Mr. Connolly's Speech:
Toni Morrison declares,” Sweet, crazy conversations full of half sentences, daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be.”
As a teacher of English, I generally do not feel comfortable with giving English Awards for three reasons: 50 people could be worthy of this accolade; a plethora of others will assume the recipients are my favorite students; finally, my idea of an English Award may be found in the college recommendations I write. Let me disabuse people of the misconception that your teachers have favorites, at least, speaking for myself. This educator feels the same about all students: I am a short stop on a long journey. These awards are based on my criterion and mine alone.
Two students have been chosen for very different reasons. When I arrived in my first IB class, this individual walked in 2 seconds before the bell and plopped down a copy of Fountainhead on the desk. The first thought that rattled the skull evoked laughter (not gut-busting, more of a church laugh). One of my two inner voices said, “Great, a sixteen-year-old who reads Ayn Rand for enjoyment. This lunatic will end up challenging me and playing an advocate for Mephistopheles and I will spend the year having to strengthen analysis to defend my assertions.”
Over the course of the semesters, this young writer worked diligently to elevate the quality of her essays. She devours literature; more importantly, Miss Tabin exhibits a fearlessness for attacking unique topics and she demonstrates a genuine intellectual curiosity that will serve her well. Congratulations and I await your counterargument with bated breath.
Every once in awhile, I get to work with students who seem unafraid to “don the jester’s motley” for the team. For this second symbol of respect, I felt I needed a young man to represent the IB1 Lit B4 section. Literature is replete with dark, heavy, and often unsettling text. My last class of the day is very important, especially on Fridays. The recipient of this award arises from the need for laughter in the face of difficult genres and the perils of adolescence. Jim Morrison says, “I have the soul of a clown.” This dimwitted presenter would be a shameless prevaricator if I did not admit to being cut from the same Burlap Bag. Mr. Stach freely admitted English was not in his wheelhouse. He made an honest effort to improve all year in each facet of the curriculum. In him, I see someone who genuinely cares about others and a courageous individual who commits to the moment to provide levity for the last class of the day respite. This young man is a cure for the end of the day torpor and he has the heart of a farmer.
I am remiss if I do not take a moment to express my gratitude to all my juniors. If you look at what we achieved since November, you will see how you went beyond the expectations of the curriculum, you prepared for the volume of writing that happily awaits you as seniors. To all you buffoons, (said with the deepest respect and I add myself) I will miss you. Thank you for making the worst year of my life stay in the car when I stepped into your classrooms. As a gesture of thanks, I will write a college recommendation for the first 74 of my students who ask. Congratulations to these two honorees and all of my juniors. I find a Dr. Hunter S. Thompson quote from a movie, that I took poetic license liberty to alter a semi-appropriate ending. “I guess if I had to swear one way or another, I’d say [my juniors} weren’t insane.{They} just have some very strange rhythms. But {You}stomped on the terra. Lord Buckley said that.”
