An email
to share with all Americans
Yesterday I received an
interesting and thought provoking email titled “A Speech Every American High
School Principal Should Give.” I copied this into my word processing
application, got it formatted and just right for publishing on Facebook and our
Blog site. Wanted to verify before
broadcasting – so off to snoopes.com to see what they had to say (http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/principal.asp)
– False!
Well darn folks! So I slept on this, pondering what I
should do. I for one would like to see
more leaders take this bold stand – so here is the article – knowing it was not
given – but the contents are meaningful and to be shared.
So here it is -
A
Speech Every American High School Principal Should Give.
America has lost its decency, manners, and politeness
soon without quick changes character!
Listen to the young people, F-this, F-that, and nary
anyone will step up and correct them- even with wife and kids in tow!
FINALLY - - Someone in the teaching profession had the
courage to set the standards so badly needed NOW.
To the students and faculty of our high school:
I
am your new principal, and honored to be so.
There
is no greater calling than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of some
important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am
convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in
America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.
First – this school will no longer honor race or
ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red,
yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin
American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower
or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school
will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your
scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will
care about is American.
This is an American public school,
and American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you wish
to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have
to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and non-American
nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America, one of its
three central values -- epluribus Unum, "from many, one." And this
school will be guided by America 's values. This includes all after-school
clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities.
This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may
become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.
Your clubs will be based on
interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined
ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with
the self -- while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond
yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories
of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and
more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested
in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little
outside of yourself really interests you.
Second – I am uninterested in whether English is
your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave
this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English
language has united America 's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite
us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of
immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school
without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to
ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job
market. We will learn other languages here -- it is deplorable that most
Americans only speak English -- but if you want classes taught in your native
language rather than in English, this is not your school.
Third – because I regard learning as a sacred
endeavor, everything in this school will reflect the elevated status of
learning. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress
accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood
events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward.
Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.
Fourth – no obscene language will be tolerated
anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at
athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f -word, you can't speak.
By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications
Commission, plus epithets such as "Nigger," even when used by one
black student to address another black, or "bitch," even when
addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave
this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish
between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.
Fifth – we will end all self-esteem programs. In
this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way -- the way people
attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it. One
immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.
Sixth – and last, I am reorienting the school
toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be
devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about
sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to
condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily
a health issue... There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a
victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not
Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does
not consider him or herself inordinately fortunate -- to be alive and to be an
American.
Now, please stand and join me in
the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know
the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.
Your
thoughts and comments?
