Thread: Michelle Obama to School Chilren': Grades DON'T MATTER!

Michelle Obama had a private meeting with school children, camreas not allowed. She spread her social destructive message of: Grades dont matter!

Heard this blurb on ABC news from one of the minority kids, on Boyles show. No one is picking it up.

These will be America's future doctors and lawyers one day. Yikes.

I don't know if this is what you were referring to: http://denverdemocrats.net/content/m...vember-16-2009
Excerpt:

Q My name is Linda Jimenez.

MRS. OBAMA: And tell me what you do here.

Q Well, I'm the student body president --

MRS. OBAMA: Oh, that's all. (Laughter.)

Q Well, I do a lot of activities, I play chess and ROTC -- do you know ROTC?

MRS. OBAMA: I gathered, yes. I know ROTC. What year are you?

Q I'm a senior.

MRS. OBAMA: A senior, wow. Way to go. Congratulations.

Q Thank you.

MRS. OBAMA: So what's your question?

Q Well, my question is about standardized testing. So there's a federal mandate that states every student in Colorado must take the CSAP. Now, our school is very diverse and many students do not speak English, although versed in two different languages, and they are forced to take this step. And our school gets funding on how well students do on the test. And of course, because they do not speak English they cannot understand the test and they do not do well.

I just want to ask, what are your feelings on standardized testing? Is it a fair way to grade high schools and schools all over the country?

MRS. OBAMA: Well, that's a good question. And it's an interesting question for me because when I was growing up I was never a great standardized test-taker. So from a personal level, I would always get nervous and feel a great deal of anxiety over test-taking. So it was always a point of frustration for me personally, and I didn't speak a second language. It was just some people are really good test-takers and some aren’t.

So without sort of commenting, because the truth is the standardized tests are there. So we can ask whether it's fair or not; they're part of the system. And I think what this administration is working on is making sure that more schools have the resources they need to prepare all students to be able to compete in these tests.

One thing that I didn't realize when I was growing up -- because I went to a public school and my parents hadn't gone to college -- was I didn't even realize that you could prepare for these tests, that there were prep courses and things like that. Until I went to Princeton I didn't realize that there were kids who were prepping for these tests.

So there's a lot of work that we can do to balance out some of the inequities and to inform kids and to give them the legs up that they need. But what I would tell you -- and this is something that I learned for myself -- was that I had to learn not to let just a test score define me. Because if I relied solely on my test score -- and this is just personal, because all you have is control over how you handle the test, no matter where you are -- but if I had solely made a decision on what schools I was going to apply to just on my test scores, my test scores said, there's no reason you should have applied to Princeton or you would get in or you would be able to do well at Princeton. That's what my test scores said.

My grades, on the other hand, and everything else that I had invested in said just the opposite. I was a straight-A student. I was an honors student. I was involved in student government. I was active and I was engaged. And fortunately, the universities in this country recognize that there's more to being a good student than a test score. So fortunately for me, Princeton looked at the big picture. They didn't just look at my test scores -- they looked at my grades, they looked at my teacher recommendations, they looked at my extra-curricular activities, they looked at how well I could write in my personal essays.

So my message to each of you is you've got to prepare for the tests, take them seriously because they are part of the measures, they're part of the system. But don't let these tests defeat you. Don't let them define you. Move through them. And the thing that you have the most control over are your grades -- right? Really. Fundamentally, the difference between an A and a B oftentimes is in your own hands. The difference between whether you understand a subject because you're in class and you're listening -- that's the power that you have. So if you use what you have and you make the most of the opportunities that you have control over, then things like test scores don't have to completely throw you off.

So there are two ways to look at it. You can fight the tests or you can work with it and turn them into an advantage. But ultimately, you've got to be good students. You've got to be able to -- you've got to be hard workers. And that's all in here. And no one can define that for you or measure you out of that. And if all of you are doing that and doing the best that you can no matter what the results on the test scores are, you feel -- you can feel a sense of confidence and self-assuredness that you did the best that you can do. That's my advice.

Michelle Obama Talk Tests, Mentoring in Denver
Michelle Obama tells Denver high school students not to fret bad test scores


First Lady Michelle Obama, accompanied by Colorado's first lady Jeannie Ritter, who introduced her, addresses a luncheon of high school students and mentors, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, at the Governor's Mansion in Denver, Colo.. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
(AP)

First lady Michelle Obama doesn't put much stock in standardized tests.

"Don't let those tests defeat you. Don't let those tests define you," she told a group of about 30 students at Denver's South High School on Monday as part of a day of mentoring in the city.

"When I was growing up, I was never a great standardized test-taker," but she ended up attending Princeton University, Mrs. Obama said. Straight-A grades and a strong essay helped her overcome bad test scores, she added.

The first lady, however, did not hint that she thought standardized tests should go away.

Speaking to a student who had asked whether it's fair to use test scores to measure schools when some students don't speak English well, Mrs. Obama said the tests are "part of the system" and can't be avoided.

"You can fight the tests, or you can work with them and turn them into an advantage," she said.

When asked about the hardest thing to being the first lady, Mrs. Obama gestured toward a bank of news cameras and said it was "making sure my girls don't get lost in all this."

"I want to make sure they come out of this as whole as possible," she said.

She also added that she and President Barack Obama work to make time for daughters Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8.

"When they have an event, it takes precedence over everything," said Mrs. Obama.

Earlier in the day, Mrs. Obama spoke about the importance of mentoring at a lunch with about 80 girls at the Colorado governor's mansion. Attendees at the luncheon included Kathleen Sebelius, the former governor of Kansas and President Obama's Health & Human Services secretary. Other mentors were Latina astronaut Ellen Ochoa, and actresses Susan Sarandon and Alfre Woodard.

Mrs. Obama did not take questions from the media, and reporters were allowed to sit in on only parts of the luncheon and afternoon mentoring session.

The mentoring initiative was launched in Washington, D.C., earlier this year. Aides to the first lady said she would visit other cities, but didn't have details.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=9099167

Speaking to a student who had asked whether it's fair to use test scores to measure schools when some students don't speak English well, Mrs. Obama said the tests are "part of the system" and can't be avoided.

That is the one that just pisses me off!!!! Next thing you know everyone will be forced to be held back so they can catch up!!

The dumbing down of America.

Ok, I posted this link, but cant find it here??

About Hispanics being below average by a grade, no matter what teachers do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/us/21 ... ers&st=cse


This is what is dragging down the schools, and all the low end jobs are going, so there will only be gangs to join.

Hispanic Anchor babies are not cutting it, it is a demographic disaster, and the New York TImes just published a Berkley study on it! Timesa ARE changing!

The Ritters and Obamas should get along fine. After all we didn't call the Gov "tax" Ritter for nothing.

Originally Posted by Arizonablues

Ok, I posted this link, but cant find it here??

About Hispanics being below average by a grade, no matter what teachers do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/us/21 ... ers&st=cse


This is what is dragging down the schools, and all the low end jobs are going, so there will only be gangs to join.

Hispanic Anchor babies are not cutting it, it is a demographic disaster, and the New York TImes just published a Berkley study on it! Timesa ARE changing!

So I suppose in response, we will get some hispanic advocacy organization demanding that even more money and special programs be infused into the system to assist this demographic....

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Originally Posted by Arizonablues

Ok, I posted this link, but cant find it here??

About Hispanics being below average by a grade, no matter what teachers do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/us/21 ... ers&st=cse


This is what is dragging down the schools, and all the low end jobs are going, so there will only be gangs to join.

Hispanic Anchor babies are not cutting it, it is a demographic disaster, and the New York TImes just published a Berkley study on it! Timesa ARE changing!

So I suppose in response, we will get some hispanic advocacy organization demanding that even more money and special programs be infused into the system to assist this demographic....

No matter how much money you throw at them, it's all wasted because the parents are not supporting and encouraging them. I know this from first hand experience, it's an uphill battle.