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“TRANSLATE THE EVIDENCE” Fuhrman told graduates that they will be the spokespeople for a wealth of new research that will have "maximum impact" in their fields.
鈥淵our 麻豆原创 education has prepared you to translate evidence that鈥檚 been generated by research into practice, and to evaluate the results,鈥� President Susan Fuhrman told graduates at Teachers College鈥檚 second master鈥檚 degree ceremony, held on Tuesday morning at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. 鈥淵ou will gear what you have learned to the specific contexts and communities in which you work.鈥�
Recent teacher walkouts across the nation in 鈥渁re in the tradition of our finest social movements. The teachers are right!鈥�
鈥擡ric Holder
Fuhrman told her listeners 鈥� graduates of the Departments of , , and 鈥� that 鈥渁dvances in understanding are occurring almost daily 鈥� not just in schools and classrooms, but in physical rehabilitation centers, health management settings, organizations and life situations that call for adaptive responses.鈥� Research produced by Teachers College will have 鈥渕aximum impact鈥� in psychology, policy, social behavior and other fields.
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“SHAPE OUR FUTURE” Holder called for wholesale change in a political culture that values guns more than books.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who received the College鈥檚 Medal for Distinguished Service, charged graduates with 鈥渟haping our future,鈥� calling on them to 鈥渃hange the culture of our country and help end inequities in education that cement disparities and wealth and health and success.鈥�
2018 Convocation: Masters II
Pointing to an average annual teacher salary of $58,000, Holder 鈥� the nation鈥檚 first African American Attorney General and now Chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee 鈥� lamented that 鈥渆ducation and teacher empowerment take a backseat in national priorities.鈥� Asking 鈥淲hy do politicians advocate for more guns in schools, but not more books?鈥� Holder gave his unequivocal blessing to recent teacher walkouts in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona and elsewhere, declaring that these protests against low pay, poor working conditions and a lack of school resources, 鈥渁re in the tradition of our finest social movements. The teachers are right!鈥�
Student speaker Oluwabusayomi Olawale (Wale) Okerayi affirmed the power of Teachers College to create positive change 鈥� not only via its teaching, research and impact in communities, but also through the welcoming environment inside its walls. Okerayi, graduating from the College鈥檚 , said her fears about attending an Ivy League school disappeared after she arrived from Texas and discovered that her professors and classmates would allow a 鈥淣igerian American Black woman to share my story in safe and welcoming spaces.鈥� Calling herself 鈥減art of the movement to end the stigma of mental health in communities of color,鈥� Okerayi underscored the importance of 鈥渢herapists that look like me in my field.
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“LISTEN TO YOUR INTUITION” Okerayi urged her fellow graduates to shrug off "imposter syndrome" and live lives of their own choosing.
鈥淟isten to your intuition in the face of doubt covered in fear, listen to your intuition in the face of imposter syndrome, and listen to your intuition when everything seems dark and you have lost hope,鈥� Okerayi concluded. 鈥淏y doing this, it is the only way that you can live a life of your choosing so at the end of the day, the only person that you鈥檙e living for is you.鈥�
鈥� Steve Giegerich
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