Eagles,
I read an article recently that outlined a graduation speech that a famous actor gave to his alma mater. He gave five pieces of advice in it, but the one that stuck with me was one I'd never heard before. He told the graduates to "Gather a bouquet of virtues." And I've been to a ton of graduations, not counting my own.
Commencement, the act of beginning, is what we call graduation. It's a funny word for what most students feel is the end of something they have done for most of their lives. We call it that because for students graduating, school is almost the only thing they know how to do. It is a reminder that our students at Woodlawn, 8th grade especially, will spend another four years in school before they even start (Commence) their adult lives. It struck me that we don't start telling students how to live until after they finish school.
The speech noted that as we get older, we can be in a rush to collect material goods. The newest phone, car, house, and clothes will not remain after we are gone. All that will remain of what we were when we are gone will be the virtues we carried. He said you should flex these virtues like muscles and add a compassion day to your legs, arms, and back rotation.
It occurred to me that the metaphor of the bouquet, "an arranged bunch of flowers, especially one presented as a gift or carried at a ceremony," is a great way to look at our virtues. We carry them in front of us; we can add some of our flowers, lilies for kindness, roses for compassion, etc., to others, give them as a gift, and, in some cases, throw them to a random crowd of strangers. I have family on both sides who are/were florists.
Being examples of these virtues to our students adds to their bouquets. I remind students who have made mistakes and damaged relationships in the classroom, with their friends and families, that they own nothing but their reputations. Those reputations are the virtues they have exhibited to the people around them. How they are perceived is not based on the clothes they wear or how their hair is styled.
As the school year winds to an end and students "graduate" to the next grade, let us make sure that their bouquet of virtues is a little bigger and more colorful.
My favorites are Justice, Temperance, Courage, and Wisdom.
Luis De La Garza,
Head of School
Woodlawn Academy
