June 8, 201214 yr A straight-talking Boston teacher gave his students a reality check during their graduation, using his address to tell them they were 'not special'. 'Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble wrapped... nudged, cajoled, wheedled .. feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie,' he told the teenagers in the speech, published on BostonHerald.com. 'But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not. 'Contrary to what your under-nine soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh-grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia... you’re nothing special.' Mr McCullough told the graduates that a whopping 3.2million seniors were in the process of graduating from more than 37,000 high schools across the United States. More... 'That’s 37,000 valedictorians, 37,000 class presidents, 92,000 harmonizing altos, 340,000 swaggering jocks, 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs,' he said. 'But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you.' Read more: English teacher David McCullough Jr rants at students in graduation address | Mail Online Edited June 9, 201214 yr by mcpapa
June 8, 201214 yr I would like to hear it, and hear his tone, but overall I like it. It is certainly better than having a speaker who only talked about why you should vote for a particular candidate for president.
June 8, 201214 yr I'd argue that's one of the most beneficial graduation speeches I've heard. A cold slap in the face to some and off-putting to others but if a student truly listened he/she will be better for it.
June 8, 201214 yr Author Apparently this school is located in a very wealthy neighborhood in the Boston area. I personally love it.
June 8, 201214 yr I'd argue that's one of the most beneficial graduation speeches I've heard. A cold slap in the face to some and off-putting to others but if a student truly listened he/she will be better for it. Agreed.
June 8, 201214 yr 'You see, if everyone is special, then no one is,' he said. 'If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. 'We have come to see them as the point - and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece.'... Well put, Mr. McCullough :clap: I especially like the bolded part and it is dead on.
June 8, 201214 yr Loved this! This is exactly what kids need to hear. Their parents need to hear it, too. I am so tired of those that push for meaningless honors and could care less about actual achievement or learning.
June 8, 201214 yr Is this David McCullough, the author/publisher's son? I assume that it is. Dude wrote some really good books. I enjoyed 1776 and John Adams.
June 8, 201214 yr I love the fact that someone finally said something like this. ‘You’re not special’ graduation speech sparks buzz | The Lookout - Yahoo! News
June 9, 201214 yr This guy needs to address the House and the Senate, too many there think they are "special".
June 9, 201214 yr I love the fact that someone finally said something like this. ‘You’re not special’ graduation speech sparks buzz | The Lookout - Yahoo! News Followed the link and listened to the speech. Loved it!
June 9, 201214 yr Finally, someone speaks truth and reality to them! They should play this at every graduation across the country every year.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.