Skip to main content

ONE SPEECH MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE FOR THESE STUDENTS

By August 14, 2018Culture, Longevity, Philosophy

The opportunity may not be as dramatic as “Speak now or forever hold your peace,” but for some students one particular class assignment may have changed their lives.

For most of us our high school years are remembered, for better or worse, by a desire to be accepted. Not for who we are as individuals, but for our ability to conform and blend in. So it is counterintuitive at best and downright frightening for students in this English class to give an oral presentation with the topic being something unique and unknown to others about yourself.

“Amazingly,” explains the veteran teacher Gary Greenbaum (my brother) who created the assignment decades ago, “students often embrace the opportunity to share extraordinarily personal things.” With these cathartic moments comes something equally remarkable, “Without exception, fellow classmates listen patiently, ask thoughtful questions and reassure their friends that they are not alone.”

There are stories of being bullied, adopted, gay and other deeply personal affairs on which only the presenters are experts.

Greenbaum recalls some of the most notable presentations, when his students revealed fears, shed tears and reminded one another that being different is what we all have in common.

  • One female student explained that the reason she never wore earrings and never went swimming with her friends was she was ashamed that she wore hearing aids.
  • A 6-foot, 200-pound jock who lived and breathed football revealed that he played classical piano in the Sacramento Junior Symphony.
  • And then there was the student who confessed, as tears streamed down her face and soon the faces of all of her classmates, that both of her parents were mentally disabled. This was why, she explained, looking to her best friend, that she never invited her inside her house; why she never allowed anyone to meet her parents; and why she never allowed her parents to come to any school event. … And that dramatic revelation was why, two weeks later she proudly ushered her parents to the school’s Open House where, Greenbaum recalled, the mother and father were dressed as if they were going to a formal event.

These students and many others of Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove, California, have shared with Greenbaum, often many years later, that this particular assignment and opportunity was the most valuable experience of their high school years.

8 Comments

  • Jere says:

    This is powerful, Stuart. I love it.

  • edward witts says:

    Very powerful moment I am sure. At the high school I attended this kind of thing is actually a three day event.
    That event changed how I interacted with people forever. Gary is giving a real gift to these kids.
    Thanks Gary for doing that.

  • Gary says:

    Thanks for the props!

  • Lesley K says:

    What a beautiful thing. I’m very moved just reading about it. Thanks for sharing. And caring.

  • Zac says:

    Great lesson in empathy, a quality sorely lacking in this country. Well done, Gary!

  • Lucy Fisher says:

    And this story answered is who is “Gary”? He’s a regular commentator on Humble Sky – but that’s all I knew. Now he’s a brother, teacher, soulful thinker who touches the core of adolescents. They obviously trust him. Some of us adults could use that assignment too.

Leave a Reply to ZacCancel reply