Editor:
What is the measurement of success? I ask this because I am a little concerned about the message that was delivered to the graduating class of 2008 by Debi Temple and Steve Hummer.
What does it say to the graduates when a large list of names of “successful” alumni is read? Does it tell them that if they don’t make this list in the years to come that they have failed? Not only that, but what does it tell the rest of us Sweet Home High School alumni whose names aren’t on the list? Myself for instance, I graduated from Sweet Home High School, went to college and started my own business which I worked very hard for.
After having my first child, I made the very difficult decision to close my doors and be a stay at home mom. Does this mean that I am a failure?
What about all the people out there that aren’t making a lot of money, but are doing what they can for their family? Is this not a success story? What about all the single parents that are doing what they can for their kids, being good parents? What about people with learning disabilities that never made it to college, but are working and keeping a job? Are these people unsuccessful? What about all the people who “successfully” got their kids through high school without doing drugs or drinking, were these things not important?
Don’t misunderstand me, most of the people whose names are on the list are very successful and I don’t mean any disrespect towards them, but I do feel that a stereotype has been made.
Maybe if I had been more “successful” as a student in high school, you know, if I had gotten better grades, if I was better at sports or more popular, maybe my name would have been remembered.
Again, don’t misunderstand me, it is not important to me to have my name on a list of “successful” graduates, but I feel that success has a lot of different meanings and shouldn’t be measured only by money and academics. I also feel that this so-called speech crossed a line and is offensive.
Was this the best message to deliver to the graduating class? A list of names. Was there nothing better to say?
Amanda Royer
Sweet Home