Awesome HS Commencement Speech by Teacher out of Boston..

You can always count on men to do something brazenly emotionless and then have other lemmings (Poster #2 who I believe will do what he said and Poster #1 who felt the need to create this thread) follow in their footsteps in complete admiration of their mechanized assault on the human psyche. 

Take note: these are machine-men with machine minds.

The speaker opens with typical self-victimization mindset bullshit where he complains that brides, of all things, get all the attention at weddings as opposed to the groom and groomsmen. Oh the horror!!!

This misogynistic crap is typical of males who are unmarried or unhappily married and then feel the need to take swipes at a bride pool that rejected them or the wives that can no longer bear to live with them.

It's no surprise he then goes on to attack young adults, who might I add, aren't even legally adults in either mind or responsibility, because he feels they will pat themselves on the back too hard for accomplishing the most significant achievement up until that point in their lives.

The result? National attention...mainly from men of the same ilk who control the media establishment and disseminate these things to men of lower order, and of course, a thread in a forum that become more worthless by the day with its worthlessness heightened by its posters; including this gameman joke who believes he will be doing his granddaughter a favor of all things by including this speech in a card with check that will probably bounce.

This is the state of men in America today. It would be more pathetic if it weren't so remarkable. 

My advice? Use these men as the antithesis of what a man can be and model yourself forward from that point. I can assure you, no progeny of mine would ever exhibit this type of deeply internalized anger, hate and brutishness if I could help it.

 I agree. I also thought it was good.

I have to disagree with this. He isn't intending to beat these kids spirits down. He is just letting them know that, as special as they may think they are at that moment, there are millions of kids that are in that exact same mindset. 

He is also encouraging them to realize that graduating high school really isn't that big of a deal. Also, that striving for something more is what they all should be pursuing. Also that they shouldn't just pick a job/career or pursue an interest just because they think it will make them rich and famous, or even moderately comfortable. He is pushing them to pursue the things that they love, which is something most people sacrifice along the way in order to pursue the things I just mentioned. 

I don't think this teacher gave this particular speech in order to shatter dreams or to bring the kids down. But rather in hopes of realizing that what they have just accomplished pales in comparison to what they can accomplish if they have the right mind set. 

How many of us thought "finally high school is done and I can relax a bit"? I know I did and immediately was lost after high school. The real world swallows up a lot of people and they lose sight of what they really want to do in life. 

I give this guy a lot of credit for giving a speech that was definitely against the grain and outside of the box. He didn't conform to the typical commencement speech. Which is appropriate, since he is essentially telling the kids not to conform to a lot of what society has been teaching them over the previous 18 years. 

I respect your thoughts Scal but I have to disagree with them. 

Let's talk about the first paragraph because I will become a bit long-winded in response to the entire post.

When exactly did these kids, or most any kids in any high school, think they are 'special' for graduating? Are they running around the halls hooting and hollering with their diploma in their hand? Are they bragging to friends and family for accomplishing what most people do in their lifetimes, something that is largely unremarkable?

Who here, on this site, thought they were special for graduating? If a feeling exclusivity for this achievement is prevalent among these kids, it should be evident among some of those who graduated, even gamblers. 

So who here was basking in the glow of graduation at their high school ceremony?

Those who answer in the affirmative are usually on the fringes of failing and eked out a diploma, and those people definitely have something to celebrate because it probably is one of their biggest achievements up until that point in their lives. 

This peddling of the "you are not so special" mantra is a myth because most, if not the overwhelming majority, do not feel that way.

I certainly didn't. I looked at is as an accomplishment and was a significant step towards higher education and finally getting a job. Period. That's not self-centered in any way. That's completely normal and many of these kids feel the same way.

So my question is this: The school forces you to have a graduation ceremony. It forces you to wear a cap and gown and provides you with passes for your family. THE SCHOOL arranges for all the pomp and circumstance that accompanies this celebration. Most importantly, it even arranges for who will be the commencement speaker, even a ne'er-do-well like this one.

Where in the world does this guy get off telling these kids THEY think THEY are special because they are attending a ceremony the school arranged? THEY are simply doing what they are told. Would not attending the graduation satisfy him?

If anything, the speaker should address the school, not the students with regard to the alleged pomposity the graduation ceremony delivers. 

The students are simply marching along to the beat of the school and society's drum.

I don't come on here to look for an argument. I say what I have to and leave. If a response is needed I will return to provide one.

All the media hubbub this idiot aroused needed to be addressed on my part. 

Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing about the commencement speaker. 

Well since he is an English teacher at the school and interacts with some, if not a lot, of the kids on a daily basis. I think he would be far more qualified to know how the kids act and what they are thinking than you or I would be. Unless of course, you happen to be a high school educator. 

I don't get why you have such an issue with the ceremony itself? This speech is applicable if the kids attend a ceremony or not. 

It has to do with mindset these kids are going out into the world with. It's about realizing a journey is just beginning and not ending. The world is about to get a lot more competitive and more difficult for a lot of these kids. 

I'm glad you didn't fall into the category that this teacher is speaking about. Millions of graduating high school seniors probably do though. Hopefully this message helps to motivate some of them. 

Although at this point, I don't think you interpret messages the same way that most people do. I think you purposely seek out the opposing side, whether you actually agree with it or not. And then you try to steer the conversation towards points that aren't really relevant, such as the ceremony itself. If he had said it at an assembly of mixed classes would it have any different meaning?