Commencement Address
It would be almost impossible not to close your eyes for just a moment today to look back to the beginning, to the time when parents counted fingers and toes, made a final choice of name—Vera, Hayata, Jessica—or heard their child cry for the first time. How long has it been since parent and child first gazed at each other—not really knowing the other person but being two people absolutely in love nonetheless? How long has it been since parent and child first fell asleep in each other’s arms, hearts beating as one? How long since the first time, in the dead of night or maybe at the break of day, morning’s gentle stirrings just beginning, when secret wishes were confided, fears and hopes and dreams for the future? How long? Seconds, it seems. Just a blink of an eye and here we are.
How long since these students were first left in a classroom, in the care of another– someone else teaching them, caring for them and guiding their discovery of the world? How long since that first amazing moment when they learned to read? How many paintings and sculptures created and “ooed” and “ahed” over? How many skinned knees or skinned feelings soothed? How long since that first trip out into the world alone, beyond a parent’s reach? So many moments that we can look back on to measure how far these, now, young adults have moved from where they began. It seems as if nothing has happened since those very first moments. And yet, it seems as if everything has happened since those very first moments.
And so here we are. Looking up at you, our little charges grown into adults. Here we are, so proud of you, so full of admiration, so amazed at who you have become, so in awe of the promise that you embody. This promise has not changed. Whether during those early days imagining what the future would bring, or sitting here today, seeing just how beautiful and handsome you are up here on the stage, how confident you are, how vital you are—there is now at this moment, as there was then, that promise of good things to come. Welcome, class of 2009, to this moment.
Good Afternoon. Welcome trustees, administrators, faculty, students, families and guests to this moment, the 64th commencement exercises of LREI, Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School. My name is Philip Kassen, and I have the distinct and daily pleasure of being the Director of LREI. We are here today to honor the 47 graduating seniors seated before you.
Before we do so, however, I ask you, students, families, friends to join me in expressing our gratitude to the faculty of LREI, all of whom are here today. This moment would not be this moment without you and without those who you represent.
Of particular note, to Steve Neiman, Middle School computer teacher, congratulations on completing your 30th year at LREI and to Mark Bledstein, high school history teacher, congratulations on your 40th year at LREI. We can’t thank you enough.
You have grown and changed, graduates, and the world has grown and changed with and around you. So much in the world has changed since you began your school career. Computers more powerful than any found during your early days are now carried like loose change in your pockets. In your lifetime a space telescope that has helped to answer fundamental questions about the Universe was not only placed into orbit but now, unbelievably, is beginning its last act. The ways in which we communicate and find entertainment have become more varied, flexible and interactive. Thankfully, as a society, we have developed a new respect and understanding for the need to be more careful stewards of the earth’s resources. And of course, when you entered Kindergarten few of us would have thought that we would have a Latina nominee for the Supreme Court and an African – American President.
Some things remain the same, however, and they fall into the categories of the bad and the good. The Bad–War and hatred, hunger and poverty, sickness, and despair are still with us. It is hard to read a newspaper (themselves once part of daily life, now possibly on their way to being artifacts) or watch TV (on an actual set or online or on a phone) without seeing examples of age-old human misery and suffering. Whether hunger or poverty around the world or in our backyard, bigotry on an individual or institutional level, ignorance, inequality or intolerance—change comes harder to people than it does to widgets and whatnots. No matter how far technology, scientific understanding or artistic expression have traveled, the pace of development that there has been in most adults’ ability to find ways to peacefully and constructively coexist, to respectfully disagree and to follow the rule of law is shockingly and painfully sluggish. It is this reluctance and refusal to change that permits acts such as the murder of a doctor for simply providing legal healthcare to women faced with unbearably difficult decisions.
As for the good—love, service, arts, caring, empathy, honesty, trust, hard work, and on and on—they sustain us and it does not take much, even in a city like ours, to see examples of the good as you move through your days. The good is there, it is everywhere, it does not, however, rise to the surface often enough.
Your years at LREI fostered your progress. Progressive education at its heart is hopeful and optimistic and encourages students to see a future that is open and endless not closed and limiting. This experience has allowed you to develop in ways that while we knew they were coming we did not know where and how your journey would end. You are so capable. So able to participate in the world. So able to impact the world and each other. So able to make yourselves heard and known. So able to bring your powers and talents to bear.
So, you are changing—very quickly, and the world is changing—also quickly, and people, in general, are changing—though not so quickly. This presents an opportunity for you, class of 2009 and one that you should not squander. How can you use your new powers and the forces of good as levers against the inertia of the bad? Your job, your responsibility, is to use all of the tools at your disposal to confront intolerance and hate. To work against the weight of complacency and push your friends and family and colleagues and those people you don’t know to imagine a more just world, a more equitable time, a brighter future.
So, you ask, how to do this? You can join others who are already working in this manner, some of your classmates among them. You can invite colleagues to join you in the search for opportunities. You can start big and challenge global issues or you can start small, in your own life, close to home. Be kind to all with whom you come into contact, each day say hello to someone you don’t know, volunteer at a library or a soup kitchen. Spread the word regarding a cause about which you are passionate via Twitter—140 characters, well chosen and well used might just change the world.
There are so many means and methods available to you. I urge you to find the one or ones that resonate with your hopes and dreams.
What do you have to do to meet the challenge of those first wishes whispered in your ear by the ones who love you so much, as you fell slowly to sleep, so many moments ago? Seize this moment in your life, so filled with opportunity. It is a gift. Accept and cherish it and put it to good use. Promise that you will come back and tell us of your successes. We love you dearly. Best of luck.