By J.R. Labbe
jrlabbe@star-telegram.com
This year's commencement speeches no doubt faded from memory long before the graduates had time to frame their diplomas. The speakers shouldn't take offense; how many of them can remember who spoke at their high school or college graduation, much less the message?
I did my first graduation speech years ago, in Grand Prairie. I was supposed to talk about my philosophy on education. Frankly, until the administrator said that, I didn't know I had one. But I promised to come up with one before the big night.
The word
education conjures up a too-limited definition for some. "You have to get an education" brings to mind 12 or 16 years of formalized schooling, sitting in classrooms, sponging up facts and data that will have to be regurgitated for tests. Most of it ends up relegated to the recesses of the mind, only occasionally surfacing when something triggers an "I know I should know this" moment of recall.
Education is a lifelong endeavor that encompasses so much more than what happens inside the walls of a school. And it starts with keeping an open mind and being willing to move beyond what's comfortable and familiar.
Education is reading about, talking with and listening to people whose worldview is different from your own.
Education is sitting down with senior citizens to ask what experiences molded their lives and what would they do differently if they had a shot at starting over. Education is visiting with veterans to hear stories of their service to our country.
Education is availing oneself of the ever-changing museum exhibits that North Texans are so fortunate to have in their back yards.
Education is spending an evening listening to music that's new to you or watching live theater at venues large and small in Tarrant County.
Education is going to a restaurant featuring cuisine you've never tried. It's going to Sunday Mass at a Roman Catholic parish or Saturday services at a Jewish synagogue to appreciate the tradition and beauty of a religion different from yours.
The opportunity to learn something new presents itself every day. Don't waste it by thinking you already know everything.
Sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, life throws a change-up pitch. But the more broad-based one's education is and the more exposed one is to life's innumerable possibilities, the better-equipped one will be to go in a different direction.
Mistakes and poor choices are as educational as good decisions. The only people who don't make mistakes are the ones so afraid of failure that they take no risks. Every time we help someone, or care about someone, or try to make a difference in the world, risk is involved. You risk failure, but you also risk success. It's called life.
The most often repeated line in a commencement speech is some variation of "You are the hope of tomorrow; our nation's future rests in your hands." Pretty heady stuff to be laying on our children. But hidden in those daunting words is another message. If the graduates listened carefully, they could hear it:
"Please, kids, continue to see the world with open eyes and an open mind. Make every day the next chapter in your education."
Jill "J.R." Labbe is editorial director of the Star-Telegram.817-390-7599Twitter: @jrlabbe55
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