Address to America's Schoolchildren (2009)

Drawing upon his experiences as a son, student, citizen, and President, Barack Obama encourages kids to approach the new school year with a strong sense of responsibility for themselves and the future of the country.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 9 Unit 1's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Speak, Marigolds, Always Running, 'Race' Politics, WMDs, Chuck Liddell, Address to America's Schoolchildren, An Early Start on College, Why College Isn't for Everyone, Actually, College Is Very Much Worth It
15 words 225 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. responsibility
    the social force that binds you to a course of action
    That's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.
  2. innovator
    someone who helps to open up a new line of technology or art
    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.
  3. guarantee
    stand behind the quality, accuracy, or condition of
    And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it.
  4. determine
    shape or influence; give direction to
    What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
  5. insight
    the sudden understanding of a complex situation
    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.
  6. ingenuity
    the power of creative imagination
    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.
  7. circumstances
    one's overall condition in life
    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.
  8. destiny
    a course of events that will inevitably happen in the future
    No one's written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny.
  9. resolve
    reach a decision
    But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it.
  10. relevant
    having a bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
    Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute.
  11. necessarily
    as a highly likely consequence
    And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
  12. principle
    a basic truth or law or assumption
    You've got to practice. The same principle applies to your schoolwork.
  13. wage
    carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns)
    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.
  14. contribution
    the part played by a person in bringing about a result
    So today, I want to ask all of you, what's your contribution going to be?
  15. effort
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do.
Created on Fri Sep 19 12:40:55 EDT 2014 (updated Fri Sep 19 15:29:53 EDT 2014)

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