Student Well-Being

Streetwise Students Give Bush Speech Failing Grade

By Ellen Flax — September 20, 1989 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Washington--If speeches could be graded like test papers, then students at one public junior high school here would have given President George Bush’s unprecedented national address about drugs to school children a failing mark.

Mr. Bush’s 15-minute speech, carried on national television last week, was seen by millions of students in public and private schools across the country. It came only a week after he unveiled the first national strategy to fight drugs.

“Saying ‘no’ won’t make you a nerd,” he said. “It won’t make you a loser. In fact, it will make you more friends than drugs every will.’'

In the library of Lincoln Junior High School, however, students gave the President’s speech, filled with exhortations to rely on friends and family to resist the desire to use drugs, a cool reception.

“He doesn’t know what’s happening,” said Romeo, a 7th-grade student “He’s safe in the White House, but it’s not safe for us, because we might get shot.”

Students at Lincoln, located in central Washington, come from neither the city’s best nor worst neighborhoods. However, in a discussion session after the speech, many indicated that they were intimately familiar with the violent drug culture that dominates many of the city’s poor and working-class areas.

Students at this 800-pupil school, almost all of whom are either black or Hispanic, were reluctant to give their names or to be photographed. A teacher said that some feared retribution from drug dealers if they could be identified.

Many said they felt the President’s speech would not improve the drug problem. Some also said they felt that Mr. Bush didn’t truly care about the issue.

“He’s only concerned about him and his wife,” said a girl in the eighth grade.

“They look to him to make the speeches because he’s the president. He can say what he wants to do but he won’t do it,” said another student.

“The hustlers don’t pay the president no attention,” said an 8th-grade girl.

Although the President urged his young audience to “talk to your families” and to help friends who may be in trouble, the students at Lincoln implied that Mr. Bush’s suggestions may be impractical for many.

“I say you can’t depend upon your family,” said Brian, a 7th-grade student. “I used to live next door to a family where the mother was using it, the daughter was addicted, the son, the uncles, the aunts. So you can’t depend upon your family. Once one started, they all got caught into it.”

“Sometimes friends have friends that hustle but they won’t do anything about it because they’re lonely,” said Jose.

“Friends help friends make money,” said a 9th-grade boy.

Many students said the drug problem is closely linked to the values of the street, which places a premium on material goods.

“I want to ask you a question,” said Romeo. “Which one would you go with: a hustler that has a lot of money or somebody that works at McDonalds?”

“Most girls would go with the hustler, because they want the fur jackets, the Adidas, the leather bags, everything,” he continued. “They won’t go with the guy from McDonalds because he won’t have a lot of money.”

“Hustlers buy their girls clothes,” added an 8th-grade girl.

While noting that the President did not mention drug education in his speech, the students said they doubted that school interventions could make a difference.

“I don’t think drug education helps very much,” said Brian. “I know more about drugs from home than what I can learn here.”

“I can go outside on the corner and learn,” he continued, “much more than I can learn here.”

“I say, bring back the death penalty,” said a ninth-grade student.

“Drugs ain’t going to stop if you just put them in jail,” he said, while some students said “amen” and clapped in approval.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the September 20, 1989 edition of Education Week as Streetwise Students Give Bush Speech Failing Grade

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being Opinion School Sports Matter. How to Make Them Matter More
The skills we hope sports will teach are the very ones that help produce successful graduates and responsible citizens.
8 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being Death of Nonbinary Teen Nex Benedict After School Fight Is Ruled a Suicide, Medical Examiner Says
A summary autopsy report was released more than a month after the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict.
2 min read
In this image provided by Malia Pila, Nex Benedict poses outside the family's home in Owasso, Okla., in December 2023. A recently released police search warrant reveals more details in the case of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary Oklahoma student who died a day after a high school bathroom fight that may have been prompted by bullying over gender identity.
In this image provided by Malia Pila, Nex Benedict poses outside the family's home in Owasso, Okla., in December 2023. A recently released police search warrant reveals more details in the case of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary Oklahoma student who died a day after a high school bathroom fight that may have been prompted by bullying over gender identity.
Sue Benedict via AP
Student Well-Being Opinion Talking About a Growth Mindset Isn’t Enough. Here’s What Makes a Difference for Students
Teachers can make structured changes that encourage students to challenge themselves.
Cameron Hecht
2 min read
Images shows a stylized artistic landscape with soothing colors.
Getty
Student Well-Being How Coaches Can Be a Source of Mental Health Support for Student-Athletes
Coaches interact with kids all the time and are well placed to support students' mental health—but they need more training.
5 min read
Blue concept image of coach and team discussing soccer tactics with ball in foreground.
Highwaystarz-Photography/iStock/Getty