Regional
(2009-11-16)
Listen Now:
DENVER, CO
(KUNC) -
First Lady Michelle Obama brought her White House leadership mentoring initiative to Colorado Monday, where she held a lunchtime discussion at the governor's mansion and stopped at a Denver high school to promote her program that puts students in touch with women who can act as mentors.
null
At South High, one of the city's more racially diverse schools with a high number of students who don't speak English, Student Body President Linda Jiminez used the opportunity to quiz the First Lady on what she said was the unfairness of standardized testing.
"And many students do not speak English, we have over 50 different languages, and they are forced to take this test," Jiminez said. "And our school gets funding on how well our students, and of course because they do not speak English they do not understand the test and they do not do well."
Mrs. Obama responded that standardized testing wouldn't be going away any time soon.
So instead, she said, "What this administration is working on, is making sure that more schools have the resources they need to prepare all students to be able to compete in these tests."
The First Lady urged students not to focus too intently on test scores, noting that her scores weren't that high when she was in public school. But when it came to college, she said Princeton looked equally close at her writing and leadership skills, as well as her extra curricular activities.
"So my message to each of you is you've gotta prepare for the test," Mrs. Obama said. "Take them seriously, because they are part of the measures, but don't let these tests defeat you, don't let them define you," she added.
The White House limited press access during the visit to only about fifteen minutes, arguing that students needed to be able to speak candidly without the cameras and microphones.
Mentoring events were held at public schools around Denver and featured other prominent women, including actress Susan Sarandon and Colorado Congresswoman Betsy Markey.
© Copyright 2012, KUNC
