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[ ♪ "largo" g.f. handel ♪ ] [ ♪ "pomp and circumstance marches" e. elgar ♪] please be seated. dr. mager: welcome to the 38th annual convocation ofthe school of education at syracuse university. i am associate dean gerald mager. i am pleasedto preside over this special event. it is my honor to be the first to congratulate you,the class of 2014. your hard work and perseverance has brought you here today, and we are proudto share this celebration with you. as is tradition, we dedicate our school ofeducation convocation to your families, friends, and supporters -- all who helped make thisday possible. graduates, please rise, turn
to your families and friends, and offer awarm round of applause showing your gratitude for their support of your achievements. dr. masingila: the syracuse university school of educationis pleased to recognize the convening of this, the 38th annual convocation, and acknowledgesits special dedication. offering the invocation today is jikyo bonnie shoultz. will the audience please rise for the invocationand remain standing for the national anthem jikyo shoultz: today is a special day for everyone in this space,a day when we celebrate past achievements and future promise. so let us come for now to this present moment,and offer our graditude. let us enter silence so that we may bring in here with usall those whose contributions have made this day possible,
whether or not they are here with us physically.come for this moment to the inbreath and outbreath. [silence] let us give thanks for the people, animals,plants, insects, creatures of the sky and sea, air and water, fire and earth, all of whosejoyful exertion blesses our lives every day. let us remember how many blessingswe have received. we are grateful for the care and labor of a thousand generationsof elders and ancestors who came before us. let us offer our gratitude for the familyand friends we have been given. we offer our gratitude for the teachings andlessons we have been given, and for the life we have been given,and for the ceremony we are about to begin.
let us begin this day with this mind of gratitudeand appreciation. today, the national anthem will be sung by anna lilikas, who is agraduate of the music education teacher preparation program. ♪ oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, ♪ ♪o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? ♪ ♪ and the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, ♪ ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. ♪ ♪ oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪
♪ o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ [cheers and applause] dr. mager: you may be seated. may i present to you joanna masingila,interim dean of the school of education. dr. masingila; graduates, family and friends of graduates,school of education faculty and staff members, board of visitor members, and other guests ofthe school of education: good afternoon. i'm pleased to see all of you herefor this significant and joyous event. i received a letter yesterday from chancellor syverud,wishing you all the best. he would like to attend all the convocations, but because of hismeetings with the board of trustees, is not able to attend.
graduates -- we are so very proud of you.you have worked hard and persevered through courses, practica and internship experiences,lab experiments, the edtpa... [cheering] final exams, qualifying exams, dissertations, oral defenses,snowstorms, and many other challenges. none of us know the exact challenges that you will facein the coming years in your career as an education professional, but we know that we have prepared you to meet these challenges. the people sitting behind me here on the stage have all beenin your shoes. we have sat where you sit today, likely not at syracuse university, but at other colleges and universitieswhere we completed undergraduate degrees, master's degrees, perhaps certificates of advanced studies,and doctoral degrees.
before i talk about some of the challenges that we facedin our early years as education professionals, i want to show some photos of us as we appeared around the timeof our graduations with our undergraduate degrees. christy ashby. george theoharis. kelly chandler-olcott joe shedd. john tillotson. marcelle haddix. benita blachman.
juliet hess. beth myers. me. sharon dotger and ben dotger. this was a tacky day at the school where they taught,that's why they're dressed like that. rachel brown. alan foley. corinne smith. melissa luke.
beth ferri. and a self-portrait by james rolling. not everybody contributed photos,some didn't have them in digital format, and maybe some didn't want to have their's here. while those photos show smiling faces readyto face the world early in our education professions, just as each of you will face challenges asyou leave this place and enter into new roles in the field of education we also faced challenges. james rolling wanted to teach art, but inearning a mfa as a visual artist at syracuse university, he had not completed any coursework in the field of education.
he was hired to teach art and creative writing after school inthe basement level of a school building in new york city, and applied for an additional job as a substitute teacherupstairs during the regular school day. for that entire first year, absolutely no one called upon himto substitute in his or her classroom. kelly chandler-olcott began her teaching careerin a school where there was almost no required english curriculum in place. this was excitingbecause she could tailor instruction to her particular students' needs and interests.but it was also nerve-wracking and exhausting, and probably not so great for her social life. (she often fell asleep on her couch at 5 pm on a friday anddidn't wake up till late saturday morning). one of the biggest challenges barbara applebaumfaced was being willing to revise her course material
in light of what she was finding out about what a particulargroup of students know or don't know. when she first started teaching she would prepare a syllabusand lesson plans and was afraid to veer from the plans. both in undergraduate school and in her earlycareer, rachel brown was incredibly shy. you can imagine what torture it was for her to doany type of public speaking in front of a crowd of any size, be it in a faculty meeting or in a classroom. corinne smith faced the challenge of not gettingit. for about the first 10 years of her career, she was attending to school, family, cultural,curricular, peer, child and other issues, but she didn't really "get" that these factorsconverge to help a child succeed or not, and that her role was to try to influence eachof these to be as positive as possible for the child.
melissa luke was hired as a writing resourceteacher for the alternative schools in the rochester city school district in western nyupon graduation from college. as melissa was itinerant between six or seven schools,she frequently struggled to feel as if she had as much access and resources to buildthe necessary relationships with the students, classroom teachers and other school personnelas she wished. kathy hinchman began teaching as a long-termsubstitute teacher in the junior high school within which she student taught one week prior to graduation.she had the challenge that she couldn't figure out, from the records available, what needed to be taughtbefore the end of the school year. in steve taylor's first year as a master's student,he was assigned to be a teaching assistant for a professor
who taught a large (over 200 students) undergraduate course.steve thought he was just going to be leading discussion groups in a couple of the many sections of the course. the professorturned out to be someone who seemed to want to avoid work. he gave steve two lectures to give before the entire class. steve wasstill learning about the field and had no public speaking experience. the professor didn't even come to his lectures. in george theoharis' early years of teaching half of hiskindergarten classes were hmong students learning english, and some spoke no english at all. sharon dotger found it challenging to developa sense of presence and confidence in the classroom that was warm and firm rather thanpunitive and overly authoritative. beth ferri's biggest challenges were:
1. moving to take a job in west virginia where there was a studentloan forgiveness program in west virginia's high poverty schools; 2. learning a completely different cultural context than what shewas used to and finding out how much she didn't know about poverty; and 3. getting her special education studentsincluded in the life of the school. when she arrived at the school, the administrators wantedthe students to enter the school through a separate door, eat in their own separate room, and have separate recess,and completely segregated classes. christy ashby found that one of her challenges was that even thoughshe taught in a school that was very inclusive and progressive, she still wanted to "fix everything" all at once and had atendency to come off as a bit pushy and aggressive. one of the challenges that mara sapon-shevin faced in herearly career was juggling parenting and being a professor at a time when there were very few women academics with children.
the few women were either childless or much older with kidsout of the home. the double standard was challenging. if a male faculty member left a faculty meeting early and saidhe had to pick up his child from day care, the room practically swelled with approval for an "involved father."none of the working moms dared say or do this, because they were immediately labeledas "less serious" or "not fully committed". i also faced gender discrimination at my second high schoolteaching job when i coached the girls' basketball team. the coach for the boys' basketball team had beenat the school a long time and was insistent that the boys should always practice first,right after the school day ended. the only way the girls team ended upbeing able to practice right after school was on the days i took graduate courses for my master's degreeand needed to get to class by 5:45 pm.
otherwise, we were assigned the 7-9 pm time every day. through challenges, we can grow. if given our choice,we may choose not to face challenges, but that is not realistic. life is full of challenges, of one kind or another.education as a field is under pressure from many fronts; educators find themselves facing numerous challenges —some that are persistent from year-to-year, and new challenges that come as societies continually change. just as my colleagues behind me faced challengesearly in their careers, and face challenges today, i encourage you to be strong in your desire to be an educator,and to remember three actions that will help you in meeting the challenges you will face: 1. be reflective. reflection is not only something that we asked youto do in your education coursework and practica or internships;
reflection is a lifelong practice that will serve you well in allowing youto gather insights from your own actions and thoughts, your observations of others' actions and words,and things happening around you. dewey defined reflective thought as "active, persistent, and carefulconsideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support itand the further conclusions to which it tends." being reflective is a critical tool in addressing challenges. 2. establish a network of support. each of us needs peoplewho will listen to us, support us, and believe in us. family and friends may be part of your network of support. colleaguesin jobs where you will work may be part of your network of support. and we here in the school of education,we are very interested in being part of your network of support. stay in touch with us. write to us; tell us about your challenges.
we will continue to walk with you in your journey as education professionals and in life. having a network of support is an essential tool in addressing challenges. 3. take action to meet and overcome challenges. in each of thebrief scenarios that i mentioned about faculty members early in their careers, these faculty members took action —by working with colleagues, by advocating for themselves, by seeking to improve their skills —to meet and overcome the challenges they faced. taking action is a key step in addressing challenges. we don't know the challenges you will face, but we know thatyou are prepared and we will continue to support you as your school of education. congratulations again.we wish you all the best! [applause]
dr. mager: representing the senior class today is kristen mingione. [cheers] kristen is an inclusive elementary and special education major.she will give the undergraduate student address. [applause and cheers] mingione: good afternoon graduates, faculty, family and friends, i'm sure most of us here today are wondering where the pastfew years have gone, how this day approached so quickly. it feels as if we were just moving into our freshman dorms,which for me was in the education living learning community attending our first classes with new people,and wondering what syracuse would have to offer us. little did i know at the time, that syracuse would becomeour second home, and these new faces would quickly become family.
i didn't realize how much we were about to grow as peopleand as future educators throughout our experiences here. there's something really unique about thesyracuse university school of education. we get to go through our programs - inclusiveelementary, inclusive early childhood, secondary ed, physical education, health and physical education,art education, music education, selected studies, and health and exercise science, with a small group of peopleand grow together with them as professionals. with long days of classes in huntington hall and thewomen's building, or long hours of field experiences, we had no choice but to stick together and supporteach other every step of the way. (these hats don't stay on). i'm sure that most of us would say that through the classes,wonderful professors, practicum experiences, and collaboration with peers, the school of education hasshaped our philosophy as we enter into the professional world.
at the same time, we got to be part of a larger university withso many fun opportunities to get involved in the syracuse community. after a long day out in the field, it was always niceto throw on that orange shirt, walk to the dome, and pretend that we were like the other college students.on most days, having been up since 5-6 am, it was an accomplishment to make it throughthe entire game without falling asleep. but we were always different, in a good way. we worked hardto get the real life experiences we were going to need in order to educate those around us, in order tomake the world a better place, and to support our students academically, physically, and emotionally --and now our hard work has finally paid off. today marks the point when we transition into the next chapterof our lives. i think that many would agree that entering this next chapter feels like anextremely strange combination of excitement and fear.
excitement because we get to pursue our passions in theworking world, or move on to grad school to earn another degree. and fear because it is something new and differentfrom what we are used to. as we begin to wander down this new path, without a doubt, there are going to be times that weare facing challenges that we never before had to deal with. many of us are going to wish we couldbe back here when life was a bit "easier." we are finally going to understand why people were constantlytelling us to enjoy our college experience for all that it was worth. however, i am confident that from day one,syracuse's school of education has prepared us for this transition. we have been given the tools we need to make a difference --to have inclusive classrooms, to journey into the medical field, to believe that every person is capable of accomplishing whathe or she desires, and to overcome any challenges that we may face along the way. we will always be part ofthe syracuse university community and we will always bleed orange,
but for now it is time to take the next step forward. it is time for usto take what we have learned and use it to change the world. thank you. dr. mager: representing the graduate student body ischelsey macdougall. chelsey is a literacy education major. she will give the graduate student address. good afternoon family, friends, faculty, and fellow syracuse universityschool of education graduates of the class of 2014. first of all, congratulations! i am so incredibly gratefulto have this opportunity to speak to all of you. i want to start off with a quote to honor a man whom the world lostnot too long ago, a man who struggled for what he believed in, a man who had the courage to stay true to his cause.nelson mandela once said, "education is the most powerful weaponyou can choose to change the world."
graduates, these words are some that i hope you carrywith you throughout the entirety of your professional careers. regardless of where life takes us -- teacher, counselor, evaluator,professor, exercise physiologist, principal, superintendent, and bless those of you who are continuing with more educationafter this -- but we have to remember that education is, and always will be, the most influential voice that we carry within us.we cannot forget why we chose to enter the field of education. we do this because we aspire to change lives and communities.during mandela's 95 years of life, his involvement and leadership in the anti-apartheid movement landed himnearly 30 years in prison - 30 years! all he ever wanted to do was to educate people,and that was something that he refused to give up on. he came out of that prison and was named the first black presidentof south africa and became a global icon for peace and equality -- a prime example of what can happenif you stay true to what you believe in.
so the question is, how can we pass this message to otherswhen the world of education is forever changing? i can guarantee you will never changeis the need that our world has for its educators. according to merriam-webster, an educator is a personwho has a job in the field of education. when it's stated as plain and simply as that, it seems likean occupation that is just that: plain and simple. i think everybody in this room can agreethat couldn't be any further from the truth. as educators, it is our job is not only to educate;it is our duty to inspire our students to be the best that they can be. educating is a passion; a passionto give the right tools to those who need them. we are here to change futures one day, one class, one lessonat a time. this profession chose us, and we must remember fire within ourselves that drove us to where we are today, and striveto ignite the same passion in every person we may encounter.
to me, that is the true definition of an educator. so before i leave you today, i would like to share a little moreabout my experience since i've been here at su. not only have i been a graduate student in the literacy program, buti have also been working as an english as a second language teacher at fowler high school on the westside of syracuse.for those of you who are familiar with the area, you know that this school tends to be notoriously known. it's truely unfortunate that more people don't get to see it the waythat i do every day -- a place of discovery and miracles, a place that i hold near and dear to my heart; it's safe to saythat fowler has grown to be like a second home to me, and the staff and students -- my family. the day i sat down to write this speech was the same daythat syracuse.com posted the article entitled:
"syracuse's fowler high school to be phased out;delaware elementary faces takeover." the first line of the article read, "syracuse's fowler high school anddelaware elementary will be shut down or drastically changed under new york education department rulesbecause they failed to raise academic performance." naturally, my eyes were drawn to the words "shut down" and "failed."i must have reread the article a good ten times that night in disbelief. so then the question arises, how do we continue to inspirewhen we are told that our time, dedication, and expertise isn't enough to get the job done?i'll tell you how. i think of vincent. vincent moved to theunited states from the congo in 2008. the only reason he passed freshmen algebra wasbecause the teacher spoke to him in spanish. so, for those of you who are familiar with the congo,you're probably thinking a spanish speaker is a little bit weird.
of course vincent spoke french, but the teacher couldn't. he was ableto recognize cognates in spanish, and so they both just went with it. vincent graduated with honors; he's just finishing his freshman yearat suny it, where he is studying to be an engineer. he's a well-respected member of the mens' soccer team, and we justreceived word this past week that he earned a 3.5 gpa this year. that is change. i think of tatiana. tatiana was having problems, and wasfighting at school. she was in danger of being "just another drop out." when word got out that she might not have a place to stay,a staff member took her in and made her a part of her own family. tatiana is finished up her sophomore year at herkimer communitycollege where she is a cheerleader and a member of the track team. she spends her vacations in syracuse withthat same staff member, whom she calls mom. i think of yuwana. she moved here from nepal when she was just 18.
due to her age, she was enrolled in the 12th gradeand given just one year to graduate. (and yes, for all of our secondary ed people,that includes regents exams.) we received a letter this past fall from yuwana. it was addressed to her teachers, thanking them for everything they had done. in the center of the card, she pasted a picture ofherself wearing her graduation cap and gown. her smile was priceless.that is change. i could go on and on, but i'm pretty sure my time is limitedso i will stop there. but the point i'm trying to get to is that: if you haven't already, i'm sure you will all have your vincent,and your tatiana, and your yuwana. i bet you will have dozens of stories like these to share --the kind where you have to grab your bluetooth as soon as you get in the car at the end of the dayto dial your loved ones, because it just can't wait until you get home.
these are the moments that we have to hold on to.alone, you may not be able to change the world, but you can impact a person's life so strongly that they carrya piece of you with them forever, and you -- them. but, i can also tell you that it's not going to be easy.there will be times in life when we are faced with challenges. there will be times when we are told that we are ineffective.there will be times when we are told we just aren't getting the job done. there will be times when you're lying awake in bedracking your brain and asking yourself, "how can i be better?" there will be times in life when you just feel like giving up. and when those times come, just think to yourself,"have i made a change?" thank you. dr. masingila: the first time i met our convocation speaker craig forthwas the first day of the fall semester in 2001, when i went to teach my math 217 class,and craig was a student in my class.
craig is a 2005 graduate of the inclusive elementaryand special education program. he was a member of the 2003 ncaa national championshipmen's basketball team, and he is a former elementary school teacherand currentassistant principal at mechanicville high school near albany. his wife amanda was also a member of that same classand was a 2005 graduate of our inclusive program. please welcome craig forth. thank you dean masingila for the introductionand for having me here today. i'd also like to thank professor bull, who couldn't be here today,for reaching out to me and asking me to take part in such a momentous event.happy mother's day (tomorrow) to all the mothers in the audience today,including my wife amanda and my mother at home.
and congratulations to the class of 2014! you have officially completed a journey that willreap benefits for years to come. be sure to celebrate this accomplishmentand never forget the lessons you've learned. i frequently look back on my experience in the school of educationat syracuse university with fond memories. i remember spending an entire weekend locked inside my roomat 200 small road finishing my portfolio. i remember sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on endtrying to figure out my seven lesson unit plan. i remember the first day of orientation wheneach of our professors stood up in front of our block and told us that we would not be gettingmuch sleep for the next three months due to student teaching, planning,and of course jumping through hoops.
i still think that to this day that if you have not been through theseexperiences, you simply do not understand when someone says, "real educators wear orange." my path toward education started when i was just ten years old. i knowwhat you're thinking: "great, he's going to take us through 21 years, we're gonna be here all day."don't worry, i'm telling the abridged version. i start at the age of ten because that is when my family's lifechanged forever. my younger brother jeremy was born. jeremy was diagnosed at a very young age withhigh functioning autism. i watched my mother and father work through years of iep meetings,program reviews, new programs designed to "fix" children with autism, and teachers who simply did not understand how jeremy neededto be treated. i watched my parents struggle to understand this new and uncharted territorythroughout my teenage years and even still today.
in the end, i knew what i wanted to do with my life.i wanted to be an educator that helped students like jeremy, rather than attempting to discard them when things got rough.i wanted to be the educator that gave parents a voice within my classroom and understood that the parent was as mucha player in the child's education as i was as the teacher. i wanted to be the educator who fought for all students andalways worked for the betterment of the child, not my own agenda. in short, jeremy is the reasoni am the educator standing before you today. now, being seven feet tall, you can imagine that mostcollege basketball coaches started to drool as soon as they saw me. my high school years were spent getting mail & phone calls from some of the greatest basketball coaches in the nation including jim boeheim. despite all this, i'll tell you that i did not choose syracuse universitybecause of the basketball program. i chose syracuse because of the educational programming.
as an undergrad, you are given in four years what many otheruniversities can only do in five. you have access to top of the line educators in your professors, and you walk out the door with a repertoire of skillsthat prepare you for life in the real world. i remember being in awe when i first met professor biklenand heard his story. to know that people were out in the world fighting for children like jeremy,and that someone like that was one of my professors, gave me the feeling that i had made the right choiceto come to central new york. over four years, i was very satisfied with the education i receivedand i felt extremely prepared moving forward. when i landed my first job, i was hired at east greenbush centralschools, at green meadow elementary school as a first grade teacher. i ran an inclusive classroom and joined as many committeesand special projects as possible over five years.
after my fifth year, i was shifted to red mill elementary schooland remained in first grade for an additional two years. so for seven years, you can imagine that i looked like thepied piper walking around with a bunch of six-year-olds following me. all that was missing was a musical tuneto accompany us in the hallways. there are a number of lessons i learnedfrom my first grade experience. the first lesson was to always be preparedand have confidence in your abilities. i remember walking into my first classroom and being shockedby the lack of materials. i had four tables, twenty chairs, empty shelves, and a $200 budget for supplies. supplies.i had to go to garage sales for books and classroom furniture. clearly not an ideal way to walk into your first job. within a month, i had shelves fully stocked and a fully functional classroom ready for students to come in. on the day before the first day of schoolas i was sitting at my desk cutting out sight word cards,
one of my colleagues came into my room.she introduced herself and welcomed me to the school. her next words struck me and have stayed with me to this day.she said, "you know, everyone knows how you got your job, and you have a lot to prove." what i haven't told you is thatthe superintendent of schools called me when he found out that i was looking to get into educationand asked me if i was interested in teaching first grade. i participated in two phone interviews and i was offered the job. the perception, and rightfully so,was that i got the job because i knew the superintendent. being young and excited about the offer, i took it andwalked in thinking i was going to get a warm welcome. as you've heard, the welcome was not so warm.over time, i came to realize that i had been hired for a reason. i was fully capable of running a classroomand i would not have been hired if i wasn't capable.
my journey has also taught me about faith and perseverance.i began my career at the very beginning of the "last in - first out" era. in each of my first five years, my position was cutdue to an over-taxed budget and lack of funding. i was fortunate enough to be hired back each year, but the processwas not without worry and sleepless nights. i remember being blindsided when it happened the first time,angry the second two times, and joking about it the last two times because i knew i wouldn't really be losing my job. in my first year at red mill, i decided that i wantedto make the move into administration in order to be a change agent on a larger scale.i knew i was having an impact in the classroom, but i wanted to impact the entire school environment as the principal.i began taking saturday classes as part of a cohort model at the college of st. rose. part of the program was a 600-hourinternship experience; i completed the program in a year and a half,
completed over 1,000 hours of internship work, and then beganapplying for jobs, only to be denied by most for lack of experience. i continued the mission of getting a job and ended uphaving two positions offered to me within the same week. one as an elementary principal an hour away, and the other asan assistant principal at a jr-sr. high school much closer to my home. after a great deal of thought, i went with the latterand i am now an administrator working with 750 students from sixth grade to seniors in high school. after nearly a year, i can tell you that there are as many frustrationsin the administrative world as there are in the teaching world. i now spend my days calming down irate parents,listening to angry teachers express their frustration over students, curriculum, and other teachers,and working primarily with students who have gotten into trouble. this year has been a learning experience anda roller coaster ride to say the least.
so you might be sitting there asking yourself, "why would anyonewant to get into education after listening to craig's story?" [light laugher] what i haven't told you yet is that every negative moment in myeducational career has been outweighed by fifty uplifting moments. i haven't told you that you will touch the lives of childrenday in and day out. you will find value in the smallest moments that will make you come back the next day, and the next, and the next.i have a few moments that illustrate this, but it was pretty hard to choose between all of the good moments.first, i'll tell you about billy. billy was in my very first class and during a discussion aboutfamily celebrations, billy raised his hand and said, "you know what mr. forth? i'm really lucky."i said, "oh yeah? why is that?" he says, "i'm lucky because i get to celebratetwo holidays, hanukkah and christmas."
i said, "wow, how is that possible?"he says, "well, it's because i'm half jewish and half christmas." [laughter] second, i'll tell you about john. john was in my last class.john was easily the smartest student i ever had in a class. he also has autism and often struggled to contain himselfwithin my classroom. on an almost daily basis, john could be seen running from my room after being givenan assignment or screaming at the top of his lungs because we transitioned from one activity to another.at one point last year, john ran to the front of the room, grabbed a red marker, and wrote "lalala poopy" on my sight wordboard. not one day went by without challenges for john. john's parents, though, came to every meetingbegging for answers for their son. they were lost. and i'll admit that i did not have an answer, nor did i see the next gradebeing any easier. i even had my mother contact john's parents
to offer some type of guidance. she urged john's parentsto continue fighting for john and looking for answers. as a result, they sought out a neurologist and finally got an answer.in addition to autism, john was diagnosed with lyme disease. the combination was causing the escalation of behaviors andby treating the lyme disease, john was able to finally find success. he is still in the inclusive setting and to this day he' still thriving. i'd also like to tell you about emma. emma was a very shy little girlwho was scared to death to come to first grade because she knew she had gotten mr. forthand mr. forth is really tall and really scary. in addition to being scared of me, emma had significantdifficulties in reading. i spent time reading with emma, working on sight words and word keys, and the day finally camewhen she looked up at me and said, "wow, mr. forth, i can read!" with a huge smile on her face.
her mother came to school on the day of our school picnic andtold me how emma came home every day and played school while pretending to be mr. forth. she alsoexpressed to me that i had made a huge impact on her daughter and that she was now happy to come to school every day. a final story i'll tell you is about an experience i had two weeks agoin my new position as an assistant principal. one of my primary responsibilities in this role is discipline. you can probably imagine that i make a lot of friendswhen i hand out detentions and suspensions. about two months ago, a student was suspended for anextended period of time based on a pretty serious infraction. since that point, this student's sister, jessica, has ignoredmy greetings in the hallway, screamed curse words after walking away from me, and ignored anyquestions that i've asked her about her weekend or her day.
to say that i had to walk on egg shells around this girl was be an understatement. two weeks ago, we brought rachel's challenge to our school.if you don't know, this program places heavy emphasis on living your life as if it is your last day and sendsa very powerful message based on the life of rachel joy scott, the first victim of the columbine shooting. we held the assembly in the morning with afollow-up training for students in the afternoon. while the assembly and trainings were incredible,it was what happened in between that i will never forget. after the morning assembly, i went into the cafeteria to monitorstudents. at that point, jessica walked up to me with tears in her eyes. she asked if she could talk to me privately.we walked to a quiet spot away from the crowd and she said, "mr. forth, i am so sorry for the way i have treated you for the lastfew weeks, and i want you to know it will never happen again."
now at this point, i didn't really know what to say, so i thanked herand she walked away to go about her day. later on that day, she gave me a fist bump as she walked to her bus. i was touched and awed at the same time that this student wouldtake such a huge leap from ignoring to apologizing in one moment. this was truly the most touching moment i've had in my current roleas an ap. people often ask me if i miss teaching. my response is that i don't miss it because i teach every day.every conversation with a child gives me the opportunity to teach them. for as long as i can remember, i have wanted to be an educator.my life has revolved around the idea that an education is the key to unlocking a life of success and happiness.in my situation, this couldn't be more true. one added benefit to coming to syracuse was meeting the woman ofmy dreams. it is no accident that amanda and i are together todaywith two amazing children, addison and colton.
(who unfortunately couldn't be here today,they're home with gaga and papa, having a sleepover.) amanda has had an interesting journey as well.she has been in three different schools and two different grade levels. she was hired in very much the same way that i was andfought many of the same battles within the educational system. i'd like to thank her today for being the most amazing personi have ever met (even thought she's in a close race with my mother) and for helping to make me the person i am today. i'd also like to thank her for being a partner in raising two childrenthat will one day value education as much as we do. and finally, i'd like to thank her because she has urged me to focuson those little things and little moments that i mentioned before and make each day mean something. so if you take anything away from what i am saying to you today,i hope it is this -- be one of the few.
be one of the few who never gives updespite the challenges in education. be one of the few who gives 100% to the task at handdespite the apathy of others. be one of the few who keeps their head upwhen facing adversity despite the nay-sayers. be one of the few who gives a voice to parents within their classrooms. be one of the few who rides the wave of changerather than fighting the current. be one of the few who looks for the best in studentswhen others write them off. be one of the few who remains positiveand optimistic when others lose hope. be one of the few who always strives for excellenceand expects it from others. be one of the few who remains trueto yourself and your educational ideals.
and finally -- be one of the few who doeswhat is right for children at all cost. once again, i congratulate each of you on your accomplishmentshere today and wish you well on your educational journey. i hope you continue to practice the ideals taught to youwithin the walls of the syracuse university school of education and remember, "real educators wear orange." dr. mager: thank you, craig. the remembrance scholarships were established atsyracuse university to recollect and honor 35 students tragically lost through an act of terrorism which resulted in the crashof pan am flight 103 in lockerbie, scotland, on december 21, 1988. each year, 35 remembrance scholarships are awardedto undergraduate students on the basis of distinguished academic achievement, citizenship,and service to the community.
the school of education is proud to have threeremembrance scholars among its graduating class. jessica lam, danielle steinberg and jamie yavorsky,please stand and be recognized. each year, we recognize the special academic achievementsof a select number of graduate students through the awarding of the all-university doctoral prizes. dean masingila will now award the doctoral prizesfor the school of education. dr. masingila: it is now my pleasure to present the winnersof the doctoral prize for outstanding research achievement. lauren jetty and leonard kamau, will you please come forward? dr. mager: before proceeding to the recognition of graduates, i wouldlike to introduce other distinguished members of the platform party whom i have not yet had the privilege of acknowledging.
i ask each of you to stand as i call your name. amie redmond, assistant dean for academic and student services. michael torak, associate dean for administration. george theoharis, associate dean forurban education partnerships, and associate professor. heather waters, assistant dean and senior director for development kayla nunemacher, school of education marshal. alexander ranalli, school of education marshal. and, could we extend a round of applause in recognitionof our school of education's eminent faculty. i now invite the dean and her associatesto assemble to greet the graduates.
oncampus is an inclusive post-secondarypartnership with the syracuse city school district that enables public school students with developmentaldisabilities who are between the ages of 18 and 21 to learn from auditing classes and sharing academic, social,and work experiences with syracuse university students. three students are graduating from the oncampusprogram this year. please come forward and be recognized. [names being read, applause throughout] we would now like to recognize each candidatefor the baccalaureate degree. would the members of the senior class rise and come forward,entering the stage from your right-hand side. [names being read, cheers and applause throughout]
would the candidates for the master's degree, and the certificateof advanced study rise and come forward to be recognized. i would now like to invite faculty advisors to join usas the doctoral degree candidates are recognized. will faculty advisors please come to the lower stage? would the candidates for the doctor of philosophyand doctor of education come forward. we ask that you carry your hood over your armso that we can hood you in a brief ceremony on stage. okay, let's recognize these accomplished graduates at all levelsby standing and offering them a warm round of applause. [air horn blowing][loud cheers and applause] [loud cheers and applause] at this time, to symbolize your achievement, will all the graduatesplease move your tassels from the right to the left.
for tomorrow's commencement,gate d will open for degree candidates only, at 7:00 a.m. graduates are reminded to bring valid su id. the commencement ceremony begins promptly at 9:30 a.m.with the student procession. will the audience please rise for the alma materand remain standing for the benediction. the alma mater will be sung by adriana magarino,a graduate of the music education program. [ ♪ piano plays throughout song ♪ ] ♪ where the vale of onondaga ♪ ♪ meets the eastern sky. ♪ ♪ proudly stands our alma mater ♪
♪ on her hilltop high. ♪ ♪ flag we love! ♪ [some students singing along] ♪ orange! ♪ ♪ float for aye ♪ ♪ old syracuse, o'er thee. ♪ ♪ loyal be thy sons and daughters ♪ ♪ to thy memory. ♪ [loud cheering and applause] jikyo shoultz: now, as we prepare to leave this place,let us take another moment to feel our graditude.
let us return to the breath of this present moment,putting aside other thoughts as we put our attention right here. during these moments together, we have recognized and celebratedthe hard work and achievement of graduates at all levels, of their families and friends, professors, university staff members,and fellow students who have walked this road with them. we will never be together in just this way again. truly, this is a day of endings and beginnings,of past achievements and future promise. we are so thankful. may we extend this mind over the whole universe, so that weand all beings together may attain maturity in universal wisdom. amen. dr. mager: we have a tradition at our convocation thatthe graduates recess through the cohort of faculty.
therefore, would the audience pleaseremain at your seats for the recessional. following the recessional, we invite you all to join us outside for refreshments. ushers will direct you to exit the side doors of the arena, to my left. on behalf of all of us in theschool of education here at syracuse university, thank you for having made thisconvocation an occasion to be cherished. [ ♪ "cujus animam" from stabat mater, g. rossini ♪ ]