winter this year. But whatever you decide to do, I hope you promise to do it. I want you to do it in a down-to-earth manner. I know sometimes you get the impression from TV that you can become rich and successful without any effort. Singing a minor, playing basketball or becoming a reality show star are all ways to succeed. But the reality is: you may not be one of them. In fact, success is not easy. You won't like every subject you study. You won't get along with every teacher you have. Not all the homework seems to be completely related to your immediate life. When you try everything for the first time, you may not succeed. None of this matters. Some of the most successful people in the world have suffered the most failures. The first novel of Harry Potter written by J·K· Rowling was rejected 12 times before publication. Michael Jordan was removed from the high school basketball team. During Jordan's basketball career, he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of goals. But he once said, "In my life, I failed again and again. This is the reason for my success. " These people are successful because they know that you can't let failure limit you, but let failure enlighten you. You must let failure tell you how to do different things next time. So, if you are in trouble, it doesn't mean that you are a troublemaker, but that you need to work harder to get things done. If you get a low score in a course, it doesn't mean that you are more stupid than others, but it just means that you need to spend more time studying. No one is naturally good at doing all kinds of things. You become good at all kinds of things through diligence. When you start a new sport for the first time, you can't be the main participant. When you sing a song for the first time, you can't sing every note correctly. You must practice. The same applies to your study. You may have to do a math problem several times before you can get it right. You may have to read some materials several times before you can understand them. You must type the draft several times before handing in a beautiful composition. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I ask others for help every day. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength, because it shows that you have the courage to admit what you don't understand, which will enable you to learn something new. So, please identify an adult you trust, such as parents, grandparents or teachers, coaches or counselors, and ask them to help you achieve your goals according to the established plan. Even when you are struggling, frustrated and feel that others have no hope for you, don't lose confidence in yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you also abandon your country. American history is written not by those who retreat in difficult times, but by those who persevere and redouble their efforts. Their love for the country impelled them to go all out. American history was written by the student who sat in your seat 250 years ago. They later took part in the War of Independence and founded this country. And the young people and students who sat in your seat 75 years ago. They walked out of the Great Depression and won a world war. They fought for civil rights and sent astronauts to the moon. As for the students who sat in your position 20 years ago, they founded Google, Twitter and Facebook, which changed the way we communicate. Today, I want to ask you, what contribution will you make? What problem will you solve? What will you find? What will the president who comes here to speak in 20 years, 50 years or 100 years say about everything you have done for this country? Your family, your teacher and I are doing our best to ensure that you receive the necessary education in order to answer the above questions. I am working hard so that your classroom can be repaired and you can get the textbooks, equipment and computers you need for your study. But you must also do your best. Therefore, I hope everyone will take this issue seriously from this year. I hope you try your best to do everything well. I hope each of you will do well. Don't let us down. Don't let your family or country down. Most importantly, don't let yourself down. Let us all be proud of you. Thank you very much. God bless you. God bless America. Thank you. (Applause)