Roland Martin: Yes, Mr. President, Americans can be 'lazy'

[alp227]

Editor's note: Roland S. Martin is a syndicated columnist and author of "The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House." He is a commentator for TV One cable network and host/managing editor of its Sunday morning news show, "Washington Watch with Roland Martin."

For all of our talk of Americans being straight shooters who don't like to mince words and have the freedom of speech to say exactly what's on our minds, we sure punk out when it comes to elected officials speaking the truth.

Case in point: President Barack Obama describing American corporations as being "lazy" in competing globally.

Now, if you hear that word by itself, you would think, "Man, that's horrible our president said such a thing." But here is EXACTLY what he said during a conversation with Boeing's CEO as they discussed American businesses selling more products overseas, and attracting foreign investment to the U.S.:

"You know, we've been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades. We've kind of taken for granted, well, people will want to come here, and we aren't out there hungry selling America, and trying to attract new businesses into America."

(...)

We need a dose of reality at times to remind us that to to be the best, we must have the right work ethic.

According to the Broad Education Foundation:

-- 68% of American eighth graders can't read at grade level and won't catch up
-- American students rank 21st in science compared to students in 30 industrialized countries
-- America's top math students rank 25th out of 30 countries

full: http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/18/opinion/roland-martin-americans-lazy/index.html

also:

[knitter4democracy]

1. Yup, it's all the schools' fault and the teachers' faults.

*sighs and rolls eyes*

Seriously?! He made a good point about the corporations not competing well, though I would argue that's more because of inequality in the marketplace (VAT in Europe, for example), than because of laziness, but then he goes on to blame the schools. Why the heck are we the ones first blamed for every single problem in this country when all we are is the canary in the mineshaft?!

[montanto]

3. I love the "canary in the mineshaft."

So true, but hardly anyone outside of education knows what that really means. So much easier to blame than to think. So much easier to react than prepare.

[vaberella]

7. Was Obama talking about schools here?

Or is someone channeling that to education?

[knitter4democracy]

8. If you read the article, he starts going off about education.

Because, of course, it's all the teachers' faults. :eyes:

[OhioBlue]

9. The Roland Martin article??

I wouldn't say he goes off on education - but rather points out where we need to improve. I don't see at all that he blames teachers - or really anyone for that matter... just points out that our educational system needs improvement while implying that pretty much every area of our society needs improvement and a commitment to quality and excellence. I agree with him.

[knitter4democracy]

10. I may be sensitive, what with all the teacher bashing and all, but it's there.

When he talks about passing kids or not having standards, he's talking about teachers. It's about halfway down.

[Whisp]

12. where did Obama say that?

don't make shit up.

is this the kind of reaction needed to actually help to improve education? No, it isn't.

[montanto]

2. Great, teachers are the problem again.

And yet Broad pulled funding from the better, teacher led inner city reform movements to support more "commercially viable" alternatives. People who talk about education really owe it to everyone to sit in a classroom with under-performing students and their teachers for a few minutes before they start in of the failure of education.

[knitter4democracy]

4. To hell with a few minutes--put in a whole day. A real day.

I know a great alternative high school (a charter, no less, managed by the local school district and unionized) where they can start.

[RBInMaine]

5. Other countries are smaller, less diverse, and don't include special ed kids in their stats. Those

testing stats don't mean mean much.

[ItNerd4life]

11. Wait, what? How are special ed kids used in stats in comparing

our 8th graders to other countries 8th graders? We include special ed kids in our stats and the other counties don't?

If this was true I would think the teachers and union would be all over this and screaming it at the top of their lungs.

[CreekDog]

6. Yes they can be if they are DC pundits who found their former journalism careers to difficult

:eyes:

[AtomicKitten]

13. He ended up demonstrating lazy journalism when he didn't bother to investigate context.