Superintendent Falcone's 2013 Darien High Graduation Remarks

Darien Superintendent of Schools Stephen Falcone delivered these remarks Thursday at the 2013 Darien High School graduation ceremony:

Good evening and welcome to all of you – to faculty, to parents, to friends and relatives, and most importantly to the members of the Class of 2013.  I am delighted to be here on this special occasion.

This past December, I received a gift from the members of the Board of Education and my mother-in-law.  It was the same gift – a biography of Thomas Jefferson written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Jon Meacham.  I have an extra copy if anyone wants to read the book!  

Now I have to share a little secret with you, and in doing so, I have to apologize in advance to anybody affiliated with UVA.  Please accept a sincere Wahoo-Waa for what I am going to share.  I have never really been a big fan of Thomas Jefferson.  

For all the great things that he did for the development of our nation, I have always been ambivalent towards Jefferson because of the contradictions that surrounded his life.  

I have always found it challenging to reconcile those contradictions – that he was a supporter of the agrarian mission in America and in many ways a populist, but he was also a Francophile who seemed consumed with the fineries of life – with wine and food, clothing and furniture, with elite people and parties.  Jefferson professed an egalitarian vision for America, but as we know, he kept slaves.  He also presented as a man committed to his family, but had his own infidelities.

I have to say that it was my own inability to reconcile these contradictions that caused me to view Jefferson in this less than flattering light.  But as I read the Meacham book, I saw that Jefferson was a man who thoughtfully struggled to understand the contradictions in his own world.  

I found it interesting that he wrote an essay in the form of a letter between his Heart and his Head reflecting, in part, the tension between reason and emotion.  But the contradictions went beyond just reason and emotion.  

And as Meacham writes, “What is clear is that he (Jefferson) was self-aware and prepared to live with unresolved contradictions, approaching the crises of life with a sense of hope…”  

I would suggest that your journey in the Darien Public Schools has been one that has been full of contradictions – ones that have challenged your assumptions and have forced you to revisit your priorities.  

I recently visited a senior English class where we discussed some of these contradictions and struggles – of being guided by reason or emotion; of being driven by achievement or grades and being driven by the power of learning for its own sake; the struggle of knowing when to lead and when to follow, of being an individual and being a member of a club, group, or team; the contradiction of finding a focus or specialization in your work and finding a life of balance.  

In the class we also spent time discussing the contradiction of sometimes living in a bubble like Darien, a safe and secure bubble, while moving toward a goal of global citizenship.

You may have come to Darien High School with the belief that there could be one answer – and one simple answer to the range of questions posed by your teachers.  And if you were to answer that question correctly, you could compartmentalize it and store it away or even think that you would never need it again.  But I trust that your years at DHS have led you to understand that the questions do not have fixed answers.  

These are perennial questions which necessitate review, reflection, and realignment.  How does your reading of text, either a work of fiction or non-fiction, require to step back and re-evaluate your assumptions?  How does your interaction with a teacher, or parent, or peer, invite you to see a different perspective on a topic?  

And do these actions ultimately create new meaning for you only to be revised based on your next interaction?  When we speak about 21st century skills, it is about adaptability, creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration – all of which have developed these past years.  You are the people who have developed the intellectual maturity to use reason and think for yourself.

Meacham writes that Jefferson shared Immanuel Kant’s understanding of the period.  According to Kant “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity.”  What constitutes immaturity in this regard is but an overreliance on fact and formula and “an inability to use one’s understanding without guidance from another.”  

Meacham wrote that Jefferson saw politics and I might even say the world as “kaleidoscopic, constantly shifting”.  And the joy that you can find in looking at the changing patterns and the alterations in light and color through a kaleidoscope can be that lens through which you look.  It does not have to be the magnifying glass or the television screen that displays “reality tv” that is used to give us a close-up look at the world.    

You are well-positioned to move on from DHS, to accept the challenges that a world replete with contradictions presents, and refine your thinking so it can be consistent with the natural law about which Jefferson so eloquently writes in The Declaration of Independence.
To your parents, I want to express thanks for entrusting their most precious gift with us.  

To our faculty and staff, and I want to acknowledge all district faculty and staff, thank you for creating environments where the students are challenged to become intellectually mature.  It is through your modeling, personal commitment to student growth, and collegiality that DHS is the special place (#1 in Connecticut) it is.  

I also want to take the opportunity to thank your 2012-13 principal, Ms. Gottesman, for sharing her enthusiasm with the Darien High School community this year.  She has advocated for students, supported the teaching and learning process, and has engaged faculty, staff and parents in conversations about moving DHS forward.  

When she agreed to take this job, though she knew it was only for one year, she said that she would approach it with a long-term vision – and that vision has contributed to positive growth in the school.  

We welcome Mrs. Dunn, whose passion for the students, school and community will continue to move DHS forward.

Seniors – soon-to-be graduates – the significant challenges that you have faced and the receipt of a diploma in Darien is an acknowledgement that you, like Jefferson, are self-aware and are prepared to live with unresolved contradictions – and as Meacham suggests not seeing these as impending crises, but as opportunities for hope and growth.

You should be as proud of this accomplishment as we are.  I wish you all of the best in your future endeavors and invite you to continue to remain connected to the Darien Public Schools.  Congratulations.