SailorMom Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I liked it. I think it's a little unfair to criticize him on the basis that he didn't assign blame to the parents for coddling their children. That wasn't his point or his purpose. His purpose was to tell those graduates what they needed to hear, what he felt would be most helpful to them as they begin their adult lives. "It's all your parents' fault!" would certainly not have accomplished that. :iagree: I applaud him, but wish teachers, parents, friends, etc., wouldn't wait until the kids are 18 to tell them this stuff. As for assigning blame - I think part of the point was for the kids to take some personal responsibility for their lives. What good will it do them to blame anyone? Blame isn't going to get them a job or an education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I think I need to know more about the audience. Were those kids the entitled rich kids burdened by artificially-inflated self-esteem, or were they from the 49% of American families currently on food stamps? I apologize if someone already shared knowledge about this particular school's demographic profile. I skimmed the thread but didn't see anything about it. Oops. I see regentrude did address this on page one of the thread. At that school? Almost everybody had the material coddling. Only 4% of the students receive free or reduced lunch - an indication for an extremely affluent student body. Which is one of the aspects the teacher was most certainly referring to. In addition, modern educational trends do tend to focus on encouraging overblown self-esteem in the absence of real achievement. It does speak to me, because I see the effect of this and the feeling of entitlement constantly at work. I see why I can't appreciate this speech. As Wendy said on page one, I know absolutely nothing of this world. It's Hollywood to me. Where I come from, and where I live now, the majority live below the poverty line. It would have been the wrong speech entirely for midwestern poor folks who are not raised to believe the world will come to them on a golden, magical conveyor belt. But I am certainly willing to concede that I didn't do my homework about the school in question, and I am only just beginning to understand the absence of real achievement in public education today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 another good speech to high schoolers: But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you." uh, how is this "good"? it sounds like incitement to an attack. very negative. the same concept could have easily been conveyed using more positive language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinWa Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 loved the speech!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 uh, how is this "good"? it sounds like incitement to an attack. very negative. the same concept could have easily been conveyed using more positive language. It's a quote from the movie Rushmore. :) http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0008321/quotes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneTL Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 uh, how is this "good"? it sounds like incitement to an attack. very negative. the same concept could have easily been conveyed using more positive language. I think that quote is a reference to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 I think I need to know more about the audience. Were those kids the entitled rich kids burdened by artificially-inflated self-esteem, or were they from the 49% of American families currently on food stamps? . I do not really see a difference. A kid on food stamps is having his lunch given to him, for many that will stop (or should stop) upon graduation. Being on food stamps does not make one special anymore than living in a wealthy neighborhood.The only difference is that the kid on food stamps is less likely to go to college so reality will hit all the faster. Look to the lines and ask does this apply to many (not all but many) on assistance. “Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you", in many cases yes. No need to state the obvious in that many poor are not held or kissed enough but many are. "fed you," frequently it is the US taxpayer, at least it is true in the 49% you mentioned. "wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom" again in many cases yes. , "trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you," hopefully parents but failing that the Teacher's Union claims to do this (unless they are not telling the truth) "listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again" parents, teachers and the psychobabble counselors that now seem to inhabit many schools, speakers brought in, the add council.......... "You've been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You've been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. ..." see above. ... But do not get the idea you're anything special. Because you're not." The cold truth and something that the less economically privileged need to learn perhaps more than those whose parents can keep trowing money at them. Opportunity exists but these kids need to work for it and ones who have been raised on the public's largesse need this lesson all the more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 More a girl's movie, but: We're all about to enter 'The Real World'. That's what everybody says. But most of us have been in the real world for a long time. But I have something to tell everybody. I've glimpsed our future, and all I can say is... 'Go Back'. Well, it's almost over. We've gone to school together for three years, and we've been through a lot. But with that training out of high school gone, what's going to happen to us? We all know what the answers are. We want to be happy, go to college, own a car, maybe raise a family. But what if that doesn't happen? I have, I have to be honest though, I have all the hope and ambition in the world. But when I think about the future, the truth is, I am really...scared. Best. Movie. Ever. :D I think it's a time and place issue too. It seemed a bit tacky and presumptuous to make this a graduation speech. I wonder what he says at weddings and birthday parties? I'll bet he felt quite proud of himself that he provided a much needed wake-up call despite not knowing anything about the individual students. He's an English teacher at the school. I'd be willing to bet he's well-liked by the students. I think I need to know more about the audience. Were those kids the entitled rich kids burdened by artificially-inflated self-esteem, or were they from the 49% of American families currently on food stamps? Yes, you could call it privileged, but I don't see how that matters? The whole point of the speech was not about how privileged the graduates are. It was about the prevailing attitude of an overwhelming number of high school students who think they are the center of the universe. This is not a new concept and it crosses socioeconomic boundaries. uh, how is this "good"? it sounds like incitement to an attack. very negative. the same concept could have easily been conveyed using more positive language. It's from a movie. :001_smile: Off topic, but I really think this whole thing could be the focus of a wonderful study on how inaccurately the media portrays most things. From the news, you get the impression this was a crotchety speech, looking down the nose at the graduates, telling them "you're not special - so there". Upon listening to the speech - the entire speech - that's not the case. At all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 It's a quote from the movie Rushmore. :) http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0008321/quotes Only one of the most brilliant movies ever. (Though I have high hopes for Moonrise Kingdom' date=' which I'm seeing tomorrow.)[/color'] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 My family was never on assistance. I worked since I was 12 and used my own money to help buy food. I know I really should not even engage in a conversation with you, but you make so many assumptions... Then you understood, from 12, the message that he is trying to get out. QED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Then you understood, from 12, the message that he is trying to get out. QED Well, my argument is that a very high percentage of children of the working poor understand the message, too, up close and personal, and would only be discouraged by these assumptions. Some of them will become welfare queens, bums, or drug dealers, but most will follow their parents and become the next generation of working poor. They may or may not receive government assistance (I'm not sure anyone will be, if we continue at this rate) but they will certainly be working as much as humanly possible for people with a low education level. The working poor and the gimme crowd are not the same people in my midwestern city. The working poor live in trailers, shacks, and apartments and work two or three jobs to barely pay the bills. The gimme crowd live in much better houses, have satellite TV and smartphones, and don't work at all. It's a big difference. The support and criticism needed for each group of kids is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Well, my argument is that a very high percentage of children of the working poor understand the message, too, up close and personal, and would only be discouraged by these assumptions. Some of them will become welfare queens, bums, or drug dealers, but most will follow their parents and become the next generation of working poor. They may or may not receive government assistance (I'm not sure anyone will be, if we continue at this rate) but they will certainly be working as much as humanly possible for people with a low education level. The working poor and the gimme crowd are not the same people in my midwestern city. The working poor live in trailers, shacks, and apartments and work two or three jobs to barely pay the bills. The gimme crowd live in much better houses, have satellite TV and smartphones, and don't work at all. It's a big difference. The support and criticism needed for each group of kids is different. :iagree: Well said. And now that this thread has taken a turn at poking at poor people and their privileged lives on food stamps, I will bow out and keep my sanity. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deacongirl Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I totally agree. (And I teach public high school. My students would all (and will all in the fall when I make them read this) get this speech.) My 11 yr. old got this speech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 As a high school graduate? Absolutely I would have been able to process it, but then again I received a real education. If a child could not process that speech then we are making an even worse indictment of our system of education. Remember, most of these kids will be able to vote within the next 2 years.......if they could not process that speech then.....God save us. Even though I'm a pretty calm adult, I still have trouble hearing and taking anything away from useful messages that basically start with you're not special and you're an overprivleged brat. I stop listening. And I would have been even worse at it when I was 17. I don't think that's unique to any particular generation either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Faith, Your breath was not wasted. I can't tell you the number of kids who came back years later to tell me that my words were remembered. I even had some of them come and talk to my classes because THEY are the ones the kids would listen to most. Granted, I worked in a very inner city school. Our graduation rate was very low. Our test scores were very low. Our attendance was awful. Our goal became equipping the next generation to do just a bit better than that last. As a college and career counselor much of my job was telling them that college was even an option. I worked for 3 years in a special grant program for first generation college bound students. I spent a lot of time giving parent seminars, meeting with parents and students individually, and taking students on college campus tours. Some of them realized for the first time that college could indeed be an option. My heart broke for those who couldn't attend because of circumstances or due to nationality status. There are so many who CAN and DO change that focusing on those who don't and won't is futile and can bring cynicism, but I had enough hope to work in my job for over 16 years. Dawn I just hope he understands that he's preaching to a deaf crowd. I know I just spent an entire semester wasting my breath, time, resources, and energy for nothing. Harsh reality will become the mistress of the kids I sought sooooo hard to help! That breaks my heart, but I also have to embrace the truth that there isn't anything I can do about it but hope that they learn to adapt efficiently and rapidly to the outside. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 He is a teacher in the school; I suspect he knows a great deal about many of the individual students.. Oh, I thought he was a speaker they brought in for graduation. Why couldn't he have addressed this before graduation day? But I am certainly willing to concede that I didn't do my homework about the school in question. . . Me too. Still seems an odd choice for a day of celebration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Most of the kids that will graduate from the school I worked at (past tense - they wanted me back, I have not signed the 2012/13 contract and am not likely to do so) will get a high school diploma and they will be given all kinds of accolades and many, many of them will have high grades to boot for very little effort. Yet, the vast majority of them are unemployable due to the belief that just showing up should be good enough to earn a paycheck because it was good enough to earn a passing grade. ... The fact that they will be lauded for being handed a diploma they did not earn should be cause for grave concern from our society. .... However, that said, my mere survival is important only to my family...the achievement is a private one, not a public one. Out of 7 billion people, my survival is inconsequential in the grander scheme of things and I understand that. I understood that the day I received my diploma and made my ridiculous valedictory speech ... We will all disagree on the speech and the venue because we all have different experiences. Mine lead me to want to stand up and say BRAVO to the speaker. I just hope he understands that he's preaching to a deaf crowd. I know I just spent an entire semester wasting my breath, time, resources, and energy for nothing. Harsh reality will become the mistress of the kids I sought sooooo hard to help! That breaks my heart, but I also have to embrace the truth that there isn't anything I can do about it but hope that they learn to adapt efficiently and rapidly to the outside. Faith Very well said, Faith. I am sorry you had such a frustrating experience and hope that you may have made a difference for a handful of kids... if you even reached a few and had an impact, your hard work was not wasted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 (edited) Loved the speech (in its entirety). This was actually the reason I pulled my 1st grader out of PS and began homeschooling both of my daughters. My 1st grader came home with a quiz. There were about 10 strange questions on there. One of them asked "Which of the following is true? A. Everybody is special B. Nobody is special C. Only some people are special." A was the correct answer. :) I asked the principal and the teacher how everyone could be special. If everyone was special there would be no meaning to the word. I asked them if child molesters were special or thieves. I told the principal he could do social experiments on someone else's kids, that I was pulling mine out of the school. I totally get that this speech was given at a well-to-do school, and that this speech could be off base to certain kids who have already (in their young lives) shown exceptional character (hats off to them, they're a special breed!). But, honestly I think this message is equally important to rich kids as it is to kids from rough backgrounds. It took me a very long time to realize that the awfulness of my youth didn't make me special. That sounds silly to say (write), I know. I'm sorry to say that I used the unfortunate and undeserved pain as an excuse, an out, to not give 110% to my life. I thought that this terrible series of events made me special in the sense that I had "paid my dues". In fact it hadn't. Like privilege and inherited wealth, my rough start gave me a false sense of specialness. It's an easy trap at any age or status. I don't think about that word anymore, we just laugh once in a while at the cooky quiz. It's not a concept we focus on. I have no idea if "special" is a central theme in other people's homes. I'm just trying to teach my kids to work hard and be as good as they can be. That's a whole life time of effort right there. If this speech is the worst thing that happens to these kids this summer, I think they'll be just fine. If it hit home with one kid there, it was a success! Edited June 9, 2012 by helena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 My 1st grader came home with a quiz. There were about 10 strange questions on there. One of them asked "Which of the following is true? A. Everybody is special B. Nobody is special C. Only some people are special." A was the correct answer. :) I asked the principal and the teacher how everyone could be special. If everyone was special there would be no meaning to the word. I asked them if child molesters were special or thieves. I told the principal he could do social experiments on someone else's kids, that I was pulling mine out of the school. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosy Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 For anyone who would like to make informed opinions about the speech in its entirety: http://www.theswellesleyreport.com/2012/06/wellesley-high-grads-told-youre-not-special/ It's not as if he sat there berating them for 20 min. The speech was positively received by those who heard it. I trust that they have the sense to know the difference between exhortation and criticism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Yes, but not everyone had the coddling. Some people really did work dang hard to survive and get to where they are. So you tell them they suck and so do their efforts? Why? I guess that all just doesn't speak to me. :glare: I'm guessing the kids who didn't have the coddling are tough enough to not take it personally. ;) They are the ones that can handle hearing that they just aren't that special because, hey, they already know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/high-school-teacher-tells-graduating-students-special-article-1.1092109 Interesting speech to High School seniors. "Yes, you've been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped," McCullough said in his speech. “Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You've been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You've been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. ... But do not get the idea you're anything special. Because you're not." ..... He continued to tell it like it is. Americans have come to appreciate accolades more than genuine achievement, he said, and will compromise standards in order to secure a higher spot on the social totem pole. "As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of the Guatemalans," he said. Finally a speaker who had the fortitude to choose the hard truth over flowery pomposity. My child who graduated from a traditional highschool declined to attend the ceremony because she did not view it as an achievment that merited a celebration. We shall see if she holds same attitude toward BSN (or MSN if she chooses) graduation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I think I need to know more about the audience. Were those kids the entitled rich kids burdened by artificially-inflated self-esteem, or were they from the 49% of American families currently on food stamps? I apologize if someone already shared knowledge about this particular school's demographic profile. I skimmed the thread but didn't see anything about it. I don't understand why it is ok to bash rich kids. If we looked at what kids at prestigious schools go on to do vs. from the worse schools... What if a teacher got up and said these things, only about/to the underprivileged? What if he said - You aren't special even though the media says you are and demonizes the rich? You don't deserve to be coddled with free meals or extra money to go to college or not having to pay as much as others at the Y. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and quit stickiung your handtout. Everyone would be ticked. Yet they are gleeful about bashing kids whose parents cared for their safety (helmets, etc) and who worked hard to provide the best for family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I don't understand why it is ok to bash rich kids. If we looked at what kids at prestigious schools go on to do vs. from the worse schools...What if a teacher got up and said these things, only about/to the underprivileged? What if he said - You aren't special even though the media says you are and demonizes the rich? You don't deserve to be coddled with free meals or extra money to go to college or not having to pay as much as others at the Y. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and quit stickiung your handtout. Everyone would be ticked. Yet they are gleeful about bashing kids whose parents cared for their safety (helmets, etc) and who worked hard to provide the best for family. Oh for Pete's sake there was no bashing! Listen to the speech. It has nothing to do with rich/poor. The whole point is that there are millions of other kids graduating, too, so make your life mean something. Make it count. It was very humorous and tongue-in-cheek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Having grown up in a barely-working-class family and then attended an expensive law school, I can tell you that students from "those schools" do tend to think they are all kinds of superior. Some of them were outright rude without even realizing it. Hint: introducing yourself as "Wellesley" (for example) is not impressive or interesting to most people. And then when I was at "the firm" interviewing young candidates. Here are just a few real examples: "Esmeralda," who submitted a half-inch-thick resume, and stated in the cover letter that she was a true "gem" as her name implied. :lol: The young man who thought his main claim to fame was that his parents sent him to an expensive private high school - eight years ago. When asked "that says something about your parents, but what do you have to say about your own accomplishments?" :bigear: [crickets] The young woman who obnoxiously asked me why she should want to work for me when she was interviewing all the "firms." Obviously she was going to get numerous offers! (But not from me!) Yep, all these folks were convinced that they were very special. Maybe someone, somewhere, overlooked the attitude and hired them for a "boot camp" type job. If they didn't quickly lose their sense of superiority and grow some calluses, they didn't last very long. (But that's OK, because their parents sent them rent money while they looked for another job! You know, a job that was really good enough for them. :glare:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) Excellent speech. I went to one of "those" schools in a very exclusive part of Northern Virginia. It was a public school and there were approx. 100 people in my graduating class. My grandparents moved to this area in the 1940s when it was considered "out in the country" and their house was quite tiny and unassuming - they were not rich. But as the region grew, their city became very popular and property values soared (there isn't a one-bedroom condo in that city for under half a million dollars right now). When my parents divorced in 1973, my mom and I moved back to be near my grandma. Mom had a high school diploma and could type so she got a job as a clerk-typist. We were poor. Section-8 poor. Most of the kids I went to school with were not just comfortable - they were very rich. I remember my band director, who must have been having a particularly frustrating day (I guess we hadn't practiced enough or something) giving us a very long speech about how we were all spoiled brats. I can assure you, I was in no way spoiled. I was rather annoyed to say the least and I let him know so after class was over. He apologized, jftr. Anyway, even as a poor student in a rich school, I would have appreciated hearing this speech at my high school graduation (although we didn't get told how special we were all that much back then;)). Still, it would have been inspiring and motivational to me. I love the part about going to Paris just to be in Paris and to climb the mountain to see the view, rather than to be seen. If I were sitting in the audience as a parent, I would be most appreciative that someone else was telling my child something he or she needed to hear. It's always better hearing those kinds of things from someone other than a parent - it seems to have more staying power. Coming from a beloved teacher, which he appeared to be, it would have been all the better. The first part of the speech was obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek humor and you could tell that the audience understood that. There were a lot of chuckles throughout. The last part had the meat. He was telling them to live life to its fullest, to live it authentically, to live it with passion and to lose the idea that you are the center of the universe. I heard several graduation speeches at my high school because the band played Pomp and Circumstance at all of them. The speaker at the high school graduation the year before mine was a celebrated news reporter at a Washington, D.C. office of one of the big three networks. His son was one of the graduates. The next year he, along with several of the other graduates of his class, were invited to speak to the student body during an assembly to give us an idea of what our freshman year at college would be like. As you can imagine, this particular kid was one of the popular crowd in high school. He said, after almost a year at Virginia Tech (a school with about 20,000 students at that time), that he felt insignificant on that campus and that life at our high school had not prepared him for that feeling. He realized after he got there that he was basically a nobody - there were plenty of kids with big-wig parents and he was just one of them. That's all this Mr. McCullough is trying to communicate. When you get out in the real world, the rules are going to change - get mentally prepared for that - and then go out and live your life to its fullest. He used many rhetorical devices and it would make an interesting exercise for older students to print out the speech and find as many of those as they could using the list of examples in the back of Corbin's book as a reference. Edited June 11, 2012 by Kathleen in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Yes, but not everyone had the coddling. Some people really did work dang hard to survive and get to where they are. So you tell them they suck and so do their efforts? Why? I guess that all just doesn't speak to me. :glare: :iagree: I was discussing this speech with my daughter who is currently in high school. She worked her butt off to get where she is. If that speech was said at her graduation she would have been really insulted (and so would I have been). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I could not possibly agree more with the excerpt you posted. A good hard reality check is a necessity. I think that we do people no favours when we enable them. I will stop there. This is a subject that I could go on about for days, but what I have to say would probably get some people's special little feelings trampled into teeny tiny bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) Excellent speech. I went to one of "those" schools in a very exclusive part of Northern Virginia. It was a public school and there were approx. 100 people in my graduating class. My grandparents moved to this area in the 1940s when it was considered "out in the country" and their house was quite tiny and unassuming - they were not rich. But as the region grew, their city became very popular and property values soared (there isn't a one-bedroom condo in that city for under half a million dollars right now). When my parents divorced in 1973, my mom and I moved back to be near my grandma. Mom had a high school diploma and could type so she got a job as a clerk-typist. We were poor. Section-8 poor. Most of the kids I went to school with were not just comfortable - they were very rich. I remember my band director, who must have been having a particularly frustrating day (I guess we hadn't practiced enough or something) giving us a very long speech about how we were all spoiled brats. I can assure you, I was in no way spoiled. I was rather annoyed to say the least and I let him know so after class was over. He apologized, jftr. Anyway, even as a poor student in a rich school, I would have appreciated hearing this speech at my high school graduation (although we didn't get told how special we were all that much back then;)). Still, it would have been inspiring and motivational to me. I love the part about going to Paris just to be in Paris and to climb the mountain to see the view, rather than to be seen. If I were sitting in the audience as a parent, I would be most appreciative that someone else was telling my child something he or she needed to hear. It's always better hearing those kinds of things from someone other than a parent - it seems to have more staying power. Coming from a beloved teacher, which he appeared to be, it would have been all the better. The first part of the speech was obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek humor and you could tell that the audience understood that. There were a lot of chuckles throughout. The last part had the meat. He was telling them to live life to its fullest, to live it authentically, to live it with passion and to lose the idea that you are the center of the universe. I heard several graduation speeches at my high school because the band played Pomp and Circumstance at all of them. The speaker at the high school graduation the year before mine was a celebrated news reporter at a Washington, D.C. office of one of the big three networks. His son was one of the graduates. The next year he, along with several of the other graduates of his class, were invited to speak to the student body during an assembly to give us an idea of what our freshman year at college would be like. As you can imagine, this particular kid was one of the popular crowd in high school. He said, after almost a year at Virginia Tech (a school with about 20,000 students at that time), that he felt insignificant on that campus and that life at our high school had not prepared him for that feeling. He realized after he got there that he was basically a nobody - there were plenty of kids with big-wig parents and he was just one of them. That's all this Mr. McCullough is trying to communicate. When you get out in the real world, the rules are going to change - get mentally prepared for that - and then go out and live your life to its fullest. He used many rhetorical devices and it would make an interesting exercise for older students to print out the speech and find as many of those as they could using the list of examples in the back of Corbin's book as a reference. I agree with your post a lot. I had a similar experience being the very poor kid in a program populated almost entirely by people of means. There were only a few other kid, and 1 was my sibling, in the school who understood economic hardship. I really don't see what in this speech is offensive. Live life well, don't focus on being seen, do good for the sake of doing good and not for resume padding, work hard, make a mark, don't run around thinking you are the bee's knees, understand that there are other people out there just like you and that everyone else's life has value just like yours. Sounds like a spot on commencement address to me. Edited June 12, 2012 by kijipt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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