High school teacher tells graduating students: you’re not special

Originally posted by WeRpeons
reply to post by PurpleChiten

 

ETA: further in your post you say that sometimes you have to tell the parents that their child doesn't always tell the truth. One of the easier ways of doing that is to say "Don't believe everything they say about me and I promise to not believe everything they say about you". That lets them know that children aren't always truthful or at least not always aware of perspective as well as opens up dialogue and has the parents address their child with what may or may not have been discussed to ensure they are at least communicating with their children.

Good suggestion. I know as a teacher, your always walking a fine line whenever you suggest to a parent their child isn't as well behaved as they think. Parents are more defensive now than during my generation. Parents back than wouldn't even listen to their kids talking bad about a teacher. If they did, we got into deeper trouble than what we already were in.

I'm not saying that it's wrong for kids not to speak-up when a teacher becomes physical, abusive or is totally out of line, but when a student is failing the majority or all of his or her subjects, that should raise a red flag with parents. Some parents will defend their kids even when there grade reports tell a whole different story.

In our district, if I get 10 parents out of 50 students to show up on Parent Teacher Conference, it's considered good.

Usually, I will see only the parents whose children are doing well and passing. It tells a lot about how concerned some parents are about their child's progress.

Have you ever had parents not believe you when you tell them the kid IS well behaved and polite? Those are always interesting conversations!

Exactly the reason I didn't attend my high school graduation ceremony. No one is special, tens of thousands of students have graduated from the high school I attended just as they have from every other high school/equivalent around the world. I love how many people have been sucked into this idea that it's such a big deal. They go out and spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on everything from senior photos to graduation parties and for those few days before the graduation and after they act as if they're on top of the world and are something truly special. Then comes the time to go to college, join the military, head out into the work force, etc. and in each of these cases not a single person involved is anything more special than the person next to them or people who have already gone through the process. You just have to understand that whoever feels they're something special at the moment will one day realize they're not whether it takes them until they're 30 or up until the point they're laying on their death bed. This teacher should be applauded for speaking the truth and anyone who tells someone otherwise should be ashamed.

this world has enough negativity and pessimism on it's own.
We don't need a teacher who's supposed to be a role model to tell kids they're not special.

We need leaders who aspire to see what's special in EVERY individual and not one over other.

There is no such thing as an "ordinary human being". We are all different, unique in our own ways. Everyone is special, everyone is divine
You can't wrap your head around this mathematically ex. if everyone is special, then no one is special.
Were human beings, were not numbers, achievers, workers, students.
Those are part of the experience of being human, but not what MAKES us human

I agree wholeheartedly with the first reply to the OP

Originally posted by seenavv
this world has enough negativity and pessimism on it's own.
We don't need a teacher who's supposed to be a role model to tell kids they're not special.

We need leaders who aspire to see what's special in EVERY individual and not one over other.

There is no such thing as an "ordinary human being". We are all different, unique in our own ways. Everyone is special, everyone is divine
You can't wrap your head around this mathematically ex. if everyone is special, then no one is special.
Were human beings, were not numbers, achievers, workers, students.
Those are part of the experience of being human, but not what MAKES us human

I agree wholeheartedly with the first reply to the OP

::sigh:: did you watch the video of the speech?

Please, I ask that you view it first, then form your opinion. I promise you, your opinion after watching it will be different from your opinion before you watch it. It's just over 12 and a half minutes long but well worth the time it takes to watch it. It is one of the most uplifting and motivational speeches you will ever encounter and not putting anyone down at all. The students recieve it well and clap for him.
One of the statements is about everyone being special. He said you are not special because everyone is special and that means it isn't so special or something along that lines. He mentions that when everbody gets a trophy, it takes away the meaning of trophies.
He is not putting the students down in any way, shape or form but is actually commenting on what "special" is and how it loses all meaning due to overuse. He does mention they can be exceptional and encourages them to follow their dreams but to do it for the love of doing it, not for the accolades.

You know, I graduated 2 years ago, and I can't recall much at all about the speeches that were given at the graduation ceremony. Same goes for most of the people who weren't specifically involved in giving them.

Point is; no one really pays attention to those speeches at graduation. They're all impatiently waiting to get out of there. I'm laughing at the people who seem to think a harsher speech is going to make all their 18 year old minds swirl into a crushing depression of hopeless despair though

reply to post by SeriousIndividual


I didn't get pics and the ring either. I had a rather tough time (socially) in school. The last thing I wanted were souvenirs to remind me of it. People were just morons. I remember the day 9/11 happened, and people were already gobbling up the official story and getting all patriotic over the war. I refused to stand up for the pledge, because a real patriot demands truth and justice, not believing everything George Bush says just because he says so behind a desk with a couple flags! Needless to say, I had few friends in HS. Still only have a few.

It is a marketing ploy used by businesses to get you to buy things. Make customer feel special, and they treat themselves special by spending money. No thanks! I'm "soo special" that I'd rather be better off with my money. How's that for special??

Originally posted by seenavv
There is no such thing as an "ordinary human being". We are all different, unique in our own ways. Everyone is special, everyone is divine

We are individuals due to our experiences. However, we are the same species. When you strip away our programming, we are the same animal. The only differences are physical amounts.

I have no idea where people get the divine thing. If abiogenesis is not the case within eternal bubble universes, and there is an eternal species which creates our version of life as part of its behavior, then all life would be "divine" and therefore not special. I would like to see a link to the scientific research that shows evidence of a species creating a different type of life. How is this speculated to be a trait that benefits that species? Are we a food source?

It may sound harsh on the surface but think about it; the left has been babying kids all through school. They can't use red ink to correct tests, they don't keep score in sports, no winners, no losers. They are pampered every step of the way. Some schools will even let them pass a spelling test is the misspelled words are phonetically "close".

I think what this teacher is trying to say is, "welcome to the real world. Out there, nobody gives a damn about your feelings. There are a hundred thousand just like you graduating this years and it's a dog-eat-dog world". It's bitter pill to swallow but in reality, they should have been teaching kids this since they graduated elementary school. It is far more important to prepare them for the reality of the world out there than to make them think they are somehow "special" or "entitled".

Personally, I would have given that teacher a standing ovation if I were at that commencement exercise.

Originally posted by axslinger
I think what this teacher is trying to say is, "welcome to the real world. Out there, nobody gives a damn about your feelings. There are a hundred thousand just like you graduating this years and it's a dog-eat-dog world". It's bitter pill to swallow but in reality, they should have been teaching kids this since they graduated elementary school

Those idealistic, bright, energetic, and strong youth might rebel if you tell them that.

Hey, you are very special. You are only one of 7.1 billion of your species.

Reminds me of a song that pretty much sums up the average American coming out of high school right now. LOL



Lyrics are available all over if you can't understand them. Really great song.

reply to post by pravdaseeker


Thanks Prav, flag and star! This is a great offering by a realist to
the advancing hordes... and George Carlin I miss your treatment
of this in a wonderful monologue that's also been ciculating.
I read along the thread with some interest until I saw another
mechanically inclined fellow(?) who did not attend auto shop
classes. I stayed with the equally grimy sister of vocational
machine tool theory and practice... aka machine shop, because
somebody's got to make the stuff we use and I likes make things
that do stuff chure. You betcha. I was at best treated by my
classmates as subhuman: well, there are certain distinct evolu-
tionary designations lower than Homo Erectus, but my knuckles
still had and do have a few vestigal hairs remaining to this day.
Heck I was even an engineer by appointment because it was too
politically embarrasing for my employer at the time to accept the
work being done otherwise. Not at all bragging, but hard work pays
off. And toolin' and dyin' slowly we may indeed mumble through the
Bard to pass the time of day:
"I come not to taze Caesar, but to marry him-- brrAughhhrrrrr"
horse-sound for dummies like me.
But survival skills? Are not almost all of us mere shadows of our
ancestors? Almost all our birthrights have been minimalized by
those who wish to make us dependent upon them. What made this
country great was a whole CULTURE of virtual McGyvers. Huhh?

reply to post by dogstar23


That is some very good advice. I'm actually very close to snagging a good paying job in my state's dpt of corrections. It's just taken me a long time to get to this point, lots of exaggeration on resumes, and a little lying. I am more than qualified for the job, but that isn't enough if it doesn't look right on paper.

Originally posted by daynight42
The teacher offered them a reality check. Good for her.

Am I missing something here because you are poster #3 that has referred to the speech giver as a "her", when in fact it was a he; which even though you have a similar view as my own, makes me believe that you didn't listen to the speech or read it and are posting how great it is based on the title only.

Originally posted by ownbestenemy

Originally posted by daynight42
The teacher offered them a reality check. Good for her.

Am I missing something here because you are poster #3 that has referred to the speech giver as a "her", when in fact it was a he; which even though you have a similar view as my own, makes me believe that you didn't listen to the speech or read it and are posting how great it is based on the title only.

I gave up even trying on that .... I've embedded the video, given the link, each several times and even posted the transcript. People don't want to know what actually happened, they just want to read the title and respond..... then I turned around and did the same darn thing on another thread... human nature I guess

The speaker is on CBS This Morning (it's about 8 am here). He really is a very inspirational and caring teacher and he's talking with the staff about the speech and reception of it.
Everyone who actually heard it, either in person or from the video is applauding it greatly!!

Originally posted by PurpleChiten
The speaker is on CBS This Morning (it's about 8 am here). He really is a very inspirational and caring teacher and he's talking with the staff about the speech and reception of it.
Everyone who actually heard it, either in person or from the video is applauding it greatly!!

I recommend people reading his father's works on Adams (the original American love story in my eyes), Truman (not that great but still worth a read), Johnston Town (a fantastic read!), 1776 (excellent), and others he wrote.

It seems his son is following in his footsteps on exceptionalism.

Originally posted by ownbestenemy

Originally posted by PurpleChiten
The speaker is on CBS This Morning (it's about 8 am here). He really is a very inspirational and caring teacher and he's talking with the staff about the speech and reception of it.
Everyone who actually heard it, either in person or from the video is applauding it greatly!!

I recommend people reading his father's works on Adams (the original American love story in my eyes), Truman (not that great but still worth a read), Johnston Town (a fantastic read!), 1776 (excellent), and others he wrote.

It seems his son is following in his footsteps on exceptionalism.

I actually haven't read his father's works, but I am pretty impressed with the son. I'm more of the Math/Science persuasion than the history/literature.