Post by Arethusa on Jun 8, 2012 10:14:09 GMT -8
A Wellesley MA High School teacher delivered a speech to graduating seniors that is prompting shock and awe around the country and winning support from the students to whom it was delivered as well.
Although it might seem that attacking the wave of narcissism that's overtaken this culture from top to bottom might seem like pissing in the ocean, for sure.
Perhaps this teacher, in actuality, the son of beloved history author, David McCullough, thought that a few choice words might help to bring awareness of the havoc this tendency could wreak on the future prospects of these grads and, by necessary implication, on the country at large, to the fore:
High school teacher tells graduating students: you’re not special
NY Daily News
Friday, June 8, 2012
He gets points for being blunt, at least.
A straight-talking English teacher at Wellesley High School set out to take students down a notch in his speech to the class of 2012, by telling them they’re nothing special.
“You are not special. You are not exceptional,” David McCullough Jr. told graduating seniors from the affluent Massachusetts town last weekend.
The teacher's controversial advice caught the nation's eye, in an age where many believe today's youth suffer from a sense of self-importance.
"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."
Driving the point home, he added, "Think about this: even if you're one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you."
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.
In the quest for accomplishment, everything gets watered down. A 'B' is the new 'C.' Midlevel courses are the new advanced placement, the teacher said.
The reaction to MuCullough’s blunt advice was overwhelmingly positive, both from students at the receiving end of the reality check and people who saw the speech as it circulated the Internet this week. . .
Link for conclusion of article with internal link for the text of the entire speech:
www.nydailynews.com/news/national/high-school-teacher-tells-graduating-students-special-article-1.1092109#ixzz1ypTxff7K
Arethusa
Although it might seem that attacking the wave of narcissism that's overtaken this culture from top to bottom might seem like pissing in the ocean, for sure.
Perhaps this teacher, in actuality, the son of beloved history author, David McCullough, thought that a few choice words might help to bring awareness of the havoc this tendency could wreak on the future prospects of these grads and, by necessary implication, on the country at large, to the fore:
High school teacher tells graduating students: you’re not special
NY Daily News
Friday, June 8, 2012
He gets points for being blunt, at least.
A straight-talking English teacher at Wellesley High School set out to take students down a notch in his speech to the class of 2012, by telling them they’re nothing special.
“You are not special. You are not exceptional,” David McCullough Jr. told graduating seniors from the affluent Massachusetts town last weekend.
The teacher's controversial advice caught the nation's eye, in an age where many believe today's youth suffer from a sense of self-importance.
"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."
Driving the point home, he added, "Think about this: even if you're one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you."
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.
In the quest for accomplishment, everything gets watered down. A 'B' is the new 'C.' Midlevel courses are the new advanced placement, the teacher said.
The reaction to MuCullough’s blunt advice was overwhelmingly positive, both from students at the receiving end of the reality check and people who saw the speech as it circulated the Internet this week. . .
Link for conclusion of article with internal link for the text of the entire speech:
www.nydailynews.com/news/national/high-school-teacher-tells-graduating-students-special-article-1.1092109#ixzz1ypTxff7K
Arethusa
