【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 r what that’s like? Effort?(Laughter.)Some of you have had that conversation.(Laughter.)And it was pretty jolting hearing my mother say eventually her words had the intended effect, because I got serious about my I started to make an effort in everything that I I began to see my grades and my prospects I know that if hard work could make the difference for me, then it can make a difference for all of I know that there may be some people who are skeptical about you may wonder if some people just aren’t better at certain know, well, I’m not good at math or I’m just not really interested in my science it is true that we each have our own gifts, we each have our own talents that we have to discover and everybody is going to catch on in certain subjects as easily as just because you’re not the best at something today doesn’t mean you can’t be if you don’t think of yourself as a math person or a science person, you can still excel in those subjects if you’re willing to make the you may find out you have talents you never dreamed one of the things I’ve discovered is excellingwhether it’s in school or in lifeisn’t mainly about being smarter than everybody ’s not really the secret to ’s about working harder than everybody don’t avoid new challengesseek them out, step out of your fort zone, don’t be afraid to ask for teachers and family are there to guide want to know if you’re not catching on to something because they know that if you keep on working at it, you’re going to catch ’t feel discouraged。don’t give up if you don’t succeed at something the first again, and learn from your ’t feel threatened if your friends are doing well。be proud of them, and see what lessons you can draw from what they’re doing , I’m sort of preaching to the choir here because I know that’s the kind of culture of excellence that you promote at I’m not just speaking to all of you, I’m speaking to kids all across the I want them to all here that same message: That’s the kind of excellence we’ve got to promote in all of America’s ’s one of the reasons why I’m announcing our second Commencement of you may have heard of your school is the winner, if you show us how teachers and students and parents are all working together to prepare your kids and your school for college and a career, if you show us how you’re giving back to your munity and your country, then I will congratulate you in person by speaking at your year I was in Michigan at Kalamazoo and had just a wonderful I got to admit, their graduating class was about 700 kids and my hands were really sore at the end of it because I was shaking all of them.(Laughter.)But the truth is, an education is about more than getting into a good ’s about more than getting a good job when you ’s about giving each and every one of us the chance to fulfill our promise, and to be the best version of ourselves we can part of that means treating others the way we want to be treatedwith kindness and that’s something else that I want to municate to students not just here at Masterman but all across the kids can be mean to other ’s face don’t always treat each other with respect and ’s true for adults as well, by the sometimes that’s especially true in middle school or high school, because being a teenager isn’t ’s a time when you’re wrestling with a lot of I was in my teens, I was wrestling with all sorts of questions about who I had a white mother and a black father, and my father wasn’t around。he had left when I was so there were all kinds of issues that I was dealing of you may be working through your own questions right now and ing to terms with what makes you I know that figuring out all of that can be even more difficult when you’ve got bullies in a class who try to use those differences to pick on you or poke fun at you, to make you feel bad about in some places, the problem is even more are neighborhoods in my hometown of Chicago, and there are neighborhoods right here in Philadelphia where kids are doing each other serious , what I want to say to every kid, every young personwhat I want all of youif you take away one thing from my speech, I want you to take away the notion that life is precious, and part of what makes it so wonderful is its diversity, that all of us are we shouldn’t be embarrassed by the things that make us should be proud of them, because it’s the thing that makes us different that makes us who we are, that makes us the strength and character of this country has always e from our ability to recognizeno matter who we are, no matter where we e from, no matter what we look like, no matter what abilities we haveto recognize ourselves in each was reminded of that idea the other day when I read a letter from Tamerria ’s a 12yearold girl in she told me about how hard she works and about all the munity service she does with her she wrote, “I try to achieve my dreams and help others do the same.” “That,” she said, “is how the world should work.” That’s a pretty good work hard to achieve my goals and then I try to help others to achieve their I agree with ’s how the world should it’s only going to work that way if all of you get in good habits while you’re in , yes, each of us need to work all have to take responsibilities for our own need to take responsibility for our own what makes us who we are is that here, in this country, in the United States of America, we don’t just reach for our own dreams, we try to help others do the is a country that gives all its daughters and all of its sons a fair chance, a chance to make the most of their lives and fulfill their Godgiven I’m absolutely confident that if all of our studentshere at Masterman and across this countrykeep doing their part, if you guys work hard and you’re focused on your education, you keep fighting for your dreams and then you help each other reach each other’s dreams, then you’re not only going to succeed this year, you’re going to succeed for the rest of your that means America