To The Class of 2016

To paraphrase Groucho Marx, if a school actually invited me to give a graduation speech I wouldn't want to be associated with that type of school. But the annual graduation address has a long history at the Teaching Underground, and I would hate to see the tradition die. So...

To the Class of 2016,

Congratulations, your mortar boards are straight, you make the gown look good, and in short time you'll have an official piece of paper in your hand. But you're smart enough to know that these things aren't the things that you've worked for. These things are the things that mark an achievement.

Some people scoff at the symbol and the ceremony. Some people scoff at the system and it's goals. Grades, deadlines, bells, rules... But we know better. We've worked hard together. And behind all of the veneer-- under the cap and gown, behind that official piece of paper-- that's where we find all of the effort that you put in and all of the shortcuts that you've taken. The relationships that helped you grow, and the pain caused by others. The way you changed your thinking about some things, and dug in your heels to resist certain others.

The classes you enjoyed, the classes you endured, and the classes that you skipped.

Outside looking in, it's easy to just see the cap and the gown and the paper. But you know what's underneath.

As you go out into the world remember that. Remember that humanity and its experience has depth. Both virtuous and flawed. You haven't participated in a perfect system for the last thirteen years, but you have been a part of a system that has strived to support you into becoming the best person that you can be.

We've had successes. We've had failure. Yes, there has been the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Now you embarq on a new stage of your life. Hopefully you'll learn that schools are not broken, government is not broken, religion isn't broken, the world isn't broken-- they're just made up of people, like you, like me, a complex mix of virtue and flaw. This means that we work on the flaws, and strive for virtue, learning as we go.

Just like what you find underneath that cap and gown is a complex mix of virtuous and flawed humanity, the systems that we create are the same. That means that we work on the flaws, and strive for virtue, and continue learning all the way.

I wish you the best on your way.

To The Class of 2015

For the last five years, I've written a "graduation speech that wasn't" on the blog. We don't even really have a speech at our high school's graduation anymore, but if I had a chance, here's what I'd say to the class of 2015:

I’m struggling to keep up with you. This is the first year I’ve noticed. Once during my first year of teaching, one student asked a classmate listening to a “walkman”—“What are you listening to?”  The student replied, “nothing anybody in here would recognize except Mr. Turner.” Not any more. I still think of Pearl Jam as new music.

I’ve finally reached the age of jumping the chasm across the generation gap, and when I look back to the other side it often leaves me confused. Here’s what I see that is different—not worse, just different.

You expect things to start faster. I used to wait for my favorite show every week, sit through a 1-3 minute elaborate theme song, tolerate a short commercial break, and then enjoy the slow build up to the main plot of the show. Today we binge watch shows online, that mostly start with a cold open, right in the middle of the action.

You don’t have to plan ahead.. When I was a teenager, if you showed up late, or even worse, if someone else was on the phone, our plan for the weekend could end before it even started. Today, we just send a text when we’re ready to meet.

You can legitimately outsource some responsibility. As a teenager and young adult, I had to keep up with class handouts, and later on, my bills. Today, we don’t need to remember as much because it is accessible on demand. I’ll admit, I even get a weekly text reminder from my google calendar to take out the trash.

Notice I didn’t make a stark contrast with me and you. I binge watch, text when I’m ready, and remember only what I deem necessary. We live in the same world, but the world that made me is different than the world that has made you.

What can we learn from this different world?

Early in your life, you experienced September 11,  Hurricane’s Katrina and Sandy, numerous shootings and civil unrest, even an earthquake in Central Virginia. We learned that safety, security, and stability shouldn’t be taken for granted. Policies and plans are necessary, but human wisdom, flexibility, and cooperation get us through the chaos.

Throughout your life, access to nearly everything has expanded. You can find out the GDP of New Zealand, learn about the origins of Punk Rock, or watch a monkey drink it’s own urine, with a click of your mouse. You learn from an early age that some things seen can’t be unseen. As you grow older, you will learn that just because something is available doesn’t mean it’s ok to consume.

Today, you live in a world with unprecedented recording. Whether in written word, images, or moving pictures, much of our life is documented. You’ve grown up learning how to manage a profile. But integrity is still vital for your mental health. It’s hard to manage our image, so the quicker you learn to be who you are, the better off you will be.

My hope for you as my future is this: May you enter a new world of technology and innovation with a strong sense of yourself, your world, and your part in it. May you continue to recognize the importance of civic responsibility and your greater connection to humanity. May you continue to seek out wisdom, and struggle to find a strong moral code. This will prepare you to wield the power that our world is about to place in your hands.

To the Class of 2014

Each year we watch another class of students walk across the stage to graduate and every cohort differs from the year before. I've composed addresses to each of these classes based on their personalities and my experiences with them. (2013 , 2012 , 2011 ) Below is this years edition of our "graduation speech that wouldn't be".

To the Class of 2014:

I am hopeful about your future. But I’m afraid that some of the important lessons of life that you should have learned by now are going to happen before you’re able to go boldly into that future. I’ve taught some of the brightest and hardest working students of my career this year, but I’ve also watched many students struggle to cope with the changing demands of our current context.

This year I discovered that many of you have learned the unhealthy coping mechanism of avoidance. While my normal absence rate was around 6 or 7 percent, that number magically went up to over twenty percent on every test day. Somewhere along the line you’ve learned “why do it today if I can put it off until tomorrow.” And I’ve had to tolerate giving you the chance to make it up on your own schedule and timeframe.

Educators point out it’s about the learning and find it clever to point out SATs, MCATs, LSATs, etc., can be taken over and over until you pass. But if you don’t perform next year to the standards of your school, they won’t let you come back, at least for another year. Some decisions are final and all decisions have consequences. So I hope that you take advantage of second chances without assuming beforehand that you’ll always have them.

This year I discovered that many of you have adopted the unhealthy attitude of American adults that glorifies “21^st century” excess. The excess of our century is busyness, activity, and work. You take eight classes, participate in a sport, maintain a social life, and leave town for a four day field trip with your band just a few weeks after Spring Break and just a few weeks before AP and End of Year testing and wonder why you’re so overburdened with work.

There’s nothing wrong with experiencing all that you can while you’re young, but time is not limitless. We reach a point where participation in something is going to affect our performance. An adult must work a little harder to plan for and then work a little harder to catch up from a weeks vacation from work. Along the way, you’ve learned that you should be able to do it all—the coach should give you playing time, the teacher should give you an A, you should have time to practice your part in the play, and your social life shouldn’t suffer.

You have a hard time handling life when it doesn’t work out this way. I’ve had to provide more weeks of material for your homebound instruction this year than at any point in the past. And the reasons for homebound instruction have not been physical recovery, they’ve all been psychological. We’re quick to treat your mental health, but slow to question whether your mental health is fine, perhaps the environment is toxic.

More likely than not, you’re going to be fine. Most of you were accountable for yourselves even when you didn’t have to be. Some of you will learn that after leaving this place, that only you are accountable for yourself. No other institution is going to take the blame for your bad behaviors, lack of preparation, or the fact that you just choose to not show up.

Of course every person is different, but based on my time with you collectively, if I had to offer one piece of advice to help you into the future it would be this:

“Simplify. Life can only progress one moment at a time. Learn what you can handle in those moments and make them count. There is only so much in life that you can be responsible for, but taking on more than that is no excuse for being irresponsible. Despite what you’ve heard, you can’t have it all, but you can have enough.”

To The Class of 2013

One more year and one more time that the Teaching Underground hasn't been invited to share a graduation message at one of the nation's elite educational institutions. But, our very own Mr. Lindsay will have the honor of reading the names of our high school graduates at this year's commencement exercises.

As in 2011 and 2012, I've once again attempted to write the graduation speech that won't be delivered to the class of 2013. Enjoy.

To the class of 2013. Remember privacy.

You live in a world where data rules. From “MoneyBall” to SOL tests, from Algorithms suggesting friends to music that you might enjoy.

Much of this is nice. Decision-making is difficult. By the time you’re my age, like me, you will be sick of the conversation that starts with, “what do you feel like for dinner tonight?”

Movie recommendations on Netflix, friend suggestions on social media, food suggestions from supermarkets based on your purchase history—this is empowering. You don’t have to waste so much time on meaningless decisions anymore. Now that brain power is freed up, liberated.

To do what?

I’ve heard the President doesn’t even pick out his clothes for the day because of the mental energy devoted to making choices.

I don’t have as many important decisions in the day as the President, so I’ll keep picking out my own clothes. For now.

And you probably should too.

Adults might hold the ideal that we just need to get out of the way and let you become who you’re meant to be. You might like that idea too. But when I get out of the way, something else will step right in to take my place.

Your generation probably deals with more influence from the outside world than any before you. Part of it is because they know so much about you it’s easy to manipulate your preferences and likes.

I’m not trying to be a Luddite, but I want you to know, if you’re not careful about outsourcing your decision-making, eventually you won’t even realize that someone else is in control of your life.

It’s only natural. You may have heard of choice paralysis. Sometimes when we have too many options, we don’t know what to do. I like having the supermarket push items in the weekly sales ad that fits my shopping profile. I don’t like it when marketers or political pollsters know the balance on my mortgage and what that predicts about my future behavior.

These will be the most important decisions about life that you will have to make in the coming years. How much of myself will I expose to the world and how much will I hold back.

And in the age of information, if you choose to expose, there’s no going back inside.

Good luck navigating the twenty-first century.

To the Class of 2012

With graduation season well upon us, there is no shortage of witty and wise graduation messages to the class of 2012.  We pointed out last year that the Teaching Underground isn't likely to make any of those wise and witty speeches, but after teaching the class of 2012 for the last nine months I'd like to offer the second annual Teaching Underground Graduation Speech.

To the Class of 2012::

Congratulations!  Welcome to the 88% of adult Americans with a high school diploma.  Some people will tell you it doesn’t mean that much anymore.  But do you remember your first day of school.  It was probably a big deal.  Pictures, special clothes, extra attention—some of you might have even brought a tear to your parents’ eyes.  The fact that it was the first day of school for every other five year old in the county didn’t diminish the significance of that day in your life.  A high school diploma is an expectation in our American culture, but don’t let that convince you that what you’ve accomplished is anything less than a success.

With this success, I do have a little bad news.  People have been telling you otherwise for a while, but it’s time you know the truth.  You can’t be anything you want to be anymore.  You have set a course in elementary, middle, and high school for yourself that has laid parameters for what you may accomplish into the future.  The sooner you discover those parameters and work toward maximizing your opportunities within them, the happier you will find yourself in life.

For example--  If you’ve never picked up a golf club in your life, don’t count on winning the Master’s.  If I just crushed your dream, you can still practice hard and make some sacrifices for the next twenty-five years of your life and hope to earn a spot on the senior tour.

If you meandered through high school doing just enough to pass your classes with a “C” or “D”, you’re not likely to find yourself in the 2016 entering class of Harvard Law School.  Don’t leave high school with the false impression that now you’re going to ace the next two years of community college, transfer to a top tier four-year university, and graduate into a six-figure salary.  Good intentions alone won’t change over a decade of learned study habits and attitudes.

Success takes hard work, but just as importantly, it takes wise work.  Chasing a dream makes for great books and movies when they work, but tune into American Idol in January—you know, when they host try-outs and everyone laughs at the terrible contestants who thought they could sing.  Some dreams are best left in the middle of the night.

You’ve earned a diploma, so I hope that you’ve learned to listen critically.  I don’t want you to put your dreams aside and move into the real world at eighteen years old.  Frankly, that’s not even healthy for a forty year old.  But you’ve been told the opposite for too long, so long it almost sounds cruel to say otherwise. 

It helps to remember your failures.  Some of you haven’t been allowed to have very many of them, but think.  Remember not getting picked by your classmates, being cut from a team, not getting the part in a play, failing a test, college rejection letters.  Despite it all, you’re still here today.  You’re still sitting in a cap and gown, ignoring the speaker, wishing it would be over, not sure whether you should be happy or sad, nervous or excited. You’re experiencing a richness of life that only comes through effort, failures, perseverance, then success.

You can’t do “anything” you set your mind to, but you can set your mind toward significant and lasting accomplishments that you can be proud of.

I teach Psychology, and students this year learned that individuals who are motivated to succeed choose challenging but reachable goals.  If you want to get better at basketball, you don’t stand right under the basket to practice shooting.  But, standing well beyond half-court taking shot after failing shot is just as much a waste of time.  Waiting for luck is different than looking for success. 

This will determine where you are ten, twenty, fifty years from now.  Complacency breeds mediocrity and unfettered idealism breeds justified failure.  Challenge yourself with realistic goals.  Stretch just beyond your comfortable ability and when you reach comfort, stretch just a little more.  Don’t rest on past accomplishments or give up because of current failures.

Take a lesson from the cap and gown you’ve earned the right to wear today.  Life is not lived for a single moment of achievement.  Each achievement is a commencement for a new chapter of life, a new series of set backs and successes, both of which propel you into the future.  Embrace that future by welcoming the challenge.  

Keep your eyes on the stars if that’s your destination, but don’t spend a lifetime stuck on the ground because ignoring reality and refusing to fight gravity.

To The Class of 2011

For the next few weeks, important people across the nation will stand in front of graduates and their families delivering thoughtful and articulate speeches to the class of 2011. I may never make one of these speeches, but after teaching the class of 2011 for the last nine months I decided to draft the speech that I would give them.

To the class of 2011:

Too many people will tell you today that you are our future. You’re not.

Thank you very much, but I have my own plans for the future and depending on yours they may intersect, but no, I’m not looking out with excitement about your potential to take care of my world tomorrow. I want you to change your world today.

You are not the future. That would mean that everything you do today has no other value than what it prepares you for at some future time. After today, some of you who’ve been in my Friend queue on Facebook will make the cut and I will confirm our friendship. But I’ll let you in on an important secret. Most of you have been my peers for months. I learn from you, I grow because of you, I become a better person because you were a part of my life. Now that you turn the tassle from left to right it merely becomes a matter of formality.

Maybe if you’d known this earlier you would have acted more like it. The classes you skipped, the tests you didn’t prepare for, or the homework you either half-way did or borrowed from a friend aren’t really the behaviors I expect from my peers. That’s ok though, just because I’ve called you a friend doesn’t mean that you don't still have some growing up to do. I have a little of that left myself.

But remember, you’re not my future, you’re your own present. So act like it.

All this future talk can lead you down the wrong road. For a long time, us adults were pretty immune from the whim of fad and fashion. It seems that technology has changed this as well. We’re motivated by the next best thing and constantly try to stay ahead of the curve. You’re graduating, it’s time to ignore the curve. Don’t spend your life chasing the tail of the world hoping to hop on it’s back for a ride. Learn who you are, embrace your identity. Whether it’s rooted in family, faith, or passion, embrace your identity and let the world chase your tail, and hop on for a ride.

Everyone will tell you that you’ve grown up in the information age, but the information age is coming to an end. Instead of chasing what’s next, discover what is enduring. The values that never go out of style—creativity, excellence, and generosity. Simply put, create stuff; do it well; and share it. Maybe you’ll make a few bucks off of it, but if you haven’t noticed, we’ve created a pretty rotten economy for you to inherit. Financial success is no guarantee, so you might as well work toward fulfillment. You’re more likely to find it than wealth, and really, if you find it, you’ve found wealth.

To everyone who graduates today, stand up if you were accepted into the college of your dreams; if you’re proud today of the accomplishments you’ve achieved in your sport or performing art; if you think of all your classmates and someone comes to mind that you’ve helped become a better person; if you’ve fallen in love or found a best friend; stand up if you’re just glad to be graduating and finally have high school behind you. ( I assume that includes everyone)

If you felt sick when the rejection letter came, have a seat; if you remember a moment when you forgot a line, hit a wrong note, or just blew a big game; if you’ve hurt someone in your class in a way you wish you could take back; if you’ve been heartbroken, or broken someone’s heart, or ruined a friendship by doing something stupid; if you’ve hated most every moment you’ve endured to make it to graduation today. (Again, I assume this covers everyone)

Congratulations to everyone who was able to stand tall! And also for taking a seat. You’ve experienced life. A rich series of events both bitter and sweet, sometimes all at once. Don’t fail to enjoy and savor the good, but don’t run from and hide from the bad. These are the moments that have made you the person you are and will continue to make you until death. Grab hold of them and own them. Be comfortable with yourself; and when someone asks about your future show them how you’re living it instead of telling them what you hope it will be.

Abraham Maslow said “I guarantee that if you strive to become anything less that what you are capable of you will never find happiness.” I believe that every one of you have something to offer this world. And we need it now. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Do something, do it well, and share it with the rest of us—today and for the rest of your life.