great speeches

In May 2008, Margaret Edson delivered a brilliant commencement at Smith College  dedicated to the glory of classroom teaching.

She is a teacher herself, for many years teaching kindergarten (prep grade) in Washington DC and Atlanta, and now teaching sixth grade social studies at Inman Middle School.

She's also a Pulitzer Prize winner. Her play, 'Wit', written in 1991, debuted in theatres in 1995, had a run in Connecticut and then off-Broadway in 1997-8, and then ran for 545 performances at the Union Square Theatre between December 1998 and April 2000. Wit won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999, and the New York Critics' Circle Prize for Best New Play the same year. In 2001, it was made into an Emmy award winning HBO telemovie starring Emma Thompson, and when it re-ran on Broadway in 2012 it won two Tony Awards. 

Throughout it all Margaret Edson remained Maggie Edson, classroom teacher. She still is, although she plans to retire in two years.

I discovered this speech on a site called The Eloquent Woman, and I think of it as one of the truly great commencement speeches. Structure, delivery, emotion, love, and originality.  The most beautiful tribute to the classroom teacher ever delivered.

"This day is a day of love. It’s not a day of achievement, really.  It’s a day of your family’s love for you, your love for each other and your teachers, and your teachers’ love for you."

Send it on to a teacher you love.

Episode supported by GreenSkin™ and PurpleSkin™ avocados at http://lovemyavocados.com.au. 

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Please subscribe to the podcast, visit Speakola,  and share any great speeches that are special to you, famous or otherwise. I just need transcript & photo /video embed. Speakola also has Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Tony Wilson's author website is here.

 

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Allan Jeans is a great of Australian Rules football

He was coach of powerhouse Hawthorn during it's most successful era, from 1980-90, which included seven consecutive VFL grand finals and three premierships. He might have had four but he suffered a brain aneurysm at the end of 1987 and missed the 1988 flag that was secured by caretaker Alan Joyce.

This is the story of Jeans' famous speech on Grand Final Day, 1989.

it is told by players who heard the Pay the Price speech ─ the allegory of the boy, his mother and the shoes.

Speakers include Dermott Brereton, Robert Dipierdomenico, Gary Ayres, Chris Wittman, Chris Langford, Dean Anderson, John Kennedy Jr and Peter Schwab.

The interviews were originally recorded for Tony Wilson's '1989: The Great Grand Final' (Hardie Grant, 2020), available online at major retailers. To purchase a personalised, signed book, visit Tony's website or email tony@tonywilson,com.au. 

Episode sponsored by GreenSkin and PurpleSkin avocados at http://lovemyavocados.com.au. 

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Please continue to subscribe to newsletter, suggest speeches, and visit Speakola.

The two Allan Jeans audio speeches featured are this 'Crossroads' reenactment and this Richmond guernsey presentation night speech, both on Speakola.

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Melbourne comedian Damian Callinan talks about the two eulogies he wrote, in very different circumstances, for his parents' funerals.

How did he balance his natural inclination towards comedy, with the need to pay proper tribute?

What’s the right balance between laughter and tears?

Should you read a eulogy or try to memorise?

What are some tips for connecting with both your loved one's story, and the congregation?

Speech of the week is Damian's loquat jam speech at The Wheeler Centre at Tony Wilson's 'Show and Tell for Grown Ups.

Damian's hilarious podcast about life in isolation in the already isolated Bodgy Creek is The Bodgy Creek Community Podcast .  He has plays, merch, and comedy downloads on his website.

Visit Speakola to browse our huge collection of speeches. Read Damian's eulogy to his mother Kathleen, and watch & read his eulogy to his father Adrian. For a regular feed of great speeches you can follow Speakola on facebook and Twitter.

The story of how Speakola started is on this week's 'Conversations' podcast with Richard Fidler.

If you'd like to donate to support Speakola in both its website and podcast form, Tony would appreciate any help in these covid times! 

Tony's new book is '1989 The Great Grand Final'.

Send him an email or a DM on Twitter and he'll sell you a signed copy.

The show sponsor for episode one is 'Mr Yum', the pick up and home delivery service for Melbourne restaurants Hotel Jesus and Mamasita.

If you'd like to sponsor the podcast, get in touch with Tony.

 

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