Michelle Obama: Girls, don't hold back in school
- 9 years ago
First lady Michelle Obama has some advice for teenage girls: Don't shy from being the smartest kid in the class.
And never mind what the boys think.
"Compete with the boys.
Beat the boys," she told about 1,000 schoolgirls and young women Tuesday at an event aimed at publicizing her "Let Girls Learn" campaign to expand girls' access to education in developing countries and encourage American girls to take advantage of their opportunities.
But the first lady also gave some impromptu, personal pep talks on handling the pressures of adolescence.
On dealing with the frustrations, embarrassments and slights of high school: "I know being a teenager is hard," but it's temporary and not a template for the rest of life: "Half these people, you're not going to know when you're 60."
Mrs. Obama has made girls' schooling one of her signature issues during her husband's second term, particularly after the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in April 2014.
And never mind what the boys think.
"Compete with the boys.
Beat the boys," she told about 1,000 schoolgirls and young women Tuesday at an event aimed at publicizing her "Let Girls Learn" campaign to expand girls' access to education in developing countries and encourage American girls to take advantage of their opportunities.
But the first lady also gave some impromptu, personal pep talks on handling the pressures of adolescence.
On dealing with the frustrations, embarrassments and slights of high school: "I know being a teenager is hard," but it's temporary and not a template for the rest of life: "Half these people, you're not going to know when you're 60."
Mrs. Obama has made girls' schooling one of her signature issues during her husband's second term, particularly after the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in April 2014.