Coxsackie-Athens Valedictorian Speech 2010

Posted Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The following speech was delivered by top of the class student Erica Goldson during the
graduation ceremony at Coxsackie-Athens High chool on !une "#$ "%&%
Here I Stand
Erica Goldson
There is a story of a young, ut earnest !en student "ho a##roached his teacher, and as$ed the
%aster, &If I "or$ 'ery hard and diligently, ho" long "ill it ta$e for (e to find !en) The %aster
thought aout this, then re#lied, &Ten years * *& The student then said, &+ut "hat if I "or$ 'ery,
'ery hard and really a##ly (yself to learn fast ,, Ho" long then)& -e#lied the %aster, &Well,
t"enty years*& &+ut, if I really$ really "or$ at it, ho" long then)& as$ed the student* &Thirty
years,& re#lied the %aster* &+ut, I do not understand,& said the disa##ointed student* &.t each
ti(e that I say I "ill "or$ harder, you say it "ill ta$e (e longer* Why do you say that)& -e#lied
the %aster, &When you ha'e one eye on the goal, you only ha'e one eye on the #ath*&
This is the dile((a I/'e faced "ithin the .(erican education syste(* We are so focused on a
goal, "hether it e #assing a test, or graduating as first in the class* Ho"e'er, in this "ay, "e do
not really learn* We do "hate'er it ta$es to achie'e our original o0ecti'e*
So(e of you (ay e thin$ing, 1Well, if you #ass a test, or eco(e 'aledictorian, didn/t you learn
so(ething) Well, yes, you learned so(ething, ut not all that you could ha'e* Perha#s, you only
learned ho" to (e(ori2e na(es, #laces, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your (ind
for the ne3t test* School is not all that it can e* -ight no", it is a #lace for (ost #eo#le to
deter(ine that their goal is to get out as soon as #ossile*
I a( no" acco(#lishing that goal* I a( graduating* I should loo$ at this as a #ositi'e e3#erience,
es#ecially eing at the to# of (y class* Ho"e'er, in retros#ect, I cannot say that I a( any (ore
intelligent than (y #eers* I can attest that I a( only the est at doing "hat I a( told and "or$ing
the syste(* 4et, here I stand, and I a( su##osed to e #roud that I ha'e co(#leted this #eriod of
indoctrination* I "ill lea'e in the fall to go on to the ne3t #hase e3#ected of (e, in order to
recei'e a #a#er docu(ent that certifies that I a( ca#ale of "or$* +ut I contest that I a( a hu(an
eing, a thin$er, an ad'enturer 5 not a "or$er* . "or$er is so(eone "ho is tra##ed "ithin
re#etition 5 a sla'e of the syste( set u# efore hi(* +ut no", I ha'e successfully sho"n that I
"as the est sla'e* I did "hat I "as told to the e3tre(e* While others sat in class and doodled to
later eco(e great artists, I sat in class to ta$e notes and eco(e a great test,ta$er* While others
"ould co(e to class "ithout their ho(e"or$ done ecause they "ere reading aout an interest of
theirs, I ne'er (issed an assign(ent* While others "ere creating (usic and "riting lyrics, I
decided to do e3tra credit, e'en though I ne'er needed it* So, I "onder, "hy did I e'en "ant this
#osition) Sure, I earned it, ut "hat "ill co(e of it) When I lea'e educational institutionalis(,
"ill I e successful or fore'er lost) I ha'e no clue aout "hat I "ant to do "ith (y life6 I ha'e no
interests ecause I sa" e'ery su0ect of study as "or$, and I e3celled at e'ery su0ect 0ust for the
#ur#ose of e3celling, not learning* .nd 7uite fran$ly, no" I/( scared*
John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and acti'ist critical of co(#ulsory schooling, asserts,
1We could encourage the est 7ualities of youthfulness 5 curiosity, ad'enture, resilience, the
ca#acity for sur#rising insight si(#ly y eing (ore fle3ile aout ti(e, te3ts, and tests, y
introducing $ids into truly co(#etent adults, and y gi'ing each student "hat autono(y he or she
needs in order to ta$e a ris$ e'ery no" and then* +ut "e don/t do that*8 +et"een these
cinderloc$ "alls, "e are all e3#ected to e the sa(e* We are trained to ace e'ery standardi2ed
test, and those "ho de'iate and see light through a different lens are "orthless to the sche(e of
#ulic education, and therefore 'ie"ed "ith conte(#t*
H* 9* %enc$en "rote in The .(erican %ercury for .#ril 1:2; that the ai( of #ulic education is
not
to fill the young of the s#ecies "ith $no"ledge and a"a$en their intelligence* ***
<othing could e further fro( the truth* The ai( *** is si(#ly to reduce as (any
indi'iduals as #ossile to the sa(e safe le'el, to reed and train a standardi2ed
citi2enry, to #ut do"n dissent and originality* That is its ai( in the =nited States*
>Gatto?
To illustrate this idea, doesn/t it #ertur you to learn aout the idea of 1critical thin$ing*8 Is there
really such a thing as 1uncritically thin$ing)8 To thin$ is to #rocess infor(ation in order to for(
an o#inion* +ut if "e are not critical "hen #rocessing this infor(ation, are "e really thin$ing) @r
are "e (indlessly acce#ting other o#inions as truth)
This "as ha##ening to (e, and if it "asn/t for the rare occurrence of an a'ant,garde tenth grade
English teacher, Aonna +ryan, "ho allo"ed (e to o#en (y (ind and as$ 7uestions efore
acce#ting te3too$ doctrine, I "ould ha'e een doo(ed* I a( no" enlightened, ut (y (ind still
feels disaled* I (ust retrain (yself and constantly re(e(er ho" insane this ostensily sane
#lace really is*
.nd no" here I a( in a "orld guided y fear, a "orld su##ressing the uni7ueness that lies inside
each of us, a "orld "here "e can either ac7uiesce to the inhu(an nonsense of cor#oratis( and
(aterialis( or insist on change* We are not enli'ened y an educational syste( that clandestinely
sets us u# for 0os that could e auto(ated, for "or$ that need not e done, for ensla'e(ent
"ithout fer'ency for (eaningful achie'e(ent* We ha'e no choices in life "hen (oney is our
(oti'ational force* @ur (oti'ational force ought to e #assion, ut this is lost fro( the (o(ent
"e ste# into a syste( that trains us, rather than ins#ires us*
We are (ore than rootic oo$shel'es, conditioned to lurt out facts "e "ere taught in school*
We are all 'ery s#ecial, e'ery hu(an on this #lanet is so s#ecial, so aren/t "e all deser'ing of
so(ething etter, of using our (inds for inno'ation, rather than (e(ori2ation, for creati'ity,
rather than futile acti'ity, for ru(ination rather than stagnation) We are not here to get a degree,
to then get a 0o, so "e can consu(e industry,a##ro'ed #lacation after #lacation* There is (ore,
and (ore still*
The saddest #art is that the (a0ority of students don/t ha'e the o##ortunity to reflect as I did* The
(a0ority of students are #ut through the sa(e rain"ashing techni7ues in order to create a
co(#lacent laor force "or$ing in the interests of large cor#orations and secreti'e go'ern(ent,
and "orst of all, they are co(#letely una"are of it* I "ill ne'er e ale to turn ac$ these 1B
years* I can/t run a"ay to another country "ith an education syste( (eant to enlighten rather than
condition* This #art of (y life is o'er, and I "ant to (a$e sure that no other child "ill ha'e his or
her #otential su##ressed y #o"ers (eant to e3#loit and control* We are hu(an eings* We are
thin$ers, drea(ers, e3#lorers, artists, "riters, engineers* We are anything "e "ant to e , ut only
if "e ha'e an educational syste( that su##orts us rather than holds us do"n* . tree can gro", ut
only if its roots are gi'en a healthy foundation*
Cor those of you out there that (ust continue to sit in des$s and yield to the authoritarian
ideologies of instructors, do not e disheartened* 4ou still ha'e the o##ortunity to stand u#, as$
7uestions, e critical, and create your o"n #ers#ecti'e* Ae(and a setting that "ill #ro'ide you
"ith intellectual ca#ailities that allo" you to e3#and your (ind instead of directing it* Ae(and
that you e interested in class* Ae(and that the e3cuse, 14ou ha'e to learn this for the test8 is not
good enough for you* Education is an e3cellent tool, if used #ro#erly, ut focus (ore on learning
rather than getting good grades*
Cor those of you that "or$ "ithin the syste( that I a( conde(ning, I do not (ean to insult6 I
intend to (oti'ate* 4ou ha'e the #o"er to change the inco(#etencies of this syste(* I $no" that
you did not eco(e a teacher or ad(inistrator to see your students ored* 4ou cannot acce#t the
authority of the go'erning odies that tell you "hat to teach, ho" to teach it, and that you "ill e
#unished if you do not co(#ly* @ur #otential is at sta$e*
Cor those of you that are no" lea'ing this estalish(ent, I say, do not forget "hat "ent on in
these classroo(s* Ao not aandon those that co(e after you* We are the ne" future and "e are
not going to let tradition stand* We "ill rea$ do"n the "alls of corru#tion to let a garden of
$no"ledge gro" throughout .(erica* @nce educated #ro#erly, "e "ill ha'e the #o"er to do
anything, and est of all, "e "ill only use that #o"er for good, for "e "ill e culti'ated and "ise*
We "ill not acce#t anything at face 'alue* We "ill as$ 7uestions, and "e "ill de(and truth*
So, here I stand* I a( not standing here as 'aledictorian y (yself* I "as (olded y (y
en'iron(ent, y all of (y #eers "ho are sitting here "atching (e* I couldn/t ha'e acco(#lished
this "ithout all of you* It "as all of you "ho truly (ade (e the #erson I a( today* It "as all of
you "ho "ere (y co(#etition, yet (y ac$one* In that "ay, "e are all 'aledictorians*
I a( no" su##osed to say fare"ell to this institution, those "ho (aintain it, and those "ho stand
"ith (e and ehind (e, ut I ho#e this fare"ell is (ore of a 1see you later8 "hen "e are all
"or$ing together to rear a #edagogic (o'e(ent* +ut first, let/s go get those #ieces of #a#er that
tell us that "e/re s(art enough to do soD
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