Prize Day
G RADUATION 2008
L
UCEY
HITNEY
W
YN
THR
Head of School Eric F. Peterson addresses
K
A
B
Y
the SG community on Prize Day.
O
PHOT
A taxonomy of bad advice
BY ERIC F. PETERSON
efforts and fondest hopes reflected. ment talk ever. His entire address to Lake
Whether you realize it or not, you repre- Forest College went as follows:
Following is an edited version of the head
sent the best of St. George’s—the triumphs My uncle ordered popovers from the
of school’s address to the graduates on
May 26, 2008.
and the frustrations, the love and the tears. restaurant’s bill of fare.
Through it all, you’ve distinguished your-
T
o the members of the Class of selves with your enthusiasm, athleticism, And when they were served he regarded
2008: The school offers you its passion, and scholarship. Now, you sit on them with a penetrating stare.
heartfelt congratulations. Speaking the brink of becoming graduates of St. Then he spoke great Words of Wisdom,
for myself, I suspect I don’t need to tell George’s. But before you go, please indulge as he sat there on that chair,
you that you are a special class. As you me by enduring one last round of vocabu- “To eat these things,” said my Uncle,
have no doubt realized, you and I arrived lary-fortified, headmasterly rambling. “You must exercise great care.”
here together, young, naïve, and eager. It strikes me that commencement talks “You may swallow down what’s solid,
Four years later, you have grown up and like this one generally fall into one of two but you must spit out the air!”
grown wiser, whereas Mrs. Peterson and I categories. They tend to be either the “por-
have mostly just grown older and meaner. tentous go-forth platitudes” that Mr. Simp- “And as you partake of the world’s
You are the first class to have known only son so eloquently described last year, or a bill of fare,
me as your headmaster, and you are there- collection of well-intentioned, but bland that’s darned good advice to follow.
fore the first class I have helped to shep- advice—as though Dear Abby were up here Do a lot of spitting out the hot air,
herd from naïve third formers to answering questions you hadn’t actually and be careful what you swallow.”
(generally) wise sixth formers. Thank you asked. There are exceptions of course. In
for making it an adventure, right up to the 1977, Dr. Seuss, the author and poet, deliv- That was it. End of speech. Unfortu-
very end. In your growth, we see our best ered what for me is the greatest commence- nately for all of you, I’m neither as good a
38 ST. GEORGE’S 2008 SUMMER BULLETIN
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