you're not special!
By cher913
@cher913 (25782)
Canada
June 11, 2012 12:59pm CST
did you hear about the speech that a highschool English teacher gave to the graduating class. David McCullough Jr said this 9 times in his commencement address.
This is the last part of his speech.
"McCullough ended his speech with, "Selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special - because everyone is. Congratulations, good luck. Make for yourselves, please for your sake and ours, extraordinary lives." "
i think he was right in saying this to the class (he has gotten a lot of flack. you can hear the speech and read the rest of the article here.
http://www.kens5.com/news/158443585.html
why do i think that he was right in saying this? well, because most 18/19 year olds think the world revolves around them (i have a 19 year old) and it is good for them to learn that it is not always about them, that now they are graduating, its about their world and maybe even how they can work to change a little part of it.
2 people like this
10 responses
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
13 Jun 12
I was told I was stupid, would not amount to anything and that I was not special. No one has the monopoly on uniqueness. We all have to work for what we get and we cannot think that life will be good to us. So we cannot get by on our charm and good looks. He was right.
@ForSouls1234 (720)
• United States
13 Jun 12
Well I wouldn't go so far as to tell a kid he was stupid. That was totally uncalled for I am sure for whomever said that to you. Unless it was completely deserved I wouldn't tell students they would not amount to anything.
That's just wrong. I just think this guy is a little fed up with like he said, the mommy coddling and the no child left behind nonsense that I think many are getting sick of.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
19 Jul 12
I did not hear this speech (last month), but I think he is right!
I keep harping about kids, not only 18/19 year olds, who have a sense of entitlement. That they expect people around them to give them everything because they deserve it.
I'm glad that someone has the guts to tell it like it is. And maybe encourage young people to make their lives special (and maybe prove him wrong).
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
12 Jun 12
that is absolutely true they are the future and it is up to them to make it better
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
15 Jun 12
Personally, I wish they would start telling them this a lot earlier. Waiting until they are graduating high school does little good. By then, even if they are "insecure" about some things; they still feel like they "know it all".
@jcordova888 (156)
• Philippines
12 Jun 12
Sounded like a very realistic speech. Watching new graduates strutting their stuff in the modern workplace, some really feel some sort of self-entitlement. There are, of course, humble and goal-oriented young graduates, too, but a thousand others, especially those coming from prestigious schools, act like the world revolves around them.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
11 Jun 12
I think it was a good reality check for most of them. While teens feel insecure sometimes about who they are, they've been mollycoddled for the most part. Now it's time to meet the real world and the sooner they realize that, the better off they are.
I have a great deal of respect for McCullough for having the courage to make this speech.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
11 Jun 12
I thought him very smart to give the speech he did. All kids need to find oput that the world does not revove around them as so many of them do. I hope it made them all think & realize what he was saying.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
11 Jun 12
I think that many more teens are insecure than feel superior. Each of us must realize that we are all unique, this is different from being special, we are
seperate from all others. Each is a soul on life's path toward spirtuality and each is different. This is not a value judgement but a fact that means we should not ever be compared with another person. I am me, no one else,but this still means that a great deal of what I am I have in common with others, it just means my path is just that, MY PATH. Good things and bad things I will face in this life, this is how I grow and learn. What others can teach me is to face each of these and always do my best, which includes what I can learn from them. If I can look at life with positive energy regardless of what I face, my life will be the success I need. Blessings
@samson1 (738)
• Jamaica
11 Jun 12
This teacher was providing both the graduating class and their families with 'an invaluable' lesson of life; by informing them that the truism of life that awaits them. Indeed, David McCullough Jr was ensuring that nobody who graduated on that day, left the ceremony thinking that they have accomplished the ultimate!
Why? He reminded them that whatever achievements already obtained by the students -prior to graduating from high school- 'paled' in comparison to life experiences, exposure, challenges, and possible achievements to be encountered and /or conquered in life after high school. Therefore, he told them to be prepared to do the hard work, and to conquer new horizons; as nobody owes them anything, and the world owes them nothing.
In my opinion, this teacher should be commended, as he still tried to live according to his training; of shaping young impressionable minds into more mature productive minds.
