Barack Obama's Speech in Back to School

Essay – Barack Obama,”Back to School”
What are some of President Barack Obama’s methods for successful speeches? How does he manage to gather the attention of his audience? Is he really just throwing out slogans at people or does he really deliver a mark after they’ve left the audience? This essay will embark on some of these questions through an analysis of his speech presented at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia at an event called, “Back to school”.
President Barack Obama’s speech is about the importance of education, and an efficient infrastructure in the USA. He gathers his audience’s attention by emphasizing on how important it is for each individual in America to have an education – not only for their own sake, but also for their country’s sake. Throughout the speech he addresses his audience in a specific way while advocating for some values. These values are different; however, they have an equal significance since they all contribute to the success of an eminent society. I’ll highlight the way he addresses his audience and the values he advocates for in his speech, respectively. “The president: Hello everyone – How’s everybody doing today?” [l.1]
This statement used by Mr. Obama clearly states that he wants to create an impact in these young Americans’ heart. He isn’t speaking academically towards them but rather in a language that everybody speaks and understands, so they can easily relate to each other. Obama’s intention must have been not to elevate his status before the students since he wants them to approach him as a fellow American – as a nice friend that is there to help them out. This technique of Obama creates socialization between him and his audience which makes him seem as a more trustworthy and helpful guy. Furthermore, he shows that he’s actually concerned about how their life is hence he asks about their mood. This rhetorical way of delivering his message shows us that he uses ethos in his speeches since he wants to create a personal relationship with the Americans – at least, that is how it is portrayed.
“And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning [l.7-9]…
I know that feeling [l.10] (…) But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster”[l.15-16]
Another thing that would suggest his use of ethos are these statements, where he shows empathy and solidarity with the students – he has been through everything they are going through right now, so he shows that he is an experienced man in this area while slowly gaining their trust. He also uses some humor with the case of his mother in order to make him seem more as an ordinary citizen, which touches every person in the audience regardless of their social status in society.

“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 will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities”[l.29-31]
“Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer” [l.36-37]
Obama emphasizes that without the help of every single individual in the country; there won’t be any positive progress at all. Everybody has to fulfill their responsibilities in order to complete the progress. He manages not only to destroy marginalization, but also makes every American feel that they are an important and essential part of their society. Furthermore he also creates solidarity between the American citizens with this following statement, “We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country”
Again, everybody is important – if they aren’t able to fulfill their responsibility, they will not only ruin their own life but also damage their country. Thereby he introduces the old American patriotism about how much they need to work together in order to achieve their objectives in society. There is also a point in his speech, where he signifies the tremendous effort and sacrifices their American forefathers made to establish this “blessed” nation. The emphasis is on developing their country through hard work and struggle and never giving up just like their inspiring forefathers.
“Young people like Jazmin Perez (…), on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.” [l.92-96]
“I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz (…), and he’s headed to college this fall.”[l.97-100]
“And then there’s Shantell Steve (…), and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college”[l. 101-104]
In this statement of President Obama he tells the students that regardless of their color, ethnicity or background they will be able to achieve success. He appoints some specific students that are on their way to success regardless of their situation. He mentions three different names from three different backgrounds. The first one is named Jazmin Perez, which is a Spanish name. The Hispanic community is known for their marginalization in American society due to their poor English – generally, they aren’t very involved in different activities surrounding their communities and are therefore segregated in their own Hispanic neighborhoods. He’s also using a Caucasian guy, which shows that every white person needs to be involved as well. Lastly, he mentions the name of an African-American female who has struggled in the ghetto but is now on the right track. Obama is, by using these different backgrounds, indirectly stating that it is also the profound responsibility of the Hispanic, Caucasian, and African-American community to be involved in these matters for, without their help, America will not be able to blossom out into success – it’ll be a failure without their help. Therefore Obama is also advocating for unity, for without it, they will not reach their governmental aims.

In general President Obama is stating that if the American society doesn’t recognize that they have a responsibility towards their fellow Americans, they will not be able to solve future problems in their country. He really makes an emphasis on responsibility throughout his whole speech showing its profound importance. He shows that he’s committed to improve his country and is working hard as well to reach their goal, but without the commitment of his people, he will not succeed in doing so.
Written by,
Alisiv Birindar Ceran.

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[ 1 ]. One of Aristotle’s (an ancient Greek philosopher) rhetorical methods to approach people in debates and speeches