A Graduation Speech in the Year of Ted Lasso & ChatGPT
The BELIEVE sign above the door in the AFC Richmond locker-room from the Apple TV show Ted Lasso
Two key phenomena marked the 2022-23 school-year in my mind: one, the release of Open AI’s ChatGPT and two, season three of Ted Lasso, a show beloved by a lot of teachers. So it is, that as the ISK Class of 2023 walked across the graduation stage and I was honored to give the graduation speech, I thought it fitting to address these two phenomena in the words that I delivered below.
Speech Delivered at ISK Class of 2023 Graduation
Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed faculty, proud parents, and the extraordinary graduates of 2023, it is an honor to stand before you today on this momentous occasion. As you embark on the next chapter of your lives, I would like to share some heartfelt advice to inspire and guide you in your journey ahead.
First and foremost, I want to remind you that the world you are entering is full of infinite possibilities. Embrace the unknown with courage and an open mind. Allow yourself to explore new paths, take risks, and step outside of your comfort zone.
In this era of constant change, adaptability is key. Embrace change and view it as an opportunity for personal and intellectual growth. Be willing to unlearn and relearn as you encounter new information and experiences.
While pursuing your dreams, don't forget to nurture the connections you have made throughout your high school years and continue to forge new ones. Surround yourself with individuals who inspire, challenge, and support you.
As you pursue your passions and strive for excellence, remember the value of resilience. Embrace failures as stepping stones to success. Learn from your mistakes, adapt, and keep moving forward.
As you step forward into the vast landscape of possibilities that lies ahead, remember the values instilled in you during your high school years. Trust in your abilities, be kind to yourself and others, and never cease to pursue knowledge and personal growth. Congratulations, Class of 2023. May your journey be filled with purpose, passion, and the fulfillment of your dreams.
And that, graduates, is what ChatGPT had to say as advice to you on this occasion. ChatGPT is a pretty remarkable tool really, and its appearance on the scene will definitely leave a mark in your memory of your last year of high school. Just imagine, 30 years from now, when some humanoid robot comes by your house to pick up your high school-aged child for a first date; you’ll pretend that you’re still superior and will make small-talk saying, “I remember back when AI first passed the Turing Test… I was a senior in high school that year.”
Okay, but let’s be honest, ChatGPT’s words of advice for our graduates were mostly cliche. I’m reminded of the wise words of one of our very own seniors this past week, responding to me from his seat under the mango tree, saying: “Mr. Haines, I prefer that my relationships stay human.” So with that in mind, I’d like to start over.
I’ve recently finished the final season of the Apple TV series, Ted Lasso. If you haven’t watched the show, Ted is an American, Division 2 college football coach – as in, American, pigskin, gridiron, football. He’s just been hired as the new coach of AFC Richmond, an English premier league team that plays, what much of the world would call, the real football. But the show’s not really about football or the English Premier League; it’s about teamwork, relationships, forgiveness and redemption.
I’ve liked the Ted Lasso character. Maybe it’s because he’s a nerdy, white, middle-aged, khaki-wearing, dad sort of character and well… But I think I’ve also loved him because he’s just so human… awkwardly, but beautifully human… human in that heart-warming, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, eye-rolling, can’t stop yourself from smiling, sort of way. So, in the year of AI chat bots I’d like to honor humanness… and pass along four Ted Lasso life lessons for our graduates today.
#1: Practice forgiveness
If you’ve never watched the show, you’re probably wondering, why was an American, who knows nothing about football, the beautiful game, hired to coach a premier league team? Well, we quickly learn in season one that it was a decision by Rebecca, the owner of the team, because she intentionally wanted to destroy the club to get even with her ex-husband, for whom the team had been a life-long love. Rebecca wanted Ted to fail from the start, expected him to be a disaster, and sabotaged his every effort. This comes to a climax near the end of season 1 when Rebecca, broken to tears by what she’s done, confesses her duplicity to Ted. With barely a hesitation, Ted forgives her. We see it again in season 3 when Ted forgives the betrayal of assistant coach Nate. Ted recognizes that hurt people, hurt people. Rather than judging people by their mean-spirited actions, and holding a grudge, Ted shows empathy; he acknowledges the pain from which the mean-spirited actions arise, and he offers forgiveness.
#2: Be curious, not judgmental
Ted ends up in a game of darts in the local pub against Rupert, Rebecca’s ex-husband, and the villain of the series. Rupert has underestimated Ted and Ted has allowed him to do so. Rupert is confident that he’s won the game and the wager that goes with it. Ted has three darts left to throw and needs to hit two triple 20s and a bullseye to win. As he sets up to throw the first dart, he quotes Walt Whitman, saying, “be curious, not judgemental.” He then throws his first triple 20. Ted then explains that he’s been underestimated his whole life because, instead of being curious, people have judged him without knowing him. They assumed something about him, without ever asking questions, like whether or not he’s played darts before. Ted then proceeds to throw a second triple 20 and the bullseye to take the game. Ted’s point is that you should not assume that you know another person. Don’t assume that you know all about a situation. Don’t assume that you know more than you actually do. Instead, be curious. Ask questions. Take a genuine interest. Aristotle is credited with saying, “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” My version of that is “It’s the arrogant people of the world who are typically the most ignorant.”
#3: Believe; have hope
On day one at the club, Ted hangs a sign up in the locker room… blue large-case letters on yellow paper… BELIEVE. With this sign, Ted challenges his team with the idea of hope. Hope is an attitude about the future; it’s an attitude that sometimes flies in the face of all apparent evidence. It’s a belief that the future can be better, that problems can be solved, and that things can change… even when the present seems bleak. Belief… it’s not always the sensical thing or the logical attitude; rather it’s a deliberate decision, against the odds, to still maintain hope. But what Ted understood is that the decision to hope can create its own positive feedback loop. There are aspects about our present situation in the world that could give one reason to despair… as I watch my home country of Canada burning this week, the climate crisis comes to mind as a sensical reason for despair. There’s a lot of evidence that suggests that we’re not going to solve it in time. But Ted knew that despair leads to apathy and surrender. What we need is a deliberate, against the odds, decision of hope. Because hope isn’t just rainbows, unicorns and castles-in-the-sky; rather, hope motivates action; hope is a force that propels us forward.
#4: Be a goldfish
When Ted sees right winger Sam berating himself for a bad play on the pitch, he encourages Sam to be like a goldfish. Ted explains that goldfish are happy creatures because their memory capacity only lasts about 10 seconds. Sam should stop obsessing over the bad play, forget about it, and move on. Dwelling on the mistake that’s already happened will not change it. Our human memory capacity is, in many ways, our superpower. It’s why we can learn from those who came before us and from our own experiences. From human memory springs human culture, civilization and knowledge. But our human memory capacity can also be our kryptonite. We have a tendency to get so caught up in our heads that we don’t engage the situation in front of us. We obsessively ruminate on the past, we’re haunted about the other places we think we’d rather be, or we’re consumed by worry for the future. With all of this mental abstraction, we often forget to actually live the life we’re in right now… like a goldfish.
Conclusion
Let me wrap this up by having you each pick up your programs and look at the ISK banner across the top. Yesterday, I was walking from the front gate towards the high school, I looked up and took notice of the ISK logo across the front of the elementary building just above Ms. Linda’s office. It occurred to me that Ted Lasso might just fit in okay at ISK. Many of the themes I’ve picked up from the show seem to align well with a couple of phrases we use around here. So graduates… be compassionate, and stay curious… and let me point out that those are two fundamentally human traits and the machines can’t ever claim those from you.
