Monday, April 16, 2007
NHS Induction Address
The four pillars of the National Honor Society are leadership, service, scholarship, character. Many of you sitting on this stage as well those sitting in this audience exemplify these four qualities in your life every day. Now you do it in school. You organize dances, raise funds, play sports, tutor younger students, study hard and provide an atmosphere of friendship which makes DHS a great place to be. But these qualities grow with you as you leave the protection of the high school and enter a world which desperately needs you to continue living these qualities all your adult life.
I have identified seven areas that will put your leadership, service, scholarship and character to the test. I will take a few minutes to share these with you.
1. Protect the earth When I was in high school fifty years ago, 3 billion people lived on this earth. Over six billion people now live here. When you reach my age our planet will be struggling to support 12 billion. Our air is already at risk from man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Our water is being polluted at an alarming rate. Our planet is warming. You must find ways to help out. Buy a fuel efficient car, insulate your home, use alternate energy sources such as the sun and wind, buy energy efficient appliances and light fixtures. Eat food that is grown close to home. (20% of all fuel consumption today is used to ship food someplace else.) Learn to live within sustainable energy limits.
2. Tithe your religion and give alms You are in the top 1% of the world's economic stratosphere. Be generous to those who do not have the things you have. Give freely to your religion. Give alms to those less fortunate. Remember we are all of equal value to God.
3. Shun corruption and violence Violence, war and corruption will always be part our human existence. Shun these things. There will be people anxious to hand you a gun or strap a bomb to you. They will tell you this is how problems must be solved. Shun these people. Their solution has never worked and never will. You must find a better way.
4. Educate children Give the gift of knowledge and understanding to children. Support schools that teach children to read and write. Many of you are familiar with and help support The Citizens' Foundation which in the past ten years has build hundreds of quality private schools in Pakistan. Thousands of children are being raised from slavery and ignorance every year by the TCF. But millions more still live in ignorance and slavery. There is lots of work to be done here.
5. Pay your taxes Society cannot serve the common good without financial resources. Society without funded government results in anarchy, chaos and unbearable suffering for billions of people especially the poor. It will be one of your primary responsibilities to help provide these funds by paying your taxes.
6. Shelter the homeless Enable impoverished people to gain dignity and self sufficiency by helping them build their own home. Many of you have gone with our Habitat for Humanity club to Sri Lanka or to the Philippines and have helped to build clean safe housing for people who previously had nothing. Many more of you have helped raise the necessary funds to build these homes. You have sent substantial donations to Lebanon and Pakistan. Your generosity with your time effort and money has made a huge difference to these people. Many of you have found to your surprise that the biggest winners are yourselves.
7. Love your own- your culture, your religion , your family These things define who you are, where you come from and where you are going. Learn about your cultural heritage, food, costumes, dance. Value it. Teach it to your children. God gave you your religion to help you return to him. Be firm in your belief and faithful to your religion. There will be those who will tell you these things are not important. Don't believe them. Your family is your greatest treasure. This is where you find your identity. This is who you are. Your parents have born and raised you. They protect you. They educate you. Love and respect your parents and your siblings. Love your future spouse, protect and raise your children the way you have been raised.
After over forty years teaching high school chemistry and physics, Mrs. Reeves and I will be leaving the classroom and returning to our home in Honolulu. We look forward to being closer to our family. We leave Dhahran with the firm belief that you will live leadership, service, scholarship, and character and that because of you our world will be a safe place for your children and our grandchildren.
In the simple words of Tiny Tim -- God Bless us…everyone
NHS Induction Address
Dhahran High School
April 18, 2007
I have identified seven areas that will put your leadership, service, scholarship and character to the test. I will take a few minutes to share these with you.
1. Protect the earth When I was in high school fifty years ago, 3 billion people lived on this earth. Over six billion people now live here. When you reach my age our planet will be struggling to support 12 billion. Our air is already at risk from man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Our water is being polluted at an alarming rate. Our planet is warming. You must find ways to help out. Buy a fuel efficient car, insulate your home, use alternate energy sources such as the sun and wind, buy energy efficient appliances and light fixtures. Eat food that is grown close to home. (20% of all fuel consumption today is used to ship food someplace else.) Learn to live within sustainable energy limits.
2. Tithe your religion and give alms You are in the top 1% of the world's economic stratosphere. Be generous to those who do not have the things you have. Give freely to your religion. Give alms to those less fortunate. Remember we are all of equal value to God.
3. Shun corruption and violence Violence, war and corruption will always be part our human existence. Shun these things. There will be people anxious to hand you a gun or strap a bomb to you. They will tell you this is how problems must be solved. Shun these people. Their solution has never worked and never will. You must find a better way.
4. Educate children Give the gift of knowledge and understanding to children. Support schools that teach children to read and write. Many of you are familiar with and help support The Citizens' Foundation which in the past ten years has build hundreds of quality private schools in Pakistan. Thousands of children are being raised from slavery and ignorance every year by the TCF. But millions more still live in ignorance and slavery. There is lots of work to be done here.
5. Pay your taxes Society cannot serve the common good without financial resources. Society without funded government results in anarchy, chaos and unbearable suffering for billions of people especially the poor. It will be one of your primary responsibilities to help provide these funds by paying your taxes.
6. Shelter the homeless Enable impoverished people to gain dignity and self sufficiency by helping them build their own home. Many of you have gone with our Habitat for Humanity club to Sri Lanka or to the Philippines and have helped to build clean safe housing for people who previously had nothing. Many more of you have helped raise the necessary funds to build these homes. You have sent substantial donations to Lebanon and Pakistan. Your generosity with your time effort and money has made a huge difference to these people. Many of you have found to your surprise that the biggest winners are yourselves.
7. Love your own- your culture, your religion , your family These things define who you are, where you come from and where you are going. Learn about your cultural heritage, food, costumes, dance. Value it. Teach it to your children. God gave you your religion to help you return to him. Be firm in your belief and faithful to your religion. There will be those who will tell you these things are not important. Don't believe them. Your family is your greatest treasure. This is where you find your identity. This is who you are. Your parents have born and raised you. They protect you. They educate you. Love and respect your parents and your siblings. Love your future spouse, protect and raise your children the way you have been raised.
After over forty years teaching high school chemistry and physics, Mrs. Reeves and I will be leaving the classroom and returning to our home in Honolulu. We look forward to being closer to our family. We leave Dhahran with the firm belief that you will live leadership, service, scholarship, and character and that because of you our world will be a safe place for your children and our grandchildren.
In the simple words of Tiny Tim -- God Bless us…everyone
NHS Induction Address
Dhahran High School
April 18, 2007
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