The Citizen, 2019-07-04, Page 16Things I have learned in school:
stealing one person's idea is
plagiarism, but if you steal multiple
people’s ideas it is called original
research. So please consider this
speech as original research.
Let me give you a few examples of
what I learned, starting in
Kindergarten. Do not lick metal stop
signs in winter, right Justin?
I learned to ask questions,
questions and more questions until I
understand the lesson, like why does
Miss White wear sunglasses in
class? Because we are so bright!
Another thing I learned in school
is that I would rather listen to my
teachers tell stories, whether the
stories were about pugs, Star Wars,
sports, their kids, ski vacations and
life stories, than do work. A well-
timed question could take up an
entire math lesson.
Looking back over the years, I
begin to wonder if my class was hard
to handle because most years we had
to have two teachers, whether it was
morning and afternoon or a change
halfway through the year. We always
had teachers coming and going.
The one teacher that could not get
enough of some of us is Mrs. Bell.
She missed us so much she came
back from Kindergarten to teach us
in Grade 2. She agreed to teach us
for three years so we must be
somewhat loveable? Apparently,
when I came home from my first day
of Grade 2 my parents asked me who
my teacher was and I said: “Her
name is Mrs. Bell but she looks a lot
like Ms. Hausen.” She had been
married over the summer.
Mr. Coups taught me that it’s
important to make people feel
successful whether it be rewriting a
test, using an iPad, making an oral
presentation or answering a question
in your own unique way. Everybody
has their own way of learning and
we need to be open to that.
Mr. Handsford taught us that you
should always pull the pin before
squeezing the handle of the fire
extinguisher if you want to put the
fire out.
Looking back over the years we
have spent at Hullett, I have a few
things that have really made our
educational experience that much
better. There are the numerous times
that our class would misbehave and
Ms.Goetz would yell “Don’t make
me lose my voice”.
Remember when Ms. VanVeen let
us go for morning walks and we
made rhubarb crisp every week?
I think we can all agree that Mr.
Coups singing Bon Jovi’s “Living on
a Prayer” is the best karaoke ever.
Mr. Hansford brought lots of
energy to the classroom and how
many teachers in their right mind
would hold bottle flipping contests?
And who can forget the ghost pepper
challenge?
For the students here who had
Mrs. Plumsteel for a teacher in
Grade 3, nothing could top the
monthly bubble-blowing contest.
Coming back to what I said earlier
tonight that stealing other people’s
ideas is research, I did the research
but my teachers would be
disappointed if I didn’t give the
following great minds credit for their
work. It is remarkable how many
teachers say “it’s okay to make a
mistake – that’s how you learn – but
those “mistakes” still show up on
your report card.
My favourite author, J.K. Rowling
quotes, “It is impossible to live
without failing at something unless
you live so cautiously that you might
as well not have lived at all, in which
case you have failed by default.”
So take that leap but look first.
Take that risk after you weighed the
pros and cons and sometimes break
the rules keeping the consequences
in mind.
My parents keep going on about
how I am responsible for my own
happiness and every day I have the
choice about whether to be happy or
not. They say things like don’t
expect your friends, cousins, siblings
or parents to make you happy. Your
job or your house won’t make you
happy. No one can make you
unhappy unless you give them the
power to make you unhappy. The
flip side of this, of course, is that I
am not responsible for my mom’s
happiness and the state of my
bedroom should not make her
unhappy.
In 2019, it has just been
announced by our government that it
is finally going to ban single-use
plastics. Well, that’s the “last straw!”
But seriously, I don’t care what
people say: global warming is real
and we need to reduce the amount of
stuff going into our landfills.
According to Anne-Marie Bonneau
“We don’t need a handful of people
doing zero waste perfectly. We need
millions of people doing it
imperfectly.”
My grandpa always quotes, “The
best time to plant a tree was 10 years
ago and the second best time is
today.” Apparently, this is some deep
philosophical quote about it’s never
too late to follow your dream or
something like that but my grandpa
means it literally – every year you
should plant a tree or 10 or 100. It
will not benefit you directly but it
will benefit generations to come. To
this end, I have brought trees tonight
for all my classmates to take home
and plant.
The last piece of advice I have for
you today is to be decisive. Right or
wrong, make a decision. The road of
life is paved with flat squirrels who
couldn’t make a decision. And
remember if you are unhappy
because you didn’t get mentioned in
this speech – I am not responsible
for your happiness – you are!
PAGE 16 THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2019.
Blyth Legion
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Congratulations
to the
graduating class
of 2019
Hullett Central Public School
Driscoll preaches decisiveness as Valedictorian
Ian Driscoll
Hullett Central Valedictorian
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