Boston Latin School - Liber Actorum Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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PRAECEPTORES

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Headmaster’s Address This year ' s commencement, our school ' s 344th, is both an end as well as a beginning. It marks the successful comple- tion of one phase of your education during which you, as students, were involved in many long, arduous and often weari- some hours in preparation for your daily work. Your presence here this evening is an indication to all of us that you have developed the self discipline and pride needed for future success. Your training in the liberal arts tradition has provided you with the foundation upon which you may further your personal and academic development. I congratulate you, the members of the Class of 1979, for the truly outstanding achievement and honor that you have brought to yourselves, your family and your Alma Mater. The years spent at Boston Latin School have exposed you to a curriculum which continues to flourish and to serve as the Keystone upon which the Latin School experience is founded. Our emphasis on quality education is derived from the constant and judicious blending of established substance and proven methods with the best of new fields, new content and new techniques. As long as excellence remains the standard by which new ideas enter the curriculum, and by which new generations of students (and teachers also) are judged, then we shall remain true to our heritage of excellence. In this way, we can continue to provide future generations of Latin School students with the opportunities we ourselves have so richly received. This is the legacy that we, as dedicated and concerned alumni, have inherited, must preserve and must continue, as did our predecessors. Earlier, I mentioned that this commencement marks an end as well as a beginning. It is perhaps fitting, therefore, that we pause a moment to reflect on what the future holds. It is a time, also, to reflect upon what purpose we wish to dedicate our future endeavors. How can we ensure that the pride in our performance and the dedication to excellence nurtured these many years at the Boston Latin School will stand us in good stead for the future? How can we be certain fifty years from now that we have lived meaningful and purposeful lives? Some years ago, Admiral Hyman Rickover recognized as the father of nuclear energy, offered reflections on the purpose of life. “Man ' s work begins with his job, or profession. Having a vocation is always somewhat of a miracle, like falling in love We as a people seem inclined to accept average or mediocre performance. Mediocrity can destroy us just as surely as perils more famous It is important that we remember to distinguish between what it means to fail at a task and what it means to be mediocre. There is all the difference in the world between the life lived with dignity and style which ends up failing, and one which achieves power and glory, yet is dull, unoriginal, unreflective and mediocre. In a real sense, what matters is not so much whether we make a large sum of money, hold a prestigious job, or whether we don ' t; what matters is that we become people who seek out others with knowledge and enthusiasm — that we become people who can enjoy our own company. Most of the work in the world today is done by those who work too hard; they comprise a nucleus of martyrs who have accepted the responsibility needed for doing a job properly. The sense of responsibility for doing a job right seems to be declining in the country. The unwillingness to act and to accept responsibility is a symptom of America ' s growing self- satisfaction with the status quo ... A major reason why so large a majority is smugly docile is that is has accepted the unwritten rules of t he game Don ' t rock the boat as long as you get your cut, has become the anthem of the irresponsible and unconcerned. Why become worked up over corruption as long as there are enough benefits of the fallout to go around 7 Why concern ourselves with ending suffering and oppression, feeding the hungry, healing the sick and less fortunate, conserving our natural resources and strengthening the national spirit? Why clamor over diminishing stand- ards, shoddy performance and planned obsolescence. It seems that once the acceptance of mediocrity becomes suffi- ciently widespread, effective exposure threatens too many people and interests. The closing of loopholes declines in direct proportions to the number of people who benefit from loopholes of their own. Freedom of speech seems less important when the majority persuades itself that it is not likely ever to want to speak out, to complain. Every freedom, every right and every privilege has its price and its corresponding duty without which it cannot be enjoyed «, Voting every four years is not enough to make a citizen and not enough to satisfy a man or woman. Rather, each of us must take a direct and personal part in solving the great problems which plague this country. For the person who strives to excel, to shoulder responsibility, and to speak out, there is an enemy wherever he turns. The enemy is a person who has a total willingness to delegate his worries about the world to officialdom. He or she assumes that only the people in authority are in a position to know and act. He believes that if vital information, essential to the making of public decisions, is withheld, it can only be for a good reason . . . The enemy is any man or woman whose only concern about the world is that it stay in one piece during his own lifetime Nothing to him is less important than the shape of things to come or the needs of the next generation. The Rev. Jesse Jackson tells us that the practice of convenience leads to collapse, but the laws of sacrifice lead to greatness. To struggle against these enemies and against apathy and mediocrity is to find greatness and the purpose to life It applies equally to students, teachers, parents, administrators and community leaders. I suggest that you dedicate your life to the struggle against complacency and mediocrity. In closing, I ask that you not forget the many people who have made this night possible for you. Your teachers, parents and I want you to know how proud we are this evening of your accomplishments. Please don ' t forget us and always remember that we are available to assist you whenever necessary. I thank you personally for your enthusiasm, your ded- ication and your concern for the Latin School. I wish you, the members of the Class of 1979, much happiness, joy and peace May your successes be many and your failures few. God bless you all. Thank you.