An Immeasurable Gift ─ Margaret Edson's Smith College Commencement 2008
In May 2008, Margaret Edson delivered a brilliant commencement at Smith College dedicated to the glory of classroom teaching.
She is a teacher herself, for many years teaching kindergarten (prep grade) in Washington DC and Atlanta, and now teaching sixth grade social studies at Inman Middle School.
She's also a Pulitzer Prize winner. Her play, 'Wit', written in 1991, debuted in theatres in 1995, had a run in Connecticut and then off-Broadway in 1997-8, and then ran for 545 performances at the Union Square Theatre between December 1998 and April 2000. Wit won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999, and the New York Critics' Circle Prize for Best New Play the same year. In 2001, it was made into an Emmy award winning HBO telemovie starring Emma Thompson, and when it re-ran on Broadway in 2012 it won two Tony Awards.
Throughout it all Margaret Edson remained Maggie Edson, classroom teacher. She still is, although she plans to retire in two years.
I discovered this speech on a site called The Eloquent Woman, and I think of it as one of the truly great commencement speeches. Structure, delivery, emotion, love, and originality. The most beautiful tribute to the classroom teacher ever delivered.
"This day is a day of love. It’s not a day of achievement, really. It’s a day of your family’s love for you, your love for each other and your teachers, and your teachers’ love for you."
Send it on to a teacher you love.
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