HIT-> Graduation speech advice

[Doug Johnson <palsdaj@VAX1.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>]

Hi LM_Netters,

Please find below the somewhat edited versions of advice you sent me for my
graduation talk.  There were so many wonderful things said, I would have
had enough material for at least three speeches! The text of my talk is in
the next message I post.  There may be a few "borrowed" poems and quotes
which might one day be of use to you. (I tried to give credit when
possible.)

Anyway, thanks for your thoughtful responses. As usual, this teacher will
be learning more than his charges!

Doug

**********************

I have no idea whether you can work this into your speech, but here's a
nugget you can probably use somewhere: Dr. Bonnie Lesley, Associate State
Superintendent for Standards and Curriculum, Delaware Dept. of Public
Instruction, pointed out in her luncheon address to the Del. Library Assn.
(4-29-94), that some of the children entering our public education system
this year will be alive to greet the *22*nd century. YIKES, we haven't
figured out how to prepare ourselves for the 21st yet! Well that was quick,
another reply in the space of 2 minutes!

I've often given thought of what I might say at a commencment address
(delusions of grandure, no doubt), and I guess the thing that I would say
is that some days at some times, YOU become the most important person in
someone's life. If I'm stranded on the side of the road or my toilet is
overflowing, President Clinton is not so important to me anymore. It's the
mechanic or the plumber who is the most important person in my life. And if
they are good, regardless of what they do (legitimately, of course) the
world will beat a path to their doors. In a world where mediocrity is the
norm, people will beat a path to your door for a good tune-up.
Thats about it. Be prepared to be the most important person in someones life.
Bob Hall


I think that in the final analysis, we are all responsible for our own
ethics and moral code. I try to live so that I will not have to be ashamed
or sorry for my words, acts and deeds. That is a big order, but the maxims,
"Know thyself" and "To thy own self be true" seem to be important. This is
not to be confused with selfishness. I think it was an Egyptian custom to
put a balance on the mummy case. On one side of the balance was a feather
and on the other side of the balance was the deceased's heart. If the
person had lived a 'good' life, the heart was lighter than the feather.
(Check this out before you use it, because I only 'heard' about this
somewhere.) At any rate, I try to remember this when I am making an ethical
choice or decison.
Linda Ramsey


I taught at a very rough school with "juvenile delinquents," almost all of
whom were on parole for offenses ranging from grand larceny to
manslaughter. And like you, I was asked to address them, but for a spring
awards assembly. The message I gave them was well-received. Several have
written since then and alluded to it.

I talked to them about where power comes from. In my school, the most
prevalent idea was that power comes from guns, knives, and fists. I told
them that real power came from learning to communicate. I cited figures
like Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederic Douglas, and Malcolm X (about 98% of
the student body was black, and all were male). I told them that once they
could state their needs and/or grievances, they were at least half-way to a
solution.

Maybe you can think of something better. I was an English teacher at the
time, and my remarks reflected that. At any rate, with kids in trouble,
power and empowerment are *major* issues. I think the most important
consideration with troubled kids is that your remarks come from your own
heart and soul -- they smell a phony miles away but tend to respect honest
convictions (no pun intended). Hope this helps.
Jan Hosey
Auburn University
hoseyjz@mail.auburn.edu


If your young people have actually gotten to the point where they are
really graduating, then I would think that you have to praise them - praise
them for bucking the tide of inertia; for having the sense to understand
that they won't always be 17 or 18 years of age; for having the discipline
to sit down and do an assignment, complete it and hand it in even though it
would have been more fun to go to the movies.

I think you should also appeal to their sense of individualism. Something
out of Polonius' talk to Laertes - Be true to yourself. Think about what
you want in life - not what you think your friends expect you to do or to
be - but what really is important to you and aim for it.
Priscilla Balch, Librarian Midwood High School Library Bedford Avenue and
Glenwood Road Brooklyn, New York 11210 (718) 859-0861
priscilla.balch@nycps.nycenet.edu

I recently heard a speaker tell us about failure. It was a very upbeat
presentation based on the premise that it is from failure than we learn.
The presenter focused on the good that failure da(error) that(error) can
bring. Judy daniel Drexel R-IV School, Drexel, MO 64742


I've been thinking about your graduation address to the alternative high
school. And, I guess if it were me, the advice that I would give to these
kids would be the same that I would give to any kids: live a life as free
of anger as possible and take every opporunity to honor the goodness that
you see around you. My definition of sin is the use oppression by the
powerful to take advantage of the weak. Perhaps you could tell them stories
that would convey that kind of message.
Judy Jerome


I have worked w/ two special populations of students, ones w/ severe
physical problems and ones who are emotionally disturbed. In both cases,
they have been primarily inner-city Blacks & Hispanics, most of them
academically below grade level. I feel, much of the time, as a teacher that
I am communicating life skills rather than library skills. The thought that
I feel is most important to get across to today's young people is that we
have a lot of control over our own lives. Many times, unwanted and unfair
situations confront us, but we determine our futures by how we deal with
adversity. Don't spend (waste) your time blaming others for what's going on
in your life. Take control of your life and work toward making it what YOU
want it to be!
Barbara Carr <ny001043@mail.nyser.net>


I do remember our baccelarate(sp) sermon for high school. It was on the
theme "use things and not people." After 30 years, I still remember the
advice; however with today's connotations, I'm not sure how this phrase
would be taken.

Anyway something could be made of "respect others for what they are and not
their differences"--give examples of special things people have contributed
to their world.
Frankie Mauney Dilling


I had the same opportunity. I focused on goals. Here's brief version of
what I said:
Graduation speeches ususally focus on two themes: 1) this is it , you're
finally here, you've arrived! or 2) you are at the threshold, your life
lies vefore you. But neither of these is true. Life is a journey and events
such as graduation, wedding, funerals are just signposts on that journey.
We remember the event and measure our progress in life from those points.

What is important is how we take our journey. Do we want to float through
life like a twig floating downriver with no direction, not knowing whether
we will get to the ocean or caught on the side. Tohave direction we must
have goals. Our goal may be to go to New York. We have a purpose and
direction.

I then talked about being flexible with their goals and not getting so
discouraged that they give up before attempting to accomplish them. I used
the question, "How to do you eat an elephant?" One slice at a time to
illustrate that they need to break their goals down into do-able steps. I
ended with Lao Tse, The longest journey begins with but a single step.
Graduation is a step in their lifetime journey.

Susan Choi, Santa Clara County Office of Education schoi@calstate.edu


One hint, in case you haven't given your speech yet: I gave one a few years
ago, and it was very well received, I think because I didn't give the usual
"now you are going out in the big world...", etc. Instead, I talked about
the students in a personal way, and managed to mention every one by name in
talking about what I had observed about them. For example, "...I remember
with a smile the time John, Jan, Dick and Lois did..." (whatever). The one
thing I recall, is that they all listened, instead of sitting there with
the glazed eyes waiting for it to be over! :-) Good luck!
Kathy Sornsin, Shanley High School, Fargo



Doug Johnson, District Media Supervisor | A great deal of intelligence
Mankato Public Schools, ISD77           | can be invested in ignorance
Box 8713, Mankato MN 56001-8713         | when the need for illusion
507-387-7698                            | is deep. Saul Bellow
palsdaj@vax1.mankato.msus.edu