OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES –

May 22, 2021 – The word valedictorian comes from the Latin vale dicere or “to say farewell.” So it is a goodbye speech, but also a “Look at what we’ve done” speech. And what seniors have done this year has never been done before. From start to finish, this school year has been under a cloud. At some schools, the doors never opened and learning took place not in thousands of classrooms but in millions of bedrooms and kitchens, on back porches and in parking lots or wherever the WiFi signal was strongest. For those lucky enough to have classes in-person, the experience was masked and distanced, tracked and tested, and always a small coronavirus outbreak away from everyone being sent home. Anxiety was a constant, especially for administrators and staff and teachers — God bless the teachers — but also the students who didn’t want to bring covid-19 home to their parents and grandparents, who didn’t want to be part of worsening the worst health crisis of their lives.

So, yes, vale dicere to all that. Goodbye and good riddance. But also . . . look at what they’ve done.

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