The columns that most haunt me are the ones where people are faced with wrenching choices and act bravely. I think: Would I have been that brave? And usually my answer is ‘probably not!’
I hope [my students] learned that the civil rights movement was a movement of ordinary people, many of them just like these young people who were sitting in my class. They should not believe that it was all magical figures like Martin Luther King. People like King helped immeasurably. But it wasn’t all Martin Luther Kings. It was mostly ordinary people who did this, and these students are ordinary people, and they can do the same thing. They can rise to these heights themselves.
How did that happen? I mean, how did it happen?
Each and every one of you has a vibrant, courageous soul and a depth of power, creativity and wisdom you are only just beginning to tap into. That is your light. It is the light within you, and you have to let it shine.
When you take your picture, you take your family. But I wasn’t married and my family was all in Virginia, so I thought, “Why don’t I take my boys?”
“All heck breaks loose.”
I welcome thoughts from alumni on the curriculum. What aspects of the curriculum did they get the most from? Based on their experiences after Final Exercises, what served them best?
We have this system that we call STEM, to teach sciences and technologies. Now there are a lot of schools who are adding an “A” and calling it “STEAM.” “A” is for arts. I think it’s incredibly important because while math, science and technology are hugely important, if we leave behind a young person’s imagination or creativity, I think they won’t have as full a life.
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