www.csua.org/u/wpi -> news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/high-school-graduation-speaker-tells-students-not-special-145709954.html
html#vid=29599955&browseCar ouselUI=hide Social media was buzzing about a Boston-area high school teacher's blunt commencement speech that told students they "are not special." You are not exceptional," quoting empirical evidence: "Across the country no fewer than 32 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools.
He added: "Even if you're one in a million, on a planet of 68 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you." McCullough makes a statement on parents who overdo it in a modern society focused on collecting achievements. "You've been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble wrapped ...
Wellesley Channel TV YouTube page, "You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement." McCullough's address does push students to recognize real achievement: "The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life is an achievement," and he encourages graduates "to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance." Many expressed their approval of the message on Twitter: This is awesome. when everyone gets a trophy, the trophy doesn't mean anything."
Columbus, Ohio o 11 hrs ago Wow, someone in the education system finally spoke the truth. Too bad so many people don't understand this (or don't want to believe this) and continue to live shallow, narcissistic lives .
Lexington Gal o 12 hrs ago His speech is probably the best thing they will hear on their way to college or a job, where they would have found out the hard way how very unspecial they are.
He told me early on in life not to call him smart or special and that he would prefer to be realistic about his abilities. He wanted me not to live through him as so many parents do.
Warm 'n Fuzzy o 11 hrs ago Consider that American students rank something like 28th in the world in math and science achievement but rank #1 in "self-esteem". So basically we are not nearly as good as we think we are, and least on that level of measurement.
ss 6 hrs ago And another problem is that it's not even real self-esteem. Real self-esteem means being ok with yourself even when others don't praise you. The self-esteem most kids get is the type that makes them cry when they are not put on a pedestal - when they are told they are not special.
Kingsland, Georgia o 9 hrs ago I am a high school teacher and I get in trouble for making the same comments to my students. I was once threatened with termination for giving a grade of 0 for no work turned in. A math teacher once told me, "When we were students we feared he teachers. This lady is an awesome teacher, she should not fell tha way.
My Father told me and all my brothers that graduating high school was not a big deal, every one does it, and if you did'nt, you were not trying. I still think of this when I hear that there are now "graduation celebrations" for kindergarten classes..
New York, New York o 8 hrs ago As a Professor at a NYC college, I see the sense of entitlement my most underacheiving students have. Every student that has come into my classroom thinks that because they graduated in the to 10% of their class, they deserve some sort of special treatment. Once we hit the 4-week point of the semester, that tends to stop; because they either drop my class, or realize that there are no free rides in life, & bear down. That's when I start to treat them with a sense of respect.
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