Education

Federal File: Pep Talk

By Peter Schmidt — February 09, 1994 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Reiterating a key theme in his State of the Union Address, President Clinton last week exhorted children at Washington, D.C.'s Kramer Junior High School to take responsibility for themselves.

“No matter what I do, I can’t live your life for you,’' President Clinton said. “You’ve got to decide what happens to you.’'

The nation can set a goal of making its schools safe and drug-free, but students will have a large role in determining whether it is attained, the President said.

Likewise, Mr. Clinton asserted, children can help the nation’s efforts to fight crime by simply deciding not to join street gangs and, instead, investing their energy in “positive gangs’’ such as sports teams.

Asked by one girl what children can do to help restore the family, the President urged her to “make up your mind that you are not going to have a baby until you are old enough to take care of it and you are married.’'

Boys, he said, should talk about the responsibilities involved with fatherhood.

The branch of the Secret Service that guards the President “adopted’’ Kramer last December as their Christmas present to Mr. Clinton, and plans to establish a mentoring program there.

The President had canceled an earlier visit to the school, which is located in poverty-plagued Anacostia, because of laryngitis.

Mr. Clinton boasted at Kramer that he has spent more time in schools “than any person ever elected President.’'

Experts on the Presidency say that Woodrow Wilson, a college professor and president for much of his working life, almost certainly spent the most time in classrooms.

But if you rule out higher education and count the schools he visited as the Governor of Arkansas, Mr. Clinton might have a point.

It is fairly safe to rule out those who had to get around without cars, noted Allan J. Lichtman, a professor of history at the American University in Washington, as well as those who did not serve full terms.

Franklin D. Roosevelt spent 12 years as President and four years as Governor of New York, but his movement was limited by polio.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, a military officer, and Harry S. Truman, a businessman, probably had little call to visit schools.

That leaves as more likely candidates Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George Bush, and Ronald Reagan.

A version of this article appeared in the February 09, 1994 edition of Education Week as Federal File: Pep Talk

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

Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 17, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read