The Graduation Speech You've All Been Waiting For

http://Twitter.com/EmilyJamesToday
http://facebook.com/EmilyandJamesToday

GW said Emily couldn't try out to give a graduation speech, but she had already written one anyway, so here it is!

Please excuse my voice
I have no choice
I've got allergies
that make me sneeze
and sound stuffed up
but enough of that
let's check the date
it's time to graduate!

I represent museum education.
No, it's not curation,
or registration.
Instead, it inspires and engages
men and women of all ages,
in cultural institutions across the nation
through, you guessed it, education.

We're all partners in this cause.
Whether it's changing laws,
or changing lives,
what drives
us all is encouraging youth
to explore the truth
about who they are, what they can be
as they strive to be successful, like you and me

Informal or formal, what's the difference?
We all got the same goal so let's come to our senses.
Even if we've never met before
I know way down to my core
that we can all work together
and not stay teathered
to those systematic quirks
that keep us siloed in our networks.

Break the cycle, buck the trend
turn around and make a new friend
because that person has the same desire as you
to tackle the system and change education anew.

But we're only as strong as our weakest link
so take a second, stop and think.

Museum, international, elementary ed.
Early childhood, rehab, did you hear what i said?

Don't believe me?
Then listen to this
and kiss
goodbye your previous premonitions
about partnerships and collaborations

I interned at a middle school last fall
where a group of kids couldn't read at all.
So i made an audio tour and took them to a museum
where they had a discussion that I couldn't have fathomed.
They saw a real piece of the World Trade Center wreckage
that moved them to the point of sounding like sages.
These kids who couldn't read were introduced to something real
and made them feel
part of history and herstory and the rest of the national conversation.

That's just one example
from which there are ample
and together as the class two-thousand-eleven
we can make more prevalent
and start a movement
that inspires the public
to revamp the system

So you see it's all cyclical
which starts right here as a ripple,
grows into a wave,
as we pave
the path for the next generation
to have access to free and excellent education.

I can't wait to see what y'all do next
and I hope museums can be part of that trek

So congratulations!
Mazel Tov!
It's now my time,
to sign off.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• emily
• and
• james
• today
• kotecki
• graduation
• george
• washington
• university

[postabulous]

Terrific!!!!



[lyllabear]

great job:)

[Angelasgf]

Yeay|!!! Well done, loved it! :)

[AChemicalRomance27]

very well done :)

i would have loved to hear that at my grad!

[ilikebeingsmart]

James needs to make this into a rap song. Nice speech.

[yaler94]

What school did you graduate from? (Let me guess NYU?) :)

[yaler94]

GO GIRL! LOVEE THIS!

[JXintheZ]

Nice speech, Emily!