I think that this speech was primarily engineered to establish Obama as a man that has one foot in the future. He wants to show America that he is ready to prepare us and motivate us beyond the set time he has as our president, by reaching out to posterity and showing them that the future is in their (our) hands. But the speech had other reasons, like genuniely trying to motivate students and make for a better world etc.
I'll be honest that I'm not exactly sure how to breakdown this speech but what I've learned in class so far is that a persuasive speech generally has three components: ethos, pathos, and logos. Obama's already established reputation gives him his ethos, so that component is a given. Logos comes along in the first part of the speech. He begins to talk about how the government does it's best to provide the resources necessary for learning in schools and it's only logical that we do our part to and try our best in every way. It also appealed to pathos because he started to talk about students as an individual, which makes you think and relate to what he is saying on a more personal level. He said that each one of us had something to offer and that it was our privilege and responsibility to share it with our country.