You are not special

[Mevara]

Loved it! You are not special

Wellesley High English teacher David McCullough Jr. told graduates "You are not special. You are not exceptional," quoting empirical evidence:

"Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. 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 in the speech published in the Boston Herald.

He added: "Even if you're one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you."

[sigmagirl2000]

Originally Posted by Mevara

Loved it! You are not special

This is the town next to where I teach and the school's "rival" (at least for football....). Yet I didn't hear about this until today on facebook from a friend who lives across the country... go figure.

[libramunoz]

That was a great graduation speech that he could have given! I applaud him on having the guts to tell the kids the truth, something that some of the parents have neglected to do.

[Greek_or_Geek?]

LOL I thought of Greekchat's special snowflakes when I read about this today.

[ASUADPi]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that he gave those kids a REALITY check!!!!!

To bad the parents didn't YEARS ago!

[sigmagirl2000]

Originally Posted by ASUADPi

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that he gave those kids a REALITY check!!!!!

To bad the parents didn't YEARS ago!

I dare say that this community (and many surrounding it) has a higher than average percentage of special snowflakes who have the tendency to think that rules and clear expectations don't apply to them. Most everything has been readily available to them all their lives. It's a very affluent area with a very strong school system and plethora of history and culture. I try to inform my students daily that they need focus on being a good person, rather than cutting others down to move forward themselves. Being a big fish in a high school pond means nothing in the real world.

[Sciencewoman]

Does anyone know if he's the son of the author David McCullough (who wrote John Adams, etc.)

[WhiteRose1912]

Google says that he is!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by WhiteRose1912

Google says that he is!

I was wondering the same thing.

I saw this on facebook this morning and was coming here to post it. (I also thought of lots of special snowflakes.) It's a great speech. I especially liked the bit about physicists saying that the universe has no center, so you can't be it.

[DrPhil]

This was stupid.

The message is lost on me because much of the wording was for wannabe funny shock value.

I do not know why this speech has created such a buzz. David McCullough Jr. and his speech are not special.

[DrPhil]

Oh and this speech may work when talking to a group of (relatively and predominantly) privileged white people in the U.S.A. However, there are thousands of people across the U.S.A. whose high school graduation is exceptional. That is why some families cheer so loudly because they never thought their children would make it through high school--many people in their communities do not.

The point that I took from this speech (that many people have lost) is that the experience of learning is a lifelong experience. We keep learning and keep trying even when we will often NOT be #1. That point is what we should take to heart in order to avoid spoiled children and annoying aspirants/PNMs who think they cannot be told NO.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

This was stupid.

The message is lost on me because much of the wording was for wannabe funny shock value.

I thought the wannabe funny worked very well. He wasn't speaking to every high school graduate in the country, he was speaking to students graduating from the school where he teaches. He knew his audience and the knew him. He drew them in with that humor -- they clearly respond to it. And you can feel the tone shift (and the laughter mostly stop) when he becomes more serious.

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Oh and this speech may work when talking to a group of (relatively and predominantly) privileged white people in the U.S.A.

And I think that pretty much sums up the group to which he was speaking.

However, there are thousands of people across the U.S.A. whose high school graduation is exceptional. That is why some families cheer so loudly because they never thought their children would make it through high school--many people in their communities do not.

We were telling our kids that just last week when they commented about just that sort of cheering.

There's no doubt that different people and different groups of people need to hear different messages. My guess is that those for whom this speech resonates (and I admittedly am one) are those whose experience is primarily -- or at least frequently -- in that segment of society where all too often kids are conditioned to expect everything to be handed to them, to expect to be praised or rewarded for everything (maybe even get a trophy for everything), and to see such as expectations as normal, a given.

There's no doubt that this is not the speech that every graduating senior needs to hear. But there are students (and parents and others) who do need to hear it, or be reminded of it.

The point that I took from this speech (that many people have lost) is that the experience of learning is a lifelong experience. We keep learning and keep trying even when we will often NOT be #1.

That is the point I took from it -- that and that we "find ourselves" when we recognize the equal value of and give of ourselves to others. That resonates strongly with me.