"This is the only time in the year when we have the whole school together," the alumni coordinator told me when she asked me to speak. "There will be students from age four through seniors in high school."
"How many?" I asked, wondering how I could handle the age span.
"About 900."
"900? 900 kids ages four to eighteen?"
She didn't tell me that I would come after several other speakers in the Founders Day program, that the little ones would be beginning to fidget and the older ones to yawn. Young people can't fathom what it is like to look back on these years after a lifetime.
I didn't try. I read them a story--Toto in Trouble (Shuter and Shooter, 2006). It's a funny little story that got the wiggles out of the little ones and drew laughs from the older ones. They sat still while I talked about Toto and children like him who live in child-headed households because AIDS has taken their parents. I challenged those who were oldest in their families to think about what it would be like to be responsible for their younger brothers and sisters--not just to babysit while their parents had an evening out--but to be responsible for what the family would eat tomorrow, for the clothes they would wear next year when their current wardrobe was worn out or out-grown. "What would you do if someone got sick?" I asked. "Would you make everyone go to school and do their homework, or would you just give up and let them do whatever they wanted?"
There are nearly twelve million orphans in Africa today--a lot more than the 900 students at Park Tudor. Twelve million is more than all the children in all the schools in the state of Indiana. In fact, it is about as many as all the children in all the schools in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan--all with no mother and no father.
I showed pictures of my kids in Tembisa, and talked about reading with them. I challenged the 900 young people (who weren't fidgeting anymore), "The founders of this school knew their students would be privileged. They knew you would be gifted young people. They wanted to prepare you to serve your community. Today with the Internet and global economy, that community is the whole world. You can't solve everyone's problems, but I want to challenge you to find something you can do that will make a difference."
At least some of them got the point.
[Excepts can be viewed on the Park Tudor Facebook page.]
"How many?" I asked, wondering how I could handle the age span.
"About 900."
"900? 900 kids ages four to eighteen?"
She didn't tell me that I would come after several other speakers in the Founders Day program, that the little ones would be beginning to fidget and the older ones to yawn. Young people can't fathom what it is like to look back on these years after a lifetime.
I didn't try. I read them a story--Toto in Trouble (Shuter and Shooter, 2006). It's a funny little story that got the wiggles out of the little ones and drew laughs from the older ones. They sat still while I talked about Toto and children like him who live in child-headed households because AIDS has taken their parents. I challenged those who were oldest in their families to think about what it would be like to be responsible for their younger brothers and sisters--not just to babysit while their parents had an evening out--but to be responsible for what the family would eat tomorrow, for the clothes they would wear next year when their current wardrobe was worn out or out-grown. "What would you do if someone got sick?" I asked. "Would you make everyone go to school and do their homework, or would you just give up and let them do whatever they wanted?"
There are nearly twelve million orphans in Africa today--a lot more than the 900 students at Park Tudor. Twelve million is more than all the children in all the schools in the state of Indiana. In fact, it is about as many as all the children in all the schools in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan--all with no mother and no father.I showed pictures of my kids in Tembisa, and talked about reading with them. I challenged the 900 young people (who weren't fidgeting anymore), "The founders of this school knew their students would be privileged. They knew you would be gifted young people. They wanted to prepare you to serve your community. Today with the Internet and global economy, that community is the whole world. You can't solve everyone's problems, but I want to challenge you to find something you can do that will make a difference."
At least some of them got the point.
[Excepts can be viewed on the Park Tudor Facebook page.]
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2 comments:
So thankful for your opportunity.
Thank you so much for speaking at Founders' Day! I think you put the reality of AIDS in Africa into a perspective that all of our students, young and old, could understand. You are a very deserving recipient of the PT Distinguished Alumni Award.
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