Graduation speech rant

[Jilly_in_VA]

Friday I attended the last high school graduation I'm likely to go to, that of my youngest grandson (I have one more granddaughter, but she's just a rising third-grader and I'm almost 83). It was nice and relatively short, except for one thing which kind of annoyed me. The first student speaker (I assume valedictorian, although they did not so designate him) was the son of someone my daughter had gone to preschool with. The dad is now pastor of a rather large non-denominational church. Well, this kid got up and basically preached a 5-minute sermon! His speech was laced with Bible quotes, mostly New Testament although he did throw in one from Jeremiah, from one end to another! Now this may be okay for a private (read: Christian) school graduation, but I really question its appropriateness for public school. Bearing in mind, of course, that this is ruby-red east Tennessee where some may have thought this was okay, still, I have questions and comments.

When I was in high school, the speakers had to submit the text of their speech to the administration the week before graduation. After I graduated, which was 1961, things got really tense, and during the protest days of the Vietnam War, at least one kid deviated from his submitted speech and they turned off his mic. I'm wondering if this is still the case, and how this speech got by if it is, because none of the other speakers, including the school board chairman, the superintendent of schools, the principal, the senior class president, or the other student speaker, so much as mentioned God, let alone the New Testament evangelical version! So how is this okay? Had I been a Buddhist or Jewish or Muslim student, I'd have been more than a little offended. After it was all over, my daughter, who went to Catholic high school, said, "Good grief! We didn't even have that at my graduation! Catholics don't proselytize like that!" I was generally appalled, wondering how it had gotten by, but all I said was, "I guess it's obvious who his dad is." And then I wondered exactly who wrote the speech....

[Diamond_Dog]

1. I agree - a speech full of Bible sermons is not appropriate for a public school.

I have attended Catholic h.s. Graduations that barely mentioned the Bible and focused more on going out in the world and doing good. I, too,question why that was allowed.

[MIButterfly]

2. That is inappropriate

I lived in Nashville from 1969-1979 and graduated from high school there in 1971. It was pretty heavy Bible Belt back then. I see it hasn't changed much in that regard in the last 47 years since I left.

When I was a senior, I entered a poem writing contest they had at school and the winning poem was all about God. It never occurred to me to mention God in my entry.

Anyway, I would've been put off by that speech as well.

[Sympthsical]

3. It's the student's personal speech

If someone employed by the school had done it or wrote the speech for the student, there'd be a valid complaint there.

But students are given leeway in expression - and it is this student's expression. There's no law against students being religious or expressing themselves that way. There have been multiple issues over graduations and religion/culture, and the law has generally come down on leaving students' religious and cultural expressions alone at graduation events.

And that goes for everyone. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, etc.

Probably not the most important thing in world. I genuinely do not remember a single speech anyone ever gave at one of my graduations. Probably be grateful it was only 5 minutes. I've been at some where the speaker just goes on and on and on, and there is only so much fanning with the program a body can do.

[JT45242]

5. Taught twenty years...students submitted speeches..not A STUDENT speech

These speeches are meant to bring together and build up. Usually you hear a lot of looking forward there won't be cliques of jocks, nerds, emo, goth, etc. we will be graduates striving to make our way in the world.

Heard "we are more alike than unalike" multiple times.

The speeches are a student speaking for the graduation class. They are told to include something personal but focus on the larger group.

Was a trusted teacher to many and so I saw early drafts along with the guidance counselors and stressed it's WE not ME.

[Sympthsical]

6. It's still student speech

And let's remember, we don't know what was actually said in this speech. We're getting a summary and subjective version of events that is very general. So, none of us really even know what is being objected to. Unless we have a transcript, who's to say?

I've sat through a lot worse at public events in my life.

Not all itches require scratching. I'm a gay man who has no love for evangelicals. Rolling one's eyes and moving on with life is the healthiest reaction to this sort of thing. Why surrender all that mental space rent free?

[Melon]

4. It's not appropriate given you are all trapped there.

But then again, this student earned the top honors in the school. Maybe he earned the 5 minutes to say what he wants. I’m sure if it was an atheist rant though they’d shut that down pronto.