• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

High school teacher tells graduating students: you’re not special

Erod

Erod

DP Veteran
Joined
Aug 28, 2008
Messages
15,483
Reaction score
8,227
Location
North Texas
Gender
Undisclosed
Political Leaning
Conservative
"Yes, you've been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped," McCullough said in his speech. “Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You've been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You've been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. ... But do not get the idea you're anything special. Because you're not."

Read more: High school teacher tells graduating students: you
Click to expand...

Bravo!

In this "Everybody gets a trophy" and "don't keep score" society we've been racing children in - many of which are now parents themselves - this is refreshing to hear in of all places...Massachusetts.

I'm sure being the son of David McCullough allowed this teacher the assuredness that he could get away with such a commencement message, but it is refreshing nonetheless. And I have no doubt it shocked a kid or two into reality, and sent their helicopter parents into a tizzy.

Now, can we get this guy to talk at the Democratic National Convention to tell their entitlement-addicted constituents to grow up to?
 
“You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake, you are the same organic decaying matter as everything else” - Tyler Durden.

Would have been hilarious if he asked them to punch the person to their left as hard as they can ;)

I like the theme, I think people and parents all around the world have similar conversations with their kids, friends, co-workers. He gets points for doing it in public to an entire class.
 
Last edited:
Well that goes right back to the ail that plagues society; viewing children as a mere inconvenience and nothing worth all the time and energy it takes to have and raise them. . . just a nuisance - nothing more . . . worthless and wasted. :roll:

Seh made it sound like all these kids had life handed ot them on a golden platter - as if we'er all the 1% with silver spoons and golden rattles. :roll:

People don't have to believe they're unique; but at least they can be treated better than trash, yes?
 
Last edited:
Aunt Spiker said:
Well that goes right back to the ail that plagues society; viewing children as a mere inconvenience and nothing worth all the time and energy it takes to have and raise them. . . just a nuisance - nothing more . . . worthless and wasted. :roll:

Seh made it sound like all these kids had life handed ot them on a golden platter - as if we'er all the 1% with silver spoons and golden rattles. :roll:

People don't have to believe they're unique; but at least they can be treated better than trash, yes?
Click to expand...
It's funny because a big chunk of us in the US are literally one-percenters relative to the global population. ;)
 
Aunt Spiker said:
Well that goes right back to the ail that plagues society; viewing children as a mere inconvenience and nothing worth all the time and energy it takes to have and raise them. . . just a nuisance - nothing more . . . worthless and wasted. :roll:

Seh made it sound like all these kids had life handed ot them on a golden platter - as if we'er all the 1% with silver spoons and golden rattles. :roll:

People don't have to believe they're unique; but at least they can be treated better than trash, yes?
Click to expand...

Those children just became adults. If they don't get off their butts and become productive, contributing members of society, they will literally be worthless, wasted nuisances.

Also, your children are a nuisance to me. They compete with my children for resources. That's called "life."
 
Well my outlook on life is - if you haven't been booted in the a** at least 4 times before you check out . . . . . you haven't lived well. :mrgreen:
 
Billy the Kid said:
Well my outlook on life is - if you haven't been booted in the a** at least 4 times before you check out . . . . . you haven't lived well. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

No doubt. The school of hard knocks is the best there is.:lol:
 
lizzie said:
No doubt. The school of hard knocks is the best there is.:lol:
Click to expand...


I've been on both sides of "winning and losing". And I've lost my butt more than once. I admit I like winning a lot more, but the losing part taught me that fact. ;)
 
I agree that we are teaching children to think that they can never fail. It's a dreadful thing. Teachers had to stop using red pens to mark up papers because the kids felt bad. When tell someone that they're better than they really are, you get a person with no sense of realism. They will not be able to tell success from failure. Kids need to be taught a realistic view. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you screw up and pay dearly for it. A person needs to know to expect all of those things, and how to deal with them, not just to blindly think that they're winning all the time.
 
Erod said:
Bravo!

In this "Everybody gets a trophy" and "don't keep score" society we've been racing children in - many of which are now parents themselves - this is refreshing to hear in of all places...Massachusetts.

I'm sure being the son of David McCullough allowed this teacher the assuredness that he could get away with such a commencement message, but it is refreshing nonetheless. And I have no doubt it shocked a kid or two into reality, and sent their helicopter parents into a tizzy.

Now, can we get this guy to talk at the Democratic National Convention to tell their entitlement-addicted constituents to grow up to?
Click to expand...
I like that he let them know how many other people and institutions helped them get to where they are. That's something that a lot of people take for granted, especially people who think that success is only a matter of choice and say things like, "I and I alone got me to where I am."

However, I don't like the conclusion he draws from all this is that the students aren't special. Aside from the fact that it is just simply inaccurate since everyone is special in terms of their individuality, it's also not a good message to send to teenagers who, in the future, will most benefit themselves and society by using and improving what makes them special. The end message is pretty gross.
 
Last edited:
ThePlayDrive said:
However, I don't like the conclusion he draws from all this is that the students aren't special. Aside from the fact that it is just simply inaccurate since everyone is special in terms of their individuality, it's also not a good message to send to teenagers who, in the future, will most benefit themselves and society by using and improving what makes them special. The end message is pretty gross.
Click to expand...

Everyone may be special in terms of individuality, but individuality doesn't pay the bills very well. It's not how one feels about themselves that gives them life skills. It's problem-solving.
 
A punctuator to this is that many school systems, particularly inner-city schools, are not allowed to give students zeroes for not turning in homework on time or truancy. They are REQUIRED to allow them to make up work any time they want to. (This is the case in Dallas at predominantly Hispanic and African-American high schools.)

As a result, kids are woefully prepared for the demands of a job, let alone college.
 
ThePlayDrive said:
I like that he let them know how many other people and institutions helped them get to where they are. That's something that a lot of people take for granted, especially people who think that success is only a matter of choice and say things like, "I and I alone got me to where I am."

However, I don't like the conclusion he draws from all this is that the students aren't special. Aside from the fact that it is just simply inaccurate since everyone is special in terms of their individuality, it's also not a good message to send to teenagers who, in the future, will most benefit themselves and society by using and improving what makes them special. The end message is pretty gross.
Click to expand...

I could not disagree more.

I tell my kids this: "Your mom and I love you. So do your grandparents and sisters and a few of your close friends. We feel and share in your pain and your joy.

"But the rest of the world really doesn't care if you live or die. Your failures only clear the path for their successes. And think about it, we HAVE to be like that to a degree. Imagine how difficult life would be if we carried every tragedy with us all day and every day indefinitely? How could we get through the day knowing what happened in Sudan yesterday or at Auschitz half a century ago? People die and have horrible things happen to them every day. We have the instinctive capacity to press on and worry most about ourselves. It's necessary for survival.

"And people certainly won't worry about your petty complaints. They'll fake sympathy, then forget about it altogether within seconds of walking away, just like you would. And if you drop the ball, someone will gladly step in and take your place. That's just the way people and life are. That's how we have to be to survive."

I hope that doesn't sound cold, but it's absolutely the truth. It's just in our DNA.
 
Last edited:
Can't all be Charlie Sheen! :peace
 
Should be the speech given to every graduating Senior in the nation.
 
lizzie said:
I don't know that it would do any good. Probably the best teacher these kids will have is life itself.
Click to expand...

Smart ones will get it. But your counter is the whole purpose of McCullough's speech. Kids today are protected from "life" until they're on their own. Guess that explains why so many 25-30 year olds are still living in Mom and Dad's basement.
 
Fishstyx said:
Smart ones will get it. But your counter is the whole purpose of McCullough's speech. Kids today are protected from "life" until they're on their own. Guess that explains why so many 25-30 year olds are still living in Mom and Dad's basement.
Click to expand...

Then if Mom and Dad are supporting their over-grown children, let Mom and Dad pay for it. There is no shortage of dysfunctional parents around. They are the ones who are raising the grandchildren.
 
Erod said:
I could not disagree more.

I tell my kids this: "Your mom and I love you. So do your grandparents and sisters and a few of your close friends. We feel and share in your pain and your joy.

"But the rest of the world really doesn't care if you live or die. Your failures only clear the path for their successes. And think about it, we HAVE to be like that to a degree. Imagine how difficult life would be if we carried every tragedy with us all day and every day indefinitely? How could we get through the day knowing what happened in Sudan yesterday or at Auschitz half a century ago? People die and have horrible things happen to them every day. We have the instinctive capacity to press on and worry most about ourselves. It's necessary for survival.

"And people certainly won't worry about your petty complaints. They'll fake sympathy, then forget about it altogether within seconds of walking away, just like you would. And if you drop the ball, someone will gladly step in and take your place. That's just the way people and life are. That's how we have to be to survive."

I hope that doesn't sound cold, but it's absolutely the truth. It's just in our DNA.
Click to expand...
That doesn't sound cold. My mother said a lot of similar things to me. She told me I had to be 100x better than everyone else in school, that I can't focus on my failures, that I am the only one that I can 100% count on and that others will leave you behind as quickly as they can find a way to (or some variation of all that). However, she also taught me to value my individuality and to use it in order to create a life for myself that I will love and to impact the world in exactly the way I want to.

I accept and believe in the notion that the rest of the world will run you the hell over. However, I reject the notion that individuals, including the high school students mentioned in the OP, are not special. They are because they are individuals and they will not reach their potential if they start to believe the myth that they aren't anything special.
 
This is just so strange; a large number of people here just think kids have it easy - I'm sure some might but some don't . . . I dont' think it's fair to have such a blind assumption that every child is somehow priveledged and spoiled. I think some of our issues in this country are because of hte exact opposite; they're abandoned and neglected too much.
 
Aunt Spiker said:
This is just so strange; a large number of people here just think kids have it easy - I'm sure some might but some don't . . . I dont' think it's fair to have such a blind assumption that every child is somehow priveledged and spoiled. I think some of our issues in this country are because of hte exact opposite; they're abandoned and neglected too much.
Click to expand...

That's a good point, but the abandoned and neglected are unlikely to be in this graduating class. If they are than good for them, and they've already learned the message.
 
Aunt Spiker said:
This is just so strange; a large number of people here just think kids have it easy - I'm sure some might but some don't . . . I dont' think it's fair to have such a blind assumption that every child is somehow priveledged and spoiled. I think some of our issues in this country are because of hte exact opposite; they're abandoned and neglected too much.
Click to expand...

I don't think that all kids have it easy. I do believe that generally speaking, we coddle and spoil our children, and tell they how special and wonderful they are, to their future detriment. Of course most of us think our own children are special. I am no exception to that rule of thumb, and imo, we should believe that of our own children. To do otherwise is to lack appreciation for the gifts that they truly are.

That being said, when you frequently tell a child how wonderful and special he is, without his actually having done anything to show that he really is special in some regard, you are giving him the false impression that his worth is superficial. It's like treating a beautiful woman differently than you would an ugly woman, solely because of her physical beauty. It's superficial, and it uses her shallowness to make her think her self-worth is tied to her looks, rather than how she as a thinking, feeling person.

Children need to feel like they are special to their parents, but they also need to realize that the world will make them prove their worthiness.
 
I think there's a huge difference between being a nutter-mother . . . being a normal parent . . . and then being a neglectful parent.

I think the average parent falls in the middle - with the extremes that shape negative situations being on either end of hte spectrum; yet still having children who are balanced and successful spit ones lack of reasoning and balance.

Most kids I know aren't told they're special - and aren't given special treatment. . . in fact; I bet you every day someone in their life tells them they're ****.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom