Just a quick note on something important that President Obama touched upon in his speech today about school reform. He said that when it comes to the task of turning around our schools, we should keep in mind that teachers, counselors, administrators, unions, researchers and politicians can only do so much. As parents, we need to hold ourselves accountable. Only parents can make sure that their children aren’t late for school, that children do their homework, put away their video games and turn off the TV. He told the story of how his mother, who couldn’t afford to send him to an expensive International School when they lived overseas, regularly woke him up at four in the morning to work on a correspondence course that she used to supplement his education. When he grumbled about it, she’d say: “This is no picnic for me either, Buster.”

It is a story in line with an underlying theme characterizing Obama’s campaign, his election, and the start of his presidency: Change begins at home. This message rings especially true coming from a former grassroots organizer who’s campaign was funded in no small part by individual citizens wanting to make a difference, and who is inspiring what has come to be known as “Generation S” – a generation of service. I hope it is a message that we continue to take to heart, especially when it comes to education, because if as parents we don’t take responsibility for putting our children’s education first, and I’m talking about their academic as well as their moral education, we can throw all the money in the world at our schools and it won’t make a bit of difference. Change begins at home.

takepart in reading more about Barack Obama’s upbringing and education in his autobiography “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.” (I’m reading it now – it’s excellent.)

(Photo: richardmasoner’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons)