THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, hello -- there we go.  Parkville Middle School, can you hear me now?

STUDENTS:  Yesss!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it is wonderful to see all of you.  And I want to thank your terrific principal（校长，委托人） , all the great staff who helped to arrange this visit.

First of all, Malia and Sasha say hi.

STUDENTS:  Hi!

THE PRESIDENT:  Michelle says hi.

STUDENTS:  Hi!

THE PRESIDENT:  Happy Valentine’s Day.  (Applause.)  Have you guys been exchanging valentines?

STUDENTS:  Yes --

THE PRESIDENT:  You are?  A little bit, huh?

In addition to coming here to wish you happy Valentine’s Day, the other reason I'm here is because what you guys are doing here at Parker -- at Parkville -- the principal is Parker -- what you guys are doing here at Parkville is so important to our future.

We live in a world that is getting smaller because of technology.  You saw recently what was happening in Egypt -- people with Facebook and Twitter led an entire revolution in their country.  And we were watching it live on television.  Twenty years ago, 30 years ago, that would have been impossible.

So the world is getting smaller and what it means is, is that there are terrific opportunities for us to partner with people around the world, but it also means that the world is more competitive -- because when you graduate from high school and when you graduate from college, you're going to be competing with people all around the world to make the best products and the best services.  And so, for us to be successful as a country, you’re going to have to succeed.  And for you to succeed, you're going to have to be able to possess the skills and knowledge of a 21st century economy.

And that means math, and that means science.  And so we wanted to come here to highlight the great work that you guys are doing in math and science and engineering, because we want the kind of success that we're seeing at this school spread all across the country.  And that requires we make investments in great teachers and good equipment and labs and the Internet.  And it means that we've got to make sure that we're emphasizing every day how important education is and we're putting our money behind it.

So right now I'm in the process of putting together a big federal budget.  And some of you may know that we've got a big deficit because we just came out of a big recession, and so people are worried about how we're going to be able to pay for things in the future.  And the message that I delivered today was, just like in your own households, if things get a little tight you may stop going out to dinner or stop going to the movies, but you're still going to make sure that you're paying for the things that are really important like heat or fixing the roof or your parents are setting money aside for your college education -- we've got to do that same thing as a country.

And so I wanted to make sure that we came to your school today to highlight it and also applaud you for your success.  So I'm just hoping that everybody here knows we're proud of you; that you guys are working hard, that you stay focused because your success ultimately is going to mean America’s success.

All right?  Now, I think I'll take time -- I'm not supposed to do this, but I think I'll take time for like two questions.  So anybody have any questions?  All right, this young man right here.  He had his hand up right away.