Noreen Jordan

Hello and good evening.  For three years, a highlight of my school day has been listening to senior speeches in morning assembly.  I’ve often wondered what I would write about if I had to give a senior speech, so thank you to the class for giving me this opportunity to put it to paper and deliver one.

 

From Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, to Breakfast Club, to Mean Girls, Remember the Titans, Dazed and Confused, one you may have watched in middle school, High School Musical and more recently, Lady Bird and Booksmart … the list goes on and on.  Why are there so many movies and TV shows about high school? A recent census asserts that high school completion rate is the highest in US history — 90% of the population age 25 and older have graduated high school. Compare that to a little more than 50% in 1970.  Going to, and graduating from high school is a universal experience, and one that has been portrayed again and again in Hollywood. We’ve all been there, maybe not in the exact same way as the characters in these shows, but we’ve been in those hallways and gyms and classrooms.

 

My absolute favorite depiction of high school first premiered on network TV in September of 1999, long before Netflix, and was written and directed by two comic geniuses, Paul Feig and Judd Apatow.  The show, Freaks and Geeks, set in 1980, centers on two siblings, Lindsey Weir, a “good” girl and excellent student, who wants to reinvent herself to be a part of the “bad/freak” group but doesn’t quite know how to, and her younger brother Sam, a member of the “geek” clan who just wants to make it through each day without getting picked on or pegged by a dodgeball in gym class. The experiences of the Weirs and their friends, including everyday fears, humiliations, triumphs, and growing pains are portrayed with humor and humanity.  It’s honest, funny and sometimes uncomfortably realistic, depending on one’s own high school experience. The performances perfectly capture a facet of the frustration of youth, and the adults in the show, the parents and teachers, as is the case in other shows about school, are seen through the eyes of youthful exasperation; the eye-roll has been perfected by the kids.  The show is also about realizing that there are things that bond us all together, and no matter how painful and isolating adolescence can be, the joys and victories, however minor, need to be celebrated with each other.

 

So, you and I have a shared connection these past four year at Tower Hill and I am the better for it.  You may think that you have been in school to do all the learning, but you have also done a fair amount of teaching too.  Through our time together at Tower Hill, I have learned how to be a fair and impartial judge by watching Maddie and Dean lead the honor board where they listen carefully and speak honestly. Occupying the same exact lunch table for four years, I have learned about the fierce loyalty of sisterhood from Abby, Avery, Maggie, Gracie, Parker, Mere, Brayden, Julia and Caroline.  You girls have a special bond with each other - always treasure it. I’ve witnessed tremendous courage and vulnerability from Ryan and Anna in their powerful senior speeches. Thank you for that. We have all shared in the thrill of victory - your sophomore year boy’s soccer state championship, tennis and golf and of course Super Bowl LII, as well as the agony of defeat, so many second place state tournament finishes, those four bounces that ended the “process” last month and particularly for Brian and Kyle who both suffered season ending injuries at tournament time this year.  It’s an absolute joy to watch your growth as students, and especially for me to circle back to Heidi, Zahra, Simi, Andrea, Skye and Olivia in their advanced calc II class where they confidently dominated the conversation. Go girls! Jake and Joe, we have shared many a meal together in advisory lunch and I have watched you both somehow fit 30 hours of work and commitments into one 24-hour day. I learned how to handle the awkward moments in Game of Thrones when we watched episodes at lunch this year. Peter just told all the freshmen to “cover their eyes” when an R-rated scene was approaching.  Thanks to him and Brayden for creating the club and filling in for my own kids who were not around to watch and discuss this final season with me. I’m always reminded about the sweet spirit of young love whenever I run into Caroline and DJ. Jake, you taught me about resiliency by coming into school the Monday after your dear grandfather died. Sitting next to Guthrie each morning in assembly, I looked forward to hearing his astute take on the latest Eagles, Sixers, and Phillies news. Sophia, you taught me a ton about style, even though it never translated to my own wardrobe! Lily, you persisted even when you wanted to call it quits, and of course my calculus class this year taught me a lot about patience, especially on all those Friday after lunch classes!  I have too many examples to share from you seniors collectively. Tower Hill is a small home and even though I have not taught all of you, your presence has been significant. Know that your interactions with each other and the larger school community have been meaningful; your reach will continue to impact and widen in your new communities next year.

 

This next part is for the parents, but seniors don’t tune out -  you may one day have children of your own. I have been where you are sitting three times in the past seven years.  Your emotions are probably running the gamut between relief and pride, and maybe a little worry. And wasn’t it just a blink ago that your child was starting high school?  Parenting is a humbling job - our intentions are good but sometimes things get lost in translation with our kids. Senior year is especially challenging- how many times did you find yourself reminding/nagging, your child about deadlines during the college application process that never seemed to end?  How many arguments did you have with your child that you just chalked up to them being stressed? Meanwhile, who was really the stressed one? We can’t help it! A few weeks ago, I heard a Susan Tedeschi song on the radio that I had never heard before. It’s a bluesy, soulful cover of a Bob Dylan composition that beautifully sums up what I think is every parent’s intention for their children.  The song is called Lord, Protect my Child. Here are a few lines - I’ve taken some liberty with the pronouns. “For his age he is wise, he’s got his mother’s eyes, he is young and he is wild, full of hope and desire, my only prayer is, if I can’t be there, lord protect my child. As her youth now unfolds, she is centuries old, just to see her play makes me smile, no matter what happens to me, no matter what my destiny, lord protect my child.”  (I can’t do the lyrics justice without the music - you will have to listen to it later.)

 

The Weir parents in “Freaks and Geeks” in their own hilarious, misguided way just want to protect their children.  The last scene of the series, which was unfortunately canceled after only one season, is a gem. When I watched the show in 1999, I had a very different reaction to the scene than when I watch it today so many years of teaching and raising my own children in between.  Lindsey, who has spent the year trying to desperately figure out who she is, wants to be away from her parents and what they know her as, but at the same time she does not want to disappoint them and really does love them. In the last scene, she gets on a bus to go to the University of Michigan for an academic summer program for two weeks.  As she is saying good-bye to her family, the guitar picking of the Grateful Dead’s song “Ripple” begins. Another aspect of the show’s appeal for me was the on point use of 70’s & 80’s music.  The song continues as she wistfully looks out the bus window.  A few minutes later, she gets off the bus, changes into her iconic army jacket and climbs into a VW van to follow the Grateful Dead for the two weeks she is supposed to be at Michigan.  Her perpetual scowl is replaced with a beaming smile and she looks completely happy and free. The van cruises down the highway as “Ripple” plays out the credits. This is it for you guys… it’s time for your ripple - to go away from home, interact with and have an impact on new friends and professors, make decisions - maybe some good ones and maybe some bad ones, but make them your own and share your fears, joys and victories with those you encounter.  You are ready.

 

As a grateful teacher and parent, I wish you humor and affection as you look back on your Hiller experience, and when you head off to your new college digs later this summer, “lord, lord, protect this child.”