IT’S GRAD
TIME!!
I come
before you today humbled for the second straight year as the guest speaker at
HCI grad. Last year there was a sing-a-long, a costume party and a lengthy
speech on lessons on life. This year’s address to the grads is going to be
different because this year class is most certainly different.
Today we
will talk about two things: my
experience with these young men and women with me on the stage and then a
discussion on The Game of Life.
First of all
the graduates: My experience with this year’s class was one that I will never
forget. We have a mutual kinship in that I am aware from conversations with
them that I have made a difference in many of their academic lives. I would also
go as far to say that this group of students changed my life as a parent, a
teacher and as a person. Whether it was during Science Time, Ye ‘Ol History, or
on the adventures of Math 9 almost every day was special for one reason or
another.
Although
many of the students may be unaware of this, when I started teaching you grade
9 Math I was only in my second year of teaching. I was, and still am in many
ways, a spring chicken in the teaching profession just trying to survive.
However, when I was teaching these students, I learned that the most important
part of my job is to bolster the confidence of my students; But not to the
point of false hopes or on the assumption everyone can be perfect every day. My
focus as an educator since I taught this group for the first time became on
translating to the students that everyone is capable of doing what I ask of
them and making sure they know what they need to be able to do. “You can do it!”
This was a very common phrase out of my mouth in the fall of 2011. This was not
an easy transition and it was often met with tears and resistance from the
students who really believed they COULDN’T MATH. But in the end (after a full
year together) it started to hit home with everyone and I really started to
notice a difference. This remarkable experience changed us all and bonded us in
a way I have not experienced with any other group of students thus far in my
career.
In the
2012-13 school year, our grads grade 10 year, I was most pleased that I had 4
sections of grade 10’s; 2 Science 10’s and 2 History 10’s. This further
extended the bond I had with many of the students, some of whom I taught twice
a day in Grade 10. Those who were not part of the math classes found themselves
in a culture that was already set up and much learning and fun ensued.
At the end
of that school year I made the decision to depart HCI and pursue an opportunity
afforded to me at Bethlehem High School in Saskatoon. The thing I remember most
about this transition was when the news leaked in the school. I recall Morgan
Huls coming to my room early as usual for Science in Period 4 and saying “Mr.
Toogood, I heard a horrible rumour.” In came the rest of the class and I spent
a good portion of that hour trying to explain the decision as a family decision
and while doing so hiding the tears by turning to the board often and
pretending I was erasing the board that had nothing written on it. I did a bad
job hiding the emotion of not having the opportunity to continue teaching these
students in the coming years in Chemistry. Several of the students suffered the
same fate and many of us had a good cry.
What I am
trying to say is that I love these kids, these graduates, these now grown up
young men and women. I couldn’t be happier to be back here with you today and
as usual I am very proud of you.
Now to the
sing-a-long!! No sorry we aren’t doing that again…
But
seriously I have something important to talk to you about. The Game of Life. I
mean it. Literally. The classic 1860 Milton Bradley game, The Game of Life. I
am sure almost all of us have played at one point in our lives. The game is a
remarkable analogy that I think lends well to a graduation address.
Ironically,
this game starts ‘life’ with approximately this moment, graduation. The first
choice you make in the game is to go to college or not. Not going to college
has some perks, it doesn’t require taking out loans, and it sets you off on a
career path much faster. When you first play the game you are very excited to start
your career and get your first and second PAYDAYS while the suckers who chose
college still haven’t picked a career. Then the frustration starts though. The
people who did pick college, and are sitting on their $60,000 in debt, get a
whole different set of careers to pick from; ALL OF THEM HIGHER PAYING!! Based
on Canadian national averages this is actually a reasonable statistical claim.
The game proceeds and there are some required stops as you go along the way
including buy a house and get married. Now arguably in a modern game the buy a
house stop sign should be much later in the game due to housing market
inflation and the marriage stop sign should consider some redesigning as a stop
and should really be more optional or be more a yield or a free left signal,
but I will leave that to Milton Bradley to deal with.
Anyway, to
my point, I do have a point... How do you win at The Game of Life? Do you win
by rolling big, racing through the game, collecting PAYDAY’s and being the
first person to millionaire estates and retirement? Absolutely not! They key to
winning at The Game of Life is collecting life tiles. Now for those of you who
haven’t played the game life tiles are awarded when you land on spaces on the
board that are related to community service, family activities, and good deeds.
When you collect a life tile you have no idea of its dollar value until the end
of the game. Community service, family activities, being a stay at home parent
and helping others all have no market value in today’s society. BUT, when it comes
to the end of your life and you reflect back on what you have done, if you have
more real world life tiles, you will have
more riches than you can imagine.
My advice to
you about how to play life:
#1 Hope for
small rolls not big rolls. Don’t race through life and be satisfied if you are
busy. Smell the roses. It may take you
longer to complete the game but you will have more experiences and this will
make you all the richer.
#2: Look closer
at all the opportunities in The Game of Life that don’t say PAY DAY, it is
really easy to focus and hope for just that. I can assure you there are much
more rewarding things than PAYDAY.
#3: Collect
life tiles. Find ways to be active in your community. Join local sports
programs, coach kids, visit seniors, spend lots of time with your kids, go zip
lining in Thailand, do charity work, climb Mount Kilimanjaro, ANYTHING.
Experience life in all its forms.
And finally
#4, I suggest that all of you continue your education in some way. University
is a wonderful opportunity to expand your mind and grow as a human being. I
truly believe each of you and society as a whole would benefit from you
choosing to have this experience. Also, Trade School and Apprenticeships are
opportunities to gain expertise in an area of interest. If you don’t pursue
post-secondary education, read books, browse Wikipedia, play musical
instruments, get certification in coaching, take language classes. Keep
expanding your mind.
In closing I
want to say: I got a life tile when I taught many of you math 9, I got a life
tile the first time I said ‘ITS SCIENCE TIME”, I got a life tile when we shared
‘Ye Ol History’ and one day I will turn them all over and they will all say… PRICELESS.
Thank
you and Congratulations!
