Yea for you!!! Our daughter couldn't , didn't get everything she wanted, she worked from age 12, babysat and while attending school, she was told no , a lot!!! Was taught manners, good citizenship, she worked hard for her grades, was very self motivated, we only said, just do "your" "best" , your best, that is all we ask and that would be good enough for us, she struggled to study, may be dyslexic like her dad.... cared about others, shared, loved, was an overall joy and "good kid", yes God blessed us so with the gift of her :) She was told she had to work hard, say thank you, be grateful, love God, yes we did too and still do :) we lived an example of how we thought she should be, we drank very little,didn't smoke, we prayed, loved God, paid attention to her, spoiled her only with attention when she wanted , needed our attention, we put down the lap top, turned off the phone, tv , listened , talked, discussed and again taught by EXAMPLE, not just words or threats or promises, this while we both worked her whole life ( outside the home...) we had to. She has stumbled, plenty, got up brushed herself off, and it was hard, I wanted to rescue, save her from hurt and harm but knew she would grow as a person, woman by this..... she just finished her masters in education and will teach science and math this Fall in S . Missouri, after leaving Veterinary School, to teach, ( she got the "calling" for this great career/vocation"wow, to say we're proud doesn't begin to describe how we feel, man we are blessed, so will the American kids she teachers, and America for having her as a citizen!!!! God bless our dear daughter , God bless us all, God bless America. They are not special, well maybe just to their parents, but the more you let them grow.... the more they grow, hard work, manners, love of God, not taking anything for granted, being told no now and then, yes this will make for a better child. Parents are the first , most important teachers, what are you teaching your children????!!!!

This young generation are what I call the "Good Job!" generation. Many of theses kids have been overly praised for doing nothing more than breathing correctly.

Just listen in any crowd of families with small children, and you will hear it echo through the air.

It is usually delivered in a slightly elevated voice and very drawn out syllables.

You will hear it---"Good Jobbbbb!!!!!"

Great Message!

It's about time someone stopped blowing sunshine up this generation's keesters.

To the graduating class of 2012.....Welcome to Reality.

There will now be winners and losers........there will no longer be an award for "participation".

Now get off your parent's couch and enter LIFE as the rest of the world knows it.

It was a brilliant speech. It was on target, it had the right message and the right tone. I thought it had a sense of flair and insight that you don't find often in commencement addresses. One must not listen to the tone and how it was delivered to really understand it's real intent and message. Bravo.

He nailed it!

Refrehsing. No, these young people aren't special. Americans have created a generation of narcissitically entitled grandiose young people, leach off their elders. live off debt they don't think they have to pay back and delusionally believe they were born with sliver spoons in their mouths. They give themselves undue credit for positives in their lives,and never acknowledge the role of good or bad forutune or others' contributions. In other words, they are also smug And they want unending praise for everything. It's time someone told them the truth.

It's not a coincidence that this kind of attitude coincides with troubled or failing economies. They were told the truth about themselves and those that accept the truth and wisdom will benefit.

That has been the problem for to long. Kids being told, "you are special, your are great, you deserve this and that." This guy is so right! This message has made a generation of "I am entitled" and I should not have to work from the bottom up, I should just start on the top.

Nobody is any more deserving of anything than anyone else. A good slap in the face of reality is what schools should be teaching and not the bull-crap that has been spewed for the last 30 years.

Life is tough and getting tougher ever year. Unless you are willing to work, and the word here is work, you don't get to live off another persons hard earned tax money.

Something the liberal Democrats in this country just can't come to grips with. NO, people don't deserve a welfare check for any reason.

Look at what is going on in Europe and that should be enough to show just how it works when the social Democrats run a country.

Greeks and Spain, going down the drain because EVERYBODY got money off the backs of those that did work. A society can not afford to pay people to live, and does not owe anyone a living if those people do not work and contribute to that society.

It's been tired, Socialism and Communism do not work. The idea sound good, looks good on paper and in Math class it might work, in reality, well we all know how Russia fell.

Anybody who thought this speech was belittling clearly missed the point. And their kids are probably exactly what this man was talking about.

Amen! Children today are filled with BS from the day they begin to talk (or babble). This very wise instructor administered a good dose of laxative, just possibly MIGHT move some of it out. But the majority of parents and teachers will continue to tell their children that they are really, really special. And it's true - but in the new PC version of language, "special" is used as in "special education' or "special needs" - so when someone says "That (or you) are so special!", it AIN'T a compliment! So children, get over feeling that you should be special and get down to being part of the normal human race! Excellent wisdom to carry into the rest of your life!

And the truth shall set you free. I applaud this gentleman for telling the truth about "real life." Much better to hear it now at 18 than to get blindsided later in life when: you still can't get a job; you're laid off from the one you had for 15 years; your spouses decide to leave a marriage you thought was forever because they are "not happy." The list goes on and on. As adults we've all experienced different forms of heartbreak. Listen to what this man is saying so that when "bad things happen to good people" you'll already be aware of what he's talking about.

Good Luck to the Class of 2012: kindergarden grads, 6th & 8th grade grads, high school grads, college grads and to those of us who are graduating from "The School of Hard Knocks." I've earned my Ph.d from them.

FINALLY. These kids need the truth. Not everyone wins. Sometimes you lose. Every time I hear a parent say "I didn't want my child to fail" I want to slap them silly! Why not? What's wrong with failing? They have to learn to fail. They have to realize that's how life is. It's not fair. You don't always win. You don't always get your way. And sometimes, you're gonna step in a big pile of poo. We all did. We all still do. Learn how, and move on.

The truth hurts. I applaud his candor in his final lesson to the students. If any parents are up in arms about what he said, maybe they should take a good look in the mirror. A parent's role in their children's lives is to prepare them to go out on their own into the vast world. If you don't give them hard lessons about the unpleasant aspects of life, then you've failed them.

This teacher rocks, what he said was so true. We want kids to succeed but the kids only want to succeed in order to avoid failure. The current younger generation has no concept of working hard for something, achieving a goal on your own and taking pride in your own accomplishments without having a trophy or award certificate handed to them in order to validate themselves. These kids want everything, they want it now, and working for it is just inhumane. This teacher was trying to inform them, ok, you have been sheltered and the real world is going to give you a big kick in the teeth but when you do something do not just do it for yourself but so that it does benefit all of humankind. You aren't special, you can't consider yourself special if you and eveyrone else gets the same award, excellence is only achieved when one person or a team is set apart from the general population whether it is in a school or work setting. Everyone is special in their own way but it is your actions that make you excellent. Kids today, need to know what it is like to work hard in order to get on the team or to achieve high grades in order to get into a great college not to just allow them into anything because we don't want to hurt their feelings. Kids need to learn early, work hard, try your very best and maybe you will get what you want but that life doesn't always follow the plans that you may have envisioned for yourself so you have to be self-reliant so that you can handle what life throws at you without mom and dad saving you everytime.

I am a recently retired marketing VP for a medium sized company. For the last 20 years or so I observed a trend of what I call "expecting rewards for being average" from recent college graduates. By that I mean they expect a pat on the back for things like showing up for work on time or for turning in a report to their boss by the day he expects it. The way I see it, this stems for the most part from our current education system. When my kids were in school, they were rewarded for just about everything they did -- no matter how insignificant it was. My wife and I would attend the annual rewards presentation and our kids would come home with 15 or 20 or more for things such as "not being disruptive in class." I thought hello -- we give rewards for that? Do they have an award for not burning down the school?

It was a great speech -- it needs to be seen by all. Rewards and recognitions are fantastic -- for exceptionable deeds and actions. And the bottom line is -- it's NOT the reward that's important, it's the satisfaction from real accomplishments.

Thank GOD!!!! Someone who sees this world for what it is!!! The world in general is a dark and overly disappointing place. The fact that we coddle these children and hold there hands and lie to them telling them their special, their unique....blah blah blah...the fact of the matter is this. Our children when they graduate have this overly developed sense of entitlement....and pure arrogance about them that is very disturbing to see. I have a 13 year old, and she is made to work for everything she wants. Chores, house work, yard work. Oh...you wan that Justin Beiber teen magazine, well its 5 dollars that's 45 minutes of pure work you owe me. She respects her money because she knows how much work every penny is worth. Problem i see now even among her friends is they think that they are owed everything. Well i did well in school so my parents owe me a phone......HELL NO!! You are supposed to do well in school. This guy just put the ugly that is the real world in these kids faces and i personally applaud him for it.

"You are not a beautiful, unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else." - Tyler Durden, Fight Club

The most relevant movie to date.

This teacher is right on, the world doesnt give a damn about anyone, regardless where they're from or how much they have. If you let your kids think that *your* stuff makes *them* better people, you are doing them a great disservice. Instead, make sure they know how hard you worked for what you have and that sometimes you failed and had to get back up and try again. I try to make sure my children know these things, so that they will be prepared for the lack of emotion in the working world and I can only hope that they are absorbing the message.

Oh and if you yourself are riding on your parents/grandparents/etc. money, dont bother reproducing until you have a clue about real life.

Truth hurts.

Most of the reactions to his message has been positive, but I fear for the wrong reasons - As Tolstoy knew, human beings love being told they're bad, they love being told they're not good enough, they love being told what to do.

The truth will set you free.

If the truth hurts your feelings it is time for some in-depth self-realization.

So all you naysayers need to really look deep down inside your self entitled souls and realize you're nothing special either. In fact you're so less than nothing you're really not worth addressing at all. Just wanted you to know your opinions are loathed by people who are actually in touch with reality and not the kum ba yah in your heads.

My hat is off to you sir, for having the 'nads to tell these kids the way it is in the real world. And to those of you that complained. Grow Up!

That was Kurt Vonnegut's philosophy - prepare your kids for failure. In my daughter's recent graduation, the last speaker, the BOE President, said "I'll keep this short and simple" and then proceeded to basically say the weight of the world is on their shoulders; it's all up to them. Thankfully they weren't really listening at that point.

Kinda tough to hear the truth. More parents should prepare their kids by giving them this same information

Valid message; wrong venue.

As an employer, I say AMEN! I have interviewed far too many teens & young adults who are clueless. It may be parenting, it may be personality traits-something HAS TO change. I am not looking forward to growing old in this society :-)

As the mother of 3 girls, I am working hard to instill honesty, integrity, & work ethic. I cannot truly control them but I sure as heck can guide them to the best of my ability.

Here's to honest teachers who hold our children accountable!