I was asked to give the graduation charge to our class of twleve graduating seniors. This year was quite emotional for me, as I am close to so many of those who will be leaving us. I can say that I got through the speech without tears, despite my struggle to hold them back during individual introductions. I will so miss each one of them!!!
“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”
This quote from William Butler Yeats is our motto here at Fireside. Our goal has always been to help students learn so much more than rote facts and figures that are memorized and soon forgotten.
We have always hoped that our students would also find that spark, unique to each of them, which would light a fire within. For some, that spark was academic; for others, artistic. Some found their flame on the stage or on the sports field. Still others lit up through service to others in their community or church.
In each one of these special seniors, the fire grew and spread, touching so many others along the way. As I look out among them, I proudly see a group of remarkable teens. But I can also remember them as fresh scrubbed youths, running through the halls with such excitement they would accidently knock the books from my hands.
Please indulge me, then, as I issue one last set of instructions as your teacher.
Each of you has not arrived at this place alone, but has had the blessing of family, teachers, and friends. It is with gratitude for their support that I charge each of you today.
Let the lessons you have learned carry you forward.
Give your talent, knowledge, and wisdom freely and generously to those around you.
Keep that flame burning brightly, and go confidently into the world.
~Angela Landis
It was absolutely perfect, my dear!
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