Why Someone I spoke with yesterday decided to get their GED.

I was enrolling someone in Adult Education GED prep classes in Federalsburg Maryland today, and I asked the question "Why is getting your high school diploma important to you?

" This person responded that it was because of something President Barack Obama said during his address to Congress in February. This person quoted word for word the portion of the speech shown in bold below.

I included more of the text from that portion of the speech just to be sure it was not out of context and I felt it evoked an even more powerful response.

"It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country – and this country needs and values the talents of every American."

Now, I am not a Democrat and disagree with a lot of the ideas that the president has. No I did not vote for him. I am very excited about the fact that one line in a speech could motivate someone to take the kind of life changing step this person took to get enrolled in Adult Education and get his GED so as to "-not quit on our country!"