Our Fearless Leader will stand behind a podium in a week and one day to deliver a commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. Some disapproveof his being selected to give this speech because they disagree with policy proposals he has made regarding reproductive rights.
Three weeks after that speech, I'll be in a lecture hall at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. I'll be giving the faculty address at a high school graduation. Each year at the high school where I teach, the senior class votes on which faculty member they would like to address them during their graduation ceremony.
This year, that's me.
The purpose of this diary is to open a dialogue about graduation speeches. Do they matter? How do you determine a good one from a bad one? A memorable one from a forgetable one? Do we even remember anything from the graduation speeches? Are they an important part of the ritual, or a waste of time on the way to walking across the stage?
And, to address two additional questions:
- What should President Obama talk about in his 1 week from tomorrow?
- What should I talk about in mine next month?