President & First Lady Grace ESSENCE's March Cover

"Malia will tell you, my attitude was, if she came home with a B, that's not good enough because there's no reason why she can't get an A..." --President Barack Obama, ESSENCE ESSENCE kicks off the first of its three-part education series, "Teaching Our Children," with a White House exclusive--an interview with President Barack Obama. In his first interview of 2010, he talks tough with ESSENCE editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray, Deputy Editor Tatsha Robertson and Washington Correspondent Cynthia Gordy about holding teachers accountable, closing the education gap between Black and White students, how he and First Lady Michelle Obama encourage daughters Malia and Sasha to love learning, and how you can do the same with your own children.