Speech For A High School Principal

The speech comes from conservative columnist Dennis Prager by way of a12iggymom, and was originally published in 2010.  It appears to have generated an Internet meme alleging that Prager gave the speech in a high school.  One version of the meme had Prager being a high school principal himself.  In reality, however, it was nothing more than a hypothetical speech that Prager wrote as one of his columns.  Even so, I would still say that it's full of good ideas, so here's a small excerpt.  Read the whole speech at either of first two links above.

To the students and faculty of our high school:
I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people. 

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country. 

First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. 

The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American. This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans.