The Best High School Valedictorian Speech

[Lorien]

Comment: The following speech was delivered by top of the class student Erica Goldson during the graduation ceremony at Coxsackie-Athens High School on June 25, 2010

Here I stand

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, “If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, “Ten years . .” ?The student then said, “But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast — How long then?” Replied the Master, “Well, twenty years.” “But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?” asked the student. “Thirty years,” replied the Master. “But, I do not understand,” said the disappointed student. “At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?” ?Replied the Master, “When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.”

(snip)

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared.

(snip)

H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not “to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. … Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim … is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States.”

Much more at the link: http://www.bspcn.com/2010/08/01/the-best-high-school-valedictorian-speech/

[Kceres]

1. Wise beyond her years.

She must have a very, very proud family.

[aikoaiko]

2. At least she writes a nice speech.

Maybe in college she'll take responsibility for her education. Or not any maybe she'll hit the road Kerouac style.

Either way, best of luck to her.

[PDJane]

3. Brilliant.........

And the reason I sent my son to an alternate school. I wish there were more of them, and that every child had a way to access that kind of teaching.

[Lorien]

5. I thankfully went ot an extremely liberal private grammar school

and an alternative high school. I did attend a public school for Junior high and am a strong supporter of the public school system today-just not the test based curriculum that's forced upon them.

[mzmolly]

17. ...am a strong supporter of the public school system today-just not the test based curriculum ...

Agreed. :hi:

[EmilyKent]

4. She's more educated than she realizes.

I wish I could have been there, I'd have cheered for her.

:applause:

[Hawkowl]

9. Indeed

She is at the beginning of wisdom.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. Thanks for this post.

[LWolf]

7. Nicely done.

I want all of my students to be independent thinkers and adventurers; to be risk-takers. I have to say that, in the current educational climate, it's an uphill battle.

It gives me hope, though, and some more energy to face the new year, to know that some will get there despite the conditions we are operating in.

[Lorien]

8. Teachers like you are TRUE American heroes!

:patriot:

[AdHocSolver]

10. Send a copy of this speech to Pres. Obama and request that he reconsider RTTT and ...

reconsider his support for Arne Duncan.

This young woman understands more about the problems with education than all the politicians and professors of education combined.

For the past 90 plus years, the unstated goal of education was to train large numbers of students to serve in the factories and offices of the corporations as well as the government bureaucracies.

Nowadays, with huge numbers of jobs offshored, there is less need to graduate large numbers of minions to work in the corporate and government bureaucracies, so there are two "new" goals for education. One is to spend less money on education so as to free up that money to reduce taxes on the wealthy. A second goal is to use NCLB and RTTT "testing" to ensure large numbers of student "failures" (which can be ascribed to "bad" teachers") so that the students can be blamed for the fact that they can't find jobs. They didn't get good grades so they are "uncompetitive" in the so-called "global market".

[Lorien]

11. That pretty much sums it up

I'll never understand the thinking of the wealthy elite. It's not enough for them to have billions socked away; they have to ensure that others have as little as possible! It's not like there's one money pie and they need to make sure that they retain ALL the slices. A well educated population would make for a better society for all. A much larger, healthier middle class, less crime, a more robust economy, and perhaps even a greener planet as the well educated often have fewer children and insist on a healthier diet. But no, the wealthy elite can't allow that. For whatever reason they believe that they are "winning" by destroying everyone elses lives.

[AdHocSolver]

16. One has to consider the mindset of many of the wealthy elite.

Many executives that I have observed often had little practical expertise. For example, several jobs that I worked at as a programmer were managed by people who had little training in computer systems and no hands-on experience.

They had business degrees or (it is believed by the subordinates) were related to the higher up executives somehow. This was true for many other jobs that I worked at.

In those jobs where my bosses did have expertise, I received regular praise for my work and better pay, and even pay raises.

For those jobs where the bosses were faking it, silly criticisms, weak reviews, and nickel-and-diming were the rule.

The more worthless and incompetent an executive is, the more the need to put others down to maintain their image. The cover-up works its way to the top because the top executives, who often are incompetent themselves, don't want the world to know that they hired an idiot, and they worry it would effect their stock price if the world knew how much incompetence there is in the company. This is true for "nonprofits" such as hospitals and universities as well.

Bottom line: The top executives, and often managers up and down the line, understand that they don't merit their positions or their pay. To maintain a facade of importance and value, their solution is to demean those beneath them on the corporate or social ladder, and act in ways to ensure that those beneath them stay beneath them in the social order.

The wealthy elite don't want you to understand that poor people are poor because the elite sent all their jobs to Asia. They want you to believe they are poor because "anyone who is poor is lazy, wants free handouts, is uneducable, et cetera."

NCLB and RTTT are pedagogically irrelevant "solutions" to issues in education. Their purpose isn't to solve a problem, Their purpose is to avoid solving a problem by placing the blame for poverty on its victims.

[mindfulNJ]

12. She should NOT go to college this fall.

My son made a similar speech as class president at his h.s. graduation. I was proud of him at the time. He went off to college and into a downward spiral which culminated in a suicide attempt. He had to quit college and get help. It was horrible time for all of us. He's since gone back, graduated and is doing very well...but I now view that speech as a very public cry for help, I wished I'd heard it then for what it was.

I hope that young lady's family does too.

[Lorien]

13. It all depends on the college. There are plenty out there that could offer exactly what

she's searching for. I'm sorry about your son's suicide attempt, but as someone who has dealt with severe depression her entire life I can tell you; school alone isn't the cause. Sometimes getting away from it all and starting a new life is the best thing possible for a person suffering from that illness. Sometimes it isn't. The best prescription for one patient may be the worst for another.

[Tsiyu]

14. "Children are not things to be molded

but people to be unfolded."


I hope she has the opportunity to discover the things she's missed culturally. Perhaps then she can find her passion.

[Festivito]

15. Out of the box about being in the box. She'll be just fine.

And, we'll all be a little better for it.

[deaniac21]

18. Coxsackie.....now that is funny!

[maryf]

19. Kick to keep this going!!

:applause: Erica Goldson!! :yourock: teacher Donna Bryan!!

sorry I missed this to recommend!!