Video: Obama's Speech to Students: 'There is No Excuse for Not Trying'

President Obama delivered his much-anticipated back-to-school speech to students today after a week of controversy during which Republicans accused him of heaving a socialist agenda upon the nation's school children.

With some school districts still choosing not to air his remarks, Obama spoke for about 20 minutes to students at Arlington, Virginia's Wakefield High School about the importance of hard work and diligence in school, no matter the odds against success. "I know it's not always easy to do well in school," Obama said. "I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives that can make it hard to focus on school work. I get it. I know what it's like. My father left my mother when I was two-years old." He spoke of being raised by a single mother and "getting into more trouble than I should have," but also of going on to Columbia University and Harvard Law School.

"At the end of the day, the circumstances of your life-- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home-- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school." Ultimately, he said, "There is no excuse for not trying."

Video of a portion of the speech is below. We'll have the full video when it's ready.