Published Monday, May 24, 2004
Commencement Speaker Provides Sneak Peek
By The Appian Staff

Tracy Wagner was procrastinating from writing a paper by checking her e-mail when she learned that she would be delivering the 2004 Commencement Student Address. The Appian convinced Wagner to procrastinate some more – by answering a few questions in anticipation of the big day.

1. Why did you decide to apply to give the speech?

I wanted my voice of an urban public school teacher devoted to social justice to be included in the Harvard Graduate School of Education's commencement proceedings. I also wanted to honor my experiences and the faculty members and colleagues here at HGSE who have moved and challenged my thinking this year. In writing this speech, it was important for me to include the voices of people of color, especially in the context of the departures of faculty of color from the Harvard staff. As the student speaker, I am very aware of addressing a diverse student population. I struggled with issues of using my own experiences (as a white woman and teacher from a working-class background) here at HGSE to share with and, perhaps in some listeners' views, represent, the experiences of a more diverse audience. If I could have interviewed every person on the HGSE campus and included each experience in this speech, I would have. But, I have five minutes and a lot of papers to write, and so I tried to address these questions to the best of my ability. This speech is my way of honoring and celebrating the people who have added to my knowledge and dedication of teaching with a culturally relevant, critical pedagogy this year. Although my speech is not about one specific person or course, it is partly about honoring mentors and role models, and about hoping for the preservation of these mentors and role models for future groups of HGSE students.

2. How did you find out you had been selected, and whom did you tell first?

When I first found out that I was selected, I was absolutely thrilled! I found out during a
late-night need to procrastinate paper writing by checking my email, and found the message waiting for me there. I ran into the living room and told my partner Kris, who, like she has been most of this year, was patiently watching VH1 as I did yet more homework. Then I called my mom in Wisconsin. Then I called my 80-year-old godmother in Illinois. Then I looked up the address of my elementary school, and wrote a thank you card to the two teachers there. Mrs. Thede and Mrs. Moeller had given me -- a quiet, shy, bookworm girl -- the job of being the student speaker at my eighth grade graduation. And on that graduation night, I delivered a speech about acid rain, dissipating wetlands, and the threat of nuclear war to an auditorium filled with Wisconsin farm families while wearing a poofy, flower-printed 80's dress. I wanted to thank these teachers for giving me the gift of voice. I wanted to let them know where this gift has taken me.

3. Can we have a sneak peek?

The guidelines for the speech stated that it would be judged on "intelligence, wit, and
significance to the audience," that it should "say something about the student experience at
HGSE," and that the speaker/writer should "remember that Ed.M and Ed.D graduates will be celebrating a festive and important day in their lives." I believe my speech matches these
qualifications well. I definitely struggled with finding the right tone and theme. If I had been preparing a speech about HGSE for a different audience and venue, the tone and themes might have been much different. I wish there were opportunities during the HGSE commencement for a wider variety of student speakers to share their views.

For this speech, I was very aware of all family members that would be in the audience. I wanted to make all the moms proud. It was important to me to give a speech in which my social justice values were clear, and also to have lots of moments where people in the audience could smile and say "yeah, uh huh, that sounds like me, too." I tried to do this to the best of my ability.