美国高中毕业致辞引热议

Social media was buzzing about a Boston-area high school teacher's blunt commencement speech that told students they "are not special."
近日波士顿地区的一位高中老师的毕业致辞在社交网络上引起了热议，这位老师在毕业典礼上很直白地告诉毕业生们：你并不特别。

Wellesley High English teacher David McCullough Jr. told graduates "You are not special. You are not exceptional," quoting empirical evidence:
韦尔斯利高中的英语老师小戴维·麦卡洛的原话是这样的：“你们并不特别，也不出众。” 他还引用具体实例为证：

"Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That's 37,000 valedictorians ... 37,000 class presidents ... 92,000 harmonizing altos ... 340,000 swaggering jocks ... 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs," he said in the speech published in the Boston Herald.
“就在今天，全美的3.7万所高中里诞生了320万高中毕业生。也就是说，他们之中至少有3.7万位毕业致辞的学生代表，3.7万位班长，9.2万名合唱团成员， 34万位校运动队成员，这些人穿着218万5967双雪地靴。” 《波士顿先驱报》刊登了他的演讲。

He added: "Even if you're one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you."
他接着又说道：“即使你是个百万里挑一的宠儿，在这个地球上，仍然有7000个人和你齐平。”

McCullough makes a statement on parents who overdo it in a modern society focused on collecting achievements. "You've been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble wrapped ... feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie." But he adds in a video on Wellesley Channel TV YouTube page, "You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. ... We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement."
麦卡洛老师对当今社会中家长过分重视成绩和成就的做法进行了批评：“从小到大，你们都是在纵容、溺爱、偏袒、保护、甚至过分爱护的环境中长大…你们被表扬和赞誉声包围，习惯了被称作‘小甜心’。” 他在Youtube的韦尔斯利电视频道的一段视频说道，“但是你应该想一想：如果每个人都是特别的，那就没人特别；如果每个人都能得到一座奖杯，那奖杯的存在就毫无意义。如今，我们美国人有一个致命的缺点，那就是爱荣耀胜过真实的成就。”

McCullough's address does push students to recognize real achievement: "The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life is an achievement," and he encourages graduates "to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance."
麦卡洛老师的演讲的确帮助孩子们了解了什么是“真正的成功”。“一段充实、与众不同又与外界联系紧密的生活，就是一种成功”。他还鼓励学生们去“不带有任何得失心地去做事，只要你爱它，并认为它是重要的。”

Many expressed their approval of the message on Twitter:
很多人在Twitter上对麦卡洛老师的毕业致辞表达了赞同：

This is awesome. I don't remember my HS commencement speech. I think I would remember this one. — S.L. Gray
“太棒了！我早忘了我高中毕业时的毕业演说了，不过这个我会记住的。”

Fantastic speech which sums up the neglected duty of so many Americans in 1 phrase: "Be worthy of your advantages." — Benjamin Yee
“精彩的演讲。这么多美国人已经遗忘掉的东西，用一句话就可以概括清楚：不要辜负你的天赋。”

the greatest commencement speech ever. — Neil Raden
“这是我听过最棒的毕业致辞。”

My new hero. Tells grads "You're not that Special ... when everyone gets a trophy, the trophy doesn't mean anything." — Jason Dobrolecki
“我的新偶像！告诉毕业生说‘你并不特别……要是每个人都有奖杯，那奖杯就毫无意义了’。”

The Boston Herald also reported that McCullough's words were very well received by attendees. The teacher, a father of four, admitted he's guilty of the actions he pokes fun at in his speech.
根据《波士顿先驱报》报道，这位老师的演讲在毕业生中受到了热烈欢迎。然而，身为4个孩子父亲的麦卡洛老师本人承认道，他对在毕业典礼演讲中开玩笑这件事儿有些负罪感。

But near the end of the address he says, "The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you're not special. Because everyone is."
但演讲的最后他补充道：“人生最美妙的乐趣就是在于承认自己并不特别。因为每个人都并不特别。”