Beginning at the End
Over the course of the next year, you will celebrate the last year of high school - your senior year. You may cheer on your classmates at football games, track meets, and the spring play. You may prepare intensively for AP Calculus and AP Physics exams, and plan significant PSL projects. You may submit (countless) college applications and compose (too many) scholarship essays. You may go to Homecoming and Prom. You may create memories that you will carry with you forever, and you may count down the days until you begin the next part of your life. You may experience excitement, frustration, giddiness, and even a touch of sadness.
At the conclusion of these experiences, you will participate in the Class of 2014's Commencement Exercises. During this ceremony, you will listen to a commencement address that (ideally) captures the spirit of your years of education, and offers you sage advice as you leave Perry High School. That moment is on the not-too-distant horizon, and so we begin your senior year in the Perry Service Learning Program with the end in mind. To be more specific, we begin our time together by examining graduation.
At the conclusion of these experiences, you will participate in the Class of 2014's Commencement Exercises. During this ceremony, you will listen to a commencement address that (ideally) captures the spirit of your years of education, and offers you sage advice as you leave Perry High School. That moment is on the not-too-distant horizon, and so we begin your senior year in the Perry Service Learning Program with the end in mind. To be more specific, we begin our time together by examining graduation.
Summer Assignment - Class of 2014
In his 2012 Commencement Address to the graduating class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Myron Cohen commented that, " The only purpose of a commencement speech is to give life advice. The unique challenge is to say something, anything, memorable."
Your summer reading/writing assignment is to read and watch the three commencement addresses linked below, and write a precis for each speech. As you work with each speech, examinine what is memorable by summarzing and responding to the speaker and his/her words.
Your summer reading/writing assignment is to read and watch the three commencement addresses linked below, and write a precis for each speech. As you work with each speech, examinine what is memorable by summarzing and responding to the speaker and his/her words.
Steve Jobs - Stanford University
Click here to access the full text to Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement address at Stanford University.
Click here to watch Steve Jobs deliver the address at Stanford's graduation exercises.
Click here for additional background on Steve Jobs.
Click here to watch Steve Jobs deliver the address at Stanford's graduation exercises.
Click here for additional background on Steve Jobs.
J.K. Rowling - Harvard University
Click here to access the full text of J.K. Rowling's 2008 commencement address at Stanford University.
Click here to watch J.K. Rowling deliver the address at Harvard's graduation exercises.
Click here for additional background on J.K. Rowling.
Click here to watch J.K. Rowling deliver the address at Harvard's graduation exercises.
Click here for additional background on J.K. Rowling.
David McCullough, Jr. - Wellesley High School (MA)
Click here to access the full text of David McCullough, Jr.'s 2012 commencement address at Wellesley High School.
Click here to watch David McCullough, Jr. deliver the address at the Massachusetts high school.
Click here to watch David McCullough, Jr. deliver the address at the Massachusetts high school.
2013-2014_precis_scoring_guide.docx |
sample_precis_1.doc |
sample_precis_2.docx |