From the archives, Ronald Reagan's 1988 speech to students

As the country gears up for President Obama’s surprisingly controversial back-to-school speech on Tuesday, here’s a blast from the past: Ronald Reagan’s November 1988 speech to students, in which the outgoing president encouraged students to “ground yourself in the ideas and values of the American Revolution.” The speech was broadcast on C-Span and shown in classrooms across the country.

Dakarai Aarons at Education Week dug up Reagan’s speech and one given to schoolchildren in 1991 by then-President George H.W. Bush, who sounded the same theme of personal responsibility that Obama has said his speech will cover.