Valedictorian Censured – The Damaging Mismatch of High School Goals

The challenges of schooling in today’s world were front and centre at an Ottawa high school’s graduation ceremony. This time of year is filled with graduations, one of the few rites of passage we have in Western secular society, a time for graduates to celebrate their accomplishments and experiences, a time for schools to celebrate what they’ve been able to develop and pass on. In this high school though, the principal censured the valedictorian for her interpretation of what that experience included.

The valedictorian included this statement in her remarks: “As a commitment to truth and reconciliation, I must acknowledge colonial and genocidal atrocities today, including the massacre of more than 17,000 Palestinian children in Gaza.”  The valedictorian said she felt this reflected her experience in school, the lived reality of many of her fellow graduates. She felt that she had connected the situation to the values of the school board and what she had learned throughout her four years at the school.

The principal felt that her statement caused harm and was uncomfortable enough with the situation to send out an email to parents stating that the speech “intentionally took focus away from the purpose of the event, celebrating the achievement of our graduating class.”

Hopefully the principal and the student have resolved the situation in a manner helpful to everyone.

For me, this unfortunate incident represents the challenge of schooling today. When we look at education as the successful completion of courses which represent specific bits of information and academic skills, we can miss the overall purpose – that of preparing young people for the world. This is a world they already live in, in spite of our attempts to protect them. When the school’s primary purpose is to transmit knowledge or skill, it is all too easy to lose sight of this more important goal.

We live in a complex world. Youth live in this complex world for which they will soon have responsibility. It’s a lot to ask of schools, to take on this complexity. Hey, it’s a lot to ask of youth, of everyone, but do we really have a choice? Taking a more comprehensive view that includes this complexity would change the way we school. High school adolescents are developmentally ready to be engaged in life. They need supports, yes, but they learn best by doing, by working on real problems that have significance for them. We could encourage youth to explore areas of interest, areas of importance to them, areas that make a real difference in the world now, and support them to do so; then figure out how these explorations meet or could incorporate the curriculum goals. (AI anyone?) Let’s celebrate this drive and use it instead of relegating it to the shadows.

Our schooling system is outmoded and focused on too limited a scope. The movement for change has started. Here are some examples. Let’s help everyone – the students, teachers, administrators and our world by embracing this change.