Teacher defends "You're not special" speech
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57450176/teacher-defends-youre-no...

"A Massachusetts high school English teacher said he's "floored by the reaction" to his recent commencent address in which he told the graduates nine times that they were "not special."--CBS News, June 11, 2012

High school teacher tells graduating students: you’re not special
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/high-school-teacher-tells-gradu...

“You’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble wrapped … feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. … We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians … 37,000 class presidents … 92,000 harmonizing altos … 340,000 swaggering jocks … 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. Even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you.”by David McCullough Jr.