The internet has been abuzz following the Wellesley High School graduation speech given by English teacher David McCullough, Jr., the main premise of which is to tell graduates, “you are not special.”
McCullough talks about the fact that across the country this June there are 37,000 valedictorians, 37,000 class presidents, and multiples of that in numbers of jocks and performing arts stars. He highlights the fact that students graduating today grew up getting trophies for participation, not achievement. ”If everyone gets a trophy , don’t they become meaningless?” he asks.
Check out the speech (it is well worth your 12minutes, McCullough has a great sense of humor and the speech is quite funny as well as on-target) and let us know in the comments what you think!
I’ll hold my hands up and confess, I was one of those all fired up to denounce this speech. How dare he take this line on what is supposed to be a happy occasion! I’m no fan of a culture of entitlement but I’m even less of a fan of anyone who assumes that every single student must be an entitled brat.
Fortunately, I read the speech before sounding off and that’s not the line David McCullogh took at all. Don’t get me wrong, he was attacking the culture of entitlement but he wasn’t hopping up and down, spit flying from his mouth, screaming “You think this, you expect that, who do you think you are?!” and all the rest of it.
When he said “You’re not special”, he meant “you’re not special right now”. That special should only ever be a by-product, not the end goal in itself. Consider these lines:
“Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. ”
Those lines are so, so true. There can’t be much worse than chasing a dream that isn’t a dream at all, just something that you know will win the approval of those watching you. Yes, an ambition to become a doctor or an engineer will be admired. People will nod approvingly, they’ll think you’re worthwhile.
But it’s not for them to decide what makes you worthwhile. If you become a doctor or an engineer, do it because that’s what you want, not because those are the graduate jobs that are certain to command respect.
There’s no one set of criteria for special. You decide your own criteria, don’t let anyone else do it for you.