the graduating fifth grade class in a ceremony held before family and supporters
in the North Middle School auditorium.
While I am not certain what the presentation sounded like,
the transcript of my speech follows:
Sometimes when we think about school, we think in terms of us against them. Students versus teachers, teachers versus parents, parents versus administrators. It sounds cliché, but we truly are in a battle.
It’s also cliché, but we are all in this together: not us against them and them against us, but all on the same team.
Graduates, we – you, your parents, and I – must regard ignorance as the enemy. Not soldiers in a World War, but ignorance. The very word begins with the word ignore. It means to intentionally not know something, to purposefully not learn.
Not cool. Some might call that lazy. Some might call that defiant. Others might call it something else.
Whatever it is, though, it is the enemy. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, we should fight ignorance and laziness at home; we should fight ignorance and laziness in our schools; we must never surrender!
Your teachers from Cecil Floyd, along with your parents, have made an effort to help you find a more positive attitude toward improvement. I don’t think that will change when you come to the middle school.
Jules Renard said, "Laziness is nothing more than resting before you get tired," and Gloria Pitzer said, "About the only thing that comes to us without effort is old age."
Maybe it’s materialism: American kids used to shout, “Give me liberty!” Now they just leave off the last word.
I cannot imagine that’s something for which you want to be known! An entire generation lost to slothfulness and indifference toward self and others. Is that what you want?
When I was growing up, my dad taught by example, rarely stopping to teach my brother and me directly. This evening, I want to share with you two of the most important things my daddy taught me.
First, face it: some people, including adults, drink deeply at the fountain of knowledge – others just gargle.
A lot of people think light bulbs pop on instantly over the heads of students. It’s great to watch the light bulb come on over your heads, but the fact is it may have taken some time to find some of your switches. Some of you have dimmer switches that can be turned slowly to brighten understanding. For others, we had to saw into the drywall to find some spark to connect to your bulbs.
You see, my dad taught my brother and me about always giving my best effort. In his own way, he instilled in us that it’s not all about quantity, but also the quality. He didn’t outwardly care about what I became professionally as long as I was the best one I could be. If I decided to dig ditches, I should be the best ditch digger I could. If I wanted to be a firefighter, I should be the best firefighter I could be. If I wanted to be a writer or a lawyer, an accountant or a teacher, I should become the best one I could.
Abraham Lincoln agreed when he said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.”
I remember at an early age imagining the worst job I could. Looking around me, I chose the ugliest, dirtiest, stinkiest vocation that I could, and I wondered how I could go beyond what most in that job do. I would greet people with a smile and a wave as I did my job. And in my free time, I could make things look presentable to the public.
Another thing dad taught me was to stick with something to the end. You see, dad does not like unfinished tasks, even when they seem impossible, or when things stand in your way.
One boy understood that concept of overcoming obstacles. He said, “Dad, l pulled this cornstalk up all by myself.” His dad chuckled at him, and then the boy said, “Don’t you understand? The whole world had hold of the other end.”
Think of an athlete, pushing himself to trim just a hundredth of a second off of his run, or lifting just one more pound, or making one more lap up and down the pool. It is the concept of pushing the limits of our abilities, and never giving up. In a word, I’m thinking about perseverance. That’s what Dad wanted for us to do – to never surrender, to learn from mistakes, to lean forward into the storm.
My dad’s proud of me whenever put forth my best effort. He carries pictures of my family in his wallet to show perfect strangers. He brags to his friends about my efforts and achievements. Parents, do you do that? I would venture to say that most do.
Very often, it’s not about the things you learn, but how you learn it. It’s about human response, the way you carry yourself, your character. Graduates, you will grow because life is real, relevant, and captivatingly interesting.
When your name in announced, on that spring day in 2023, and you parade across that stage to receive your high school diploma, we will mark that moment with you. We will beam with pride (For some, perhaps we will even be pleasantly surprised.), because we were there during those moments that you did not achieve, when you fell on the playground, when you failed an assignment.
We saw you when you loafed through lessons, when you stuttered stories, when you rejected rule, and when you were less than complimentary to your classmate. We noticed when you failed to return your homework (or when your parents did your work for you). We noticed when you forgot to wash your hands. We heard you sing off-key, we saw you color outside the lines, and we struggled to read your writing.
We noticed when you tried to be the class clown, the hallway hipster, or the cafeteria cut-up. But we forgave you. We forgive you.
We forgive you because we understand how much you have grown since the moment we met. We have seen you become more thoughtful, more knowledgeable, more compassionate, and more assertive.
We wish we could have done more for you in the first years of your education. And that wish underscores our overall desire for you during the rest of your school years: what we truly want for you is for you to SOAR as lifelong, innovative thinkers who are compassionate, productive citizens. You represent everything an Eagle should.
We love you. We're here if you need us. Now do your best, persevere, grow up, and live your life!