President Obama Urges Students to Master Real-World Skills

President Barack Obama promised “a year of action” in his 2014 State of the Union address, including a wish list of federal proposals to enhance educational opportunities in the United States.

In his speech, Obama urged teachers and principals to make more strides in “preparing students with the skills for the new economy.”

Specifically, the president urged schools to place more emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking skills. And he advocated for more emphasis be placed on real-world STEM education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“Some of this change is hard,” said Obama, referencing his signature education program, Race to the Top, and the Common Core State Standards. “It requires more challenging curriculums and more demanding parents to better support for teachers. And new ways to measure how well our kids think, not how well they can fill in a bubble on a test.”

The president also called for:

• Helping states expand access to high-quality pre-Kindergarten.
• Improving access to higher education.
• Boosting job-training programs.
• Lessening the burden of student loans.
• Increasing Internet broadband access for students.

Plan Your Own Path to Success

Andrew Potter, vice president of Education at Envision, said that while Obama’s ideas are encouraging, it will take time and much debate before proposals become reality. He urges students to take matters into their own hands when it comes to opening doors to opportunity.

“Students shouldn’t just sit around and wait for federal or state institutions to provide them with the critical skills and knowledge they need now,” Potter said. “Students should actively prepare for their futures and gain as many real-world experiences as they can.”

Mixed Reactions

Obama’s remarks on education drew both positive and negative reactions.

“We must build on what the president laid out tonight,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “It starts with investing in early childhood education, making college affordable, making public schools the center of communities and equipping students with essential life skills and offering multiple paths to graduation and the world of work through rigorous career and technical education programs.”

Valerie Strauss, on The Washington Post’s education blog, found Obama’s education ideas to be disconnected from reality.

“He managed to criticize standardized tests in which kids simply “fill in a bubble” without betraying any irony that it is his Education Department’s policies that have led to their growth in number and importance in public schools,” Strauss writes.

Education Week’s Alyson Klein, in her recap of the speech, found Obama’s proposals to be lacking in details or anything new for K-12.

“In fact, he has given many of these policy priorities a nod in previous State of the Union speeches,” Klein writes. “But so far, a deeply divided Congress hasn't enabled him to bring any of the proposals over the legislative finish line. Obama made it clear he plans to use his executive muscle—and the power of the bully pulpit—to get moving on his agenda when he can't find bipartisan support for his wish list in Congress.”