HOUSTON -- President Barack Obama delivered a speech directly to students on Tuesday, but some were not happy about how it was handled by schools, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Obama talked to students about staying in school and working hard, but some schools refused to show it.

One woman took her daughter and granddaughter who attend Thurgood Marshall High School in the Fort Bend Independent School District out of class because the school refused to show the speech.

"My grandchildren and my daughter has seen all the other presidents speak to the children," Vivan Burley said. "Why can't they see it here today? It doesn't make any sense at all. Since they're not going to be able to see it, I'm taking them home to watch it."

Students at Bonham Elementary were set to watch the speech, but technical problems forced them to miss it. They'll see a recording of the speech on Tuesday.

Many school districts gave parents the ability to opt-out their child from seeing the speech.

At HISD's Frost Elementary School, some fourth-grade students said they learned an important lesson from the president.

"Try my very best and work hard," student DeAndrea Cooper said.

"Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer, and you have the responsibility to yourself to discover what that is," the president said in the speech.

Critics have called the speech brainwashing, a political ploy and a hidden agenda.

Some parents who have read the text of the speech said the message was clear.

"Go to school. Get an education. Work hard. It makes sense," parent Zsaquez Smith said. "Whenever our president addresses the nation, our nation is to pause and hear what he has to say. He's not saying anything that's out of the ordinary."

The President addressed students between kindergarten and 12th grade. The speech primarily focused on the importance of education, working hard and goal-setting.

"I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education and to do everything you can to meet them," Obama said in the speech. "Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class or spending time each day reading a book."

Some people said Obama crossed the line.

"When the federal government comes in and tries to intervene in that relationship, that relationship between a child and a parent, and really use it to promote a larger political agenda, that's when parents have a problem with it," said Jared Woodfill, chairman of the Harris County Republican Party. "Essentially, it was a campaign speech. All Obama was doing was exactly what he did on the campaign trail -- telling his personal story. In fact, he mentioned himself a lot more times than he mentioned the goals for the students."

The Obama Administration provided materials that teachers could use to build a curriculum around it, as an option.