'Thank you for letting me fend for
myself': High school valedictorian blasts
'alcoholic' teacher and 'unavailable' counselor
in shocking graduation speech
Daily Mail (UK),
by
Marlene Lenthang
Original Article
Posted By: JoniTx,
6/13/2019 2:35:32 PM
A California valedictorian took to the podium and slammed a teacher for being 'regularly intoxicated' and her counselor for leaving her to 'fend for herself' during her graduation speech.Nataly Buhr, a senior at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, opened her speech thanking the school, her parents, and a few teachers for being 'invested in the students' education and well being' on Thursday June 6. But then her address took a sharp turn when she called out the school's administrators and teachers for being negligent and failing to do their jobs. 'To the teacher that was regularly intoxicated during class this year,
Reply 1 - Posted by:
zephyrgirl 6/13/2019 2:38:25 PM (No. 97588)
There's a time and place for everything, and the graduation ceremony wasn't it.
11 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Mushroom 6/13/2019 2:47:11 PM (No. 97593)
The truth hurts. To those kids it was a once in a lifetime event. To the faculty, once a year. I have zero sympathy for those who are skating by doing substandard work and thinking they deserve praise. At least this young lady understands what it takes in the real world to succeed.
42 people like this.
Where else would she get the attention that it deserved. Should it be kept in-house and quiet. Obviously her classmates knew where she was coming from and she thanked the people she felt had helped her attain her status as valedictorian.
24 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
cThree 6/13/2019 3:06:48 PM (No. 97611)
I heard a bit of this yesterday. It struck me as incredibly poor taste, bad judgment. Just ill-considered whining. But that's a gentler interpretation.
That was a setting in which none of the accused could address the accusation, for one thing. Does anyone remember Mao's Red Guards? Young people terrorizing the country on his behalf?
I remember scenes where the accused were sitting on a stage, hands bound behind them, while youthful fanatics would scream the condemnations to the crowd. Then the accused would be executed. (That part wasn't filmed as I recall.)
This girl didn't dream up this public humiliation all by herself.
I don't care whether there was substance to her accusations. Her method was unjust and ominous.
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Calvinesq 6/13/2019 3:17:19 PM (No. 97618)
Well, she got her diploma and, more importantly, what she really wanted - national publicity. Now, go off to college and get your head filled with more mush.
2 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
tangles 6/13/2019 3:30:15 PM (No. 97629)
I love it ! The students cheered as well. More educators need to be called out when not doing their job.
24 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
zoidberg 6/13/2019 3:42:57 PM (No. 97645)
Apparently, when she tried to go through the proper channels, she was rebuffed. So, she went public. Good for her.
Re #1, there's a time and place for everything, and it's called college. (h/t South Park)
15 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
BirdsNest 6/13/2019 3:44:17 PM (No. 97649)
Well...my high school guidance counselor informed me I wasn't smart enough to go to the college I wanted. So there.
3 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
jimincalif 6/13/2019 3:47:51 PM (No. 97652)
I agree a commencement ceremony is neither the time nor the place. But this is a public school, right? There are very few ways to hold poor performing public school faculty accountable. Even ones who are relieved of job duties are paid for years to do nothing. I see this student much like I view Trump - a disrupter. When tradition and decorum serve only to preserve a corrupt status quo, at some point we must stir things up.
17 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Safari Man 6/13/2019 3:49:51 PM (No. 97654)
Would you want to hire this "firebrand"? Good luck with that.
2 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
rochow 6/13/2019 3:59:11 PM (No. 97662)
Great that the young student used the graduation for letting them all know. Sorry #1, it was a perfect occasion! Everyone assembled and parents can now investigate this outrage which otherwise would be brushed under the carpet. Many teachers leave a lot to be desired and they should long have been thrown out. Their only reason for being a teacher is the pension and a lot of vacation!
16 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
red1066 6/13/2019 4:37:11 PM (No. 97695)
This was just one high school. Think how many other high schools in this country have the same problem. My wife's middle school has several young teachers who seem to be sick every Friday.
6 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
bad-hair 6/13/2019 4:45:25 PM (No. 97704)
Tough Luck Snowflake. Wait 'til you see what Act 2 And Act3 have waiting for you.
Come apply for a job at my place and see how long the real world can keep you on the hook. Called sportgishing and you the fish.
0 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Yuban 6/13/2019 5:00:22 PM (No. 97714)
Sounds like another spoiled rotten teeny bopper to me. She made the commencement all about herself and she sounds a lot like AOC . Did she turn in the regularly drunk teacher? Did she give the info to the school paper? Did she tell her parents about the teacher? Did she speak to the police? Did she contact the local newspaper? Same goes for the counselor and admin. Sounds childish and vindictive to me.
2 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
NancyD 6/13/2019 5:03:41 PM (No. 97716)
I think it was awesome. Not a snowflake at all! She stood up, she did not cower. When you are stuck in a public school system, and all many care about is social issues, liberal crap, etc...she had no choice. Call them out and change the system !
13 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
MeiDei 6/13/2019 5:17:45 PM (No. 97732)
It took my HS guidance counselor years to get my name & gender correct, happened during my last interview with her, just before graduation.
Alcoholism was a problem with one of the specialty teachers at my son's school. The teacher showed up - late, drunk and ready for sleep. Fellow teachers covered for him/her many years so that the offender could retire with a good pension.
4 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
thewarden 6/13/2019 5:25:23 PM (No. 97736)
This school district is under great scrutiny at the moment, lots of bad stuff going on. The Board is corrupt and money is missing. Not surprised no one is minding the store. My parents would have killed me had I pulled this stunt. Her speech should be uplifting, not vilifying.
7 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
bad-hair 6/13/2019 5:32:06 PM (No. 97739)
Cry me a river. My HS counselors were not responsible for my HS outcome. I WAS. And my parents kept me focused on that. Little whiner like this ended up as a California valedictorian? Go vote Democrat. Darling, I hope your parents have enough money to cover your retirement and 2 of your friends, because people like you need to travel in packs to survive.
2 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
GillyO 6/13/2019 6:01:48 PM (No. 97756)
I love this. My son went to what was considered a great high school in California and the incompetence and arrogance of the staff and teachers was shocking. I knew I was going to be in permanent defensive mode when the registrar gave me major attitude when I was registering my son.
It got worse. The counselors were never available and couldn't be bothered. My son had a major medical issue and dealing with them and 80% of the teachers was a nightmare. You can't talk to these people because even during their office hours they don't take calls or even bother with their voicemail. You can't email them because they assume every parent is a psycho so they block emails. Even stalking them after school doesn't work because they're driving away before the kids get off campus. The only way to get anything done is to call the district and threaten a lawsuit.
The schools don't serve the students, they serve themselves. The teachers think they're gods and can do no wrong and the administrators cover for them. Private schools in California aren't much better. There's this disturbing culture that we must respect teachers. Show me one I can respect and I'd be happy to. My experience is that they are nothing but whiny clock watchers who can never make enough money not educating our kids.
16 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
TexaTucky 6/13/2019 6:17:00 PM (No. 97762)
Remember when we weren't so bitter and had to teach everybody a lesson? Now even our children are infected.
3 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
MickTurn 6/13/2019 6:44:17 PM (No. 97781)
Heaven forbid she had a 'Sober Leftist Teacher' she wouldn't have made a C in the classes!
2 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 6/13/2019 6:48:40 PM (No. 97788)
There's always home schooling.
My school did not have a counselor. Most teachers are good, but there are others that should be nowhere near students. Know of two instances where parents had children that were mildly autistic, and dealing with schools was 'unpleasant'. Drunk teachers should not be tolerated.
The teachers will put in as much effort as the students do. Ultimately its up to the student. Sounds like the valedictorian learned a life lesson.
2 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
PageTurner 6/13/2019 6:59:33 PM (No. 97798)
San Ysidro is where the illegals roll in. The iron grip of teachers unions combined with the lawlessness of the border pretty well give you a whiff of the flavor of the place, via the speech.
4 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
DCGIRL 6/13/2019 7:33:46 PM (No. 97809)
I'm with #11. I'm glad that she said what she did. She had to FIGHT her way to the top. We need more students like her.
6 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
Howard Adams 6/13/2019 10:15:47 PM (No. 97853)
I recommend she re-compose the speech to the tune, Harper Valley PTA.
4 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
dadofboys 6/13/2019 10:26:02 PM (No. 97855)
William F Buckley Jr. essentially did the same thing when he wrote God and Man at Yale. Called out the college he just graduated from.
5 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
watashiyo 6/13/2019 11:39:06 PM (No. 97897)
The counselor and the principal told my son that he was not college material. My son thought they were right. Wife and I implemented 7 year plan for my son to graduate from college. On the sixth year he graduated and I sent a copy of his BA certificate to his H.S. counselor and principal. Today, son works for an international hotel in the Far East. If he followed through with the counselor's advice, my son would be flipping hamburgers and demonstrating for an hourly wage increase.
8 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
ladydawgfan 6/14/2019 12:38:59 AM (No. 97914)
When I was in high school, my counselor was of the mind that women should be barefoot and pregnant and stay at home. MY calling was architecture, and he KNEW this. Instead of the maths and science courses that I would need for college, he insisted that I take child development, fiber arts and home ec / sewing courses. I was not told about any scholarships that I might have been eligible for, nor was I given any college recommendations. When I started college, I was completely unprepared for the courses and requirements needed to succeed. I was immediately behind my classmates and left to play catch up with information that would have been better to have learned in high school. In the end, I succeeded in spite of my HS counselor, but it was more difficult than it needed to be. This student obviously felt that she didn't have a voice, that her concerns were not being heard. I cannot find fault with her means of getting her message out. At least she has now been heard.
7 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
chumley 6/14/2019 1:01:14 AM (No. 97922)
It was a lousy thing to do and very poor judgement. Try that in the real world and see how many jobs you get. The incompetent are protected by unions or employment contracts and cannot be touched or they would have been already. I work with one just like that. Management just tells us to not give him any important jobs and wait him out till retirement.
Meanwhile, she has made public accusations that may cost her all her college money plus. Not smart.
1 person likes this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
Pnstrpilot 6/14/2019 11:05:50 AM (No. 98188)
Having survived the Fairfax County public school system of the late '60's and early '70's, I for one applaud this young woman for speaking up.
By her account, she attempted to use the tools that the system claimed to have in place, with little or no support from most of the public school employees (teachers and support staff) going "through channels". Particularly egregious are the staff who neglected her ("counselor" and office staff).
I attended High School, we'll just say outside of Reston (when it was still "rural"), and found that I was left to flounder, with little or no guidance or support from staff. As for my parents, they were "absentee", Dad working 14+ hour days and weekends (Pentagon), Mom enjoying the Washington "scene"...all known to the staff.
Most sad was my "guidance counselor", who advised me as a Junior, that my best bet was to drop out of school, and try and find something.
Well Mrs. "C", I graduated despite your "guidance", and went on to a career in Army Intelligence, and on to Army Aviation and have made a career of in that field to this day.
I attended college, while working and hold a BS degree, no thanks to you or many others who failed to recognize what I needed by way of support...I did it myself, on my own.
One regret that I have was when I returned to my Alma Mater, in uniform as an Army Officer to visit my "counselor" to thank her for nothing, I missed her by about a year (as I understand it) as she retired....that had to be a plus for future bright students who were bored at school and fell through the cracks.
1 person likes this.
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