Obama's Speech to School Children

How often have teachers and parents given speeches on doing well in school and making a good effort? Children hear such speeches multiple times throughout their school career. Obama’s speech on Tuesday was carefully crafted to appeal to and relate to school children. In his speech, Obama referenced both the Xbox and the iPhone. He also mentioned J.K. Rowling and Michael Jordan. He talked of the many failures each of them had to endure before reaching their goals and becoming well known. Obama included anecdotes about ordinary children who had to overcome such challenges as brain cancer or being moved from one foster home to the next. In addition, he talked of his own background, the fact that he didn’t always have the benefits or resources that others had, and the fact that he got himself into a little too much trouble as a kid. All of these references were made in an attempt to relate to and inspire children who may have challenges to overcome or may not have the motivation to make an effort in school. And although he isn’t the first to use this tactic, there are probably many children that can connect or relate to those anecdotes.
Aside from the anecdotes Obama included in his speech, he made it effective due to his casual tone of voice and the word choices he made.