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...

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my...

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

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

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it...

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny....

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college,...

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,...

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be...

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through...

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected...

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You...

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....

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit...

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...