Blue Peter and the Class of 2018

Tonight was my school's graduation. While all graduations are special, tonight was even more so. Tonight my Crew graduated. We started together in 2014 and over the past four years all 15 of them have become an important part of my life. I love those kids (not really kids anymore!) and will miss them desperately. I was lucky enough to be chosen by the class of 2018 to give their commencement speech. Here's the text and if you happen to be friends with Kate on Facebook you can watch the whole thing. Congrats to the class of 2018. 

Principal C, fellow staff, guests and of course the class of 2018.

Let me start by first thanking the students. We started here together

four years ago and I have now taught almost every student in the school but You

are my people. Thank you for giving me the honor of addressing you on this

wonderful day.

The life of a sailor cannot be an easy one.

While potentially filled with the adventure of seeing the world, this life also

includes the monotony of 4 hour shifts on watch examining the endless horizon,

eating bland food in the galley, and the cramped quarters found below deck. There

is however one place that every sailor loves: port.

Once docked in a port city or town, the sailor is free to do anything ranging from

seeing the sites of the place in which they have just arrived to the more

debaucherous practices commonly associated with sailors which are

not fit for a high school commencement address. Once their time in port is over,

it is time for the sailor to return to the ship. They knew it was time to go back

because as they looked back from the streets of their temporary home they would

see the Blue Peter.

What IS a Blue Peter?

This is a Blue Peter

Blue Peter

It’s a flag

More accurately, it’s a nautical flag.

Nautical flags were originally used for communication between ships and sailors in 

the time before radios and phones. 

There are 26 flags. Each one has a different design and color and each represents

a letter of the alphabet  and has a distinct name and meaning. Traditionally,

Blue Peter is the nickname given to the flag that represents the letter “P.” It is a

blue flag with a white square in the center and it means “All persons should report

on board as the vessel is about to proceed to sea.” So when a ship is flying the Blue

Peter, everyone knows that its voyage is about to begin. In short, the ship is

Outward Bound.

Well as you might have noticed on one of the many t-shirts you received over the

past four years, we are a New York City Outward Bound School and whether you

know it or not, we first raised this flag together on September 4, 2014, your first

day as a student at the Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School. We met as a

Crew for the first time and you were soon off to the beginning of life as a high

school student. You were led through expeditions and case studies by Ms. G,

Ms. D, myself, Mr. B, M, V and W. You started to build relationships in Crew with not 

only your classmates but also Ms. B, D, J and O and myself Mr. B, J. As the first few 

weeks turned into the first two months you got more comfortable. You even heard a 

voice in your head. Even if it was a whisper, you thought to yourself: I can do this

Then, we did what Outward Bound and Expeditionary Learning do best: we

challenged you. We even made you a little uncomfortable. We brought you

camping. Adventure Week is not an easy thing. It is rewarding, it is foundational, it

is important but it is most definitely not easy. But after five days and four nights

together as a Crew in the woods with no shower, at times less than desirable food,

and even some snow, you might have begun to realize that there was more to you

than you thought. You came back to East Flatbush and pushed through the dark

winter months that precede the warmth of spring. You presented a 9^th Grade

Roundtable and were soon on your way to 10^th grade. When you arrived in

September you noticed some new faces (Ms. R joined our Crew) as well as

some missing ones. SLCs, a college trip to Washington or Philadelphia and

10^th grade Passages left you at the doorstep of 11^th grade and as that year ended,

you again said to yourself: I can do this, except this time it was a little bit louder.

Then you became upper classmen. 11^th grade brought Ms V and Ms.

R into the 2018 family as well as….Alexander Hamilton. You began to hear

and think more about college and life after high school.

You also entered into the world of PBATs.

Over the course of the next two years, you would be challenged once again. This

time you were asked to analyze and assess, compare and contrast, decide, discuss,

and defend. Which is the most durable material for a cell phone case? What is the

best way to fight racism?  How can you measure beauty mathematically? Does

globalism do more harm or good?. Your teachers pushed you to do

more and over the next two years, your once bold statement changed a little bit.  I

can do it was replaced with a more hesitant I can do this? which then shifted into

more doubtful statements

I hope I do it.

I don’t want to do it.

I can’t do it.

Senior year was just plain hectic. Counting credits, college applications and essays,

more PBATs and a walk down Avenue D to Utica on a cold December morning to

mail your college applications. Some of you only had to panel for English while

others faced a more treacherous path towards graduation. As the semester ran

down and May turned into June you might have been faced with another thought:

I’ve come too far. I have to do this. Some you may have been having that

thought this morning or even this afternoon as you raced under the wire.

But now, here we are.

You sit here, in the same auditorium that you entered on September 4, 2014. The

same auditorium where you competed in Crew Olympics and proudly entered as a

college applicants and now, as a member of the graduating class of 2018. Your

mantra has transformed one final time. Now it is a simple yet powerful three-word

sentence:

I did it.

This is an important because as you prepare for the new challenges moving quickly

towards you, you know that you are ready. If you don’t feel ready then you better

get ready in a hurry.

Now it’s real.

Not that it’s been fake leading up to this point, but now it’s real.

School costs money.

Ms. C won’t be there to pull you into her office for a graduation update,

your Crew teacher isn’t going to be there to remind to meet that deadline. Your

family isn’t coming in for an SLC. Now, it’s up to you. When times get tough and

that doubt creeps back in, as will certainly happen, be prepared to repeat that credo

again and again: I can do it. Say it with conviction because over the past four years

that’s exactly what you’ve done.

So tonight, the Blue Peter is raised one more time, but this time it’s different. This

time, YOU are the one raising the flag. YOU are the captain. YOU are Outward   

Bound.

Over the past four years everyone in this room has been preparing for this moment.

Your moment.

Like all good captains you have made sure that your ship is ready for the

journey. As you depart, take with you the lessons that you learned while in port

here on Tilden Avenue over the past four years.

Be compassionate

Do your work.

Respect others but more importantly, respect yourself.

Say thank you.

Speak your truth.

Try new things.

Remember that no one is going to do it for you.

Smile.

Laugh.

Cry.

Be kind.

Don’t throw away your shot.

Find value in what you do, whatever that may be.

Be humble.

We love you.

We’ll miss you

GO DO IT

Thank you and congratulations to the class of 2018