President Barack Obama delivered an address to schoolchildren today calling upon them to work hard, set goals for their education, and take responsibility for their learning.

“But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home — that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude,” Obama said. “That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny.”

In the days leading up to President Obama’s speech, some people were concerned his comments might be too political for some students.

“I just don’t trust him not to try and sneak in some of his left-wing philosophy,” said Curtis Beckstrom, a Tooele resident with a child in Middle Canyon Elementary.

After reading the speech online over the weekend, however, Beckstrom changed his mind.

“His comments aren’t too political. He is encouraging kids to stay in school and do well,” Beckstrom said. “When I read the talk I thought it sounded a lot like President Reagan.”

The Tooele County School District gave teachers the option of showing or not showing the president’s talk in the classroom. Parents were also given the option to opt out and send their children to the library or gym, where other activities were available during the 15-minute program.

Jeff Hamm, Tooele County School District elementary education director, listened to President Obama’s speech at Grantsville Junior High.

“I thought it was a brilliant message for kids,” Hamm said. “The president encouraged students to stay in school, persevere, overcome obstacles, and achieve their potential.”

“I am not opposed to the president speaking to our school children,” said Christy Achziger, who lives in Stansbury Park and is secretary of the Utah State Republican party. “I am concerned with some of the plans I saw for follow-up lessons. Some involved making pledges to the president and that makes me uncomfortable.”

School district teachers that showed the speech were instructed to watch it and then return to normal classroom activities, without discussion or a follow-up lesson, according to Terry Linares, Tooele County School District Superintendent.

“We wanted students to have the opportunity to hear the president’s message and let his words stand for themselves,” said Hamm. “Parents can elaborate on the message at home if they choose. We tried to be respectful of the rights of parents that did not want their students to listen to the message.”

“It was great opportunity for students to hear from our president,” Linares said. “However, we want to respect parents and not force the talk on anybody. Also, teachers in the classroom need to have that choice of fitting the talk into their classroom time.”

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com