Superintendent Wiley, Ladies and Gentlemen, and especially the graduating class of 1962: I strongly suspect that if there is one expression you people had hoped that you would never hear again, it was the old refrain, "And now class, the assignment for tomorrow is:" and I suspect you thought you had it , I come to give you another assignment for tomor row. I ' for tomorrow will always accompany you. In my years of teaching I have discovered two things about high school seniors which many adults , I don 't think , realize. The first of these is that high school seniors are perfectly willing to listen and to think seriously, provided they 're convinced the problems they 're asked to think are really important . The second thing I 've learned is that high school students are prob - ably the most idealistic people with whom I have any dealing. And, because this is true, I should DR. HAEFNER like to suggest to you some characteristics of the world into which you are graduating and then make some comments what those characteristics mean to you . The world into which you are graduating is a world faced by the most serious possible threat from Com munist ideology. Do not underestimate the seriousness of this challenge to our way of life. Do not be lured into feeling that America has always won its battles before and therefore it inevitably will win again . This kind of self -deception , class , about the nature of the years ahead could be tragic. The second characteristic of the world into which you are graduating is that whenever anybody in a nation such as ours is confronted with a tough challenge, a foe who does not play by the same rules , a foe who does not hesitate to cheat , to lie, to break its promises , and to break treaties . The tendency in such a situation is to fight fire with fire . The third characteristic of the world into which you are graduating is that it is a world which is marked by the fact that it is growing smaller at the same time that it is growing larger. The final characteristic of the world into which you are graduating is that it is a world of immensely faster change than your parents ever viewed. Do you realize that in the years since you were born we have entered two new ages that are of incomparably greater significance than any of the ages of the past . You' ve got to learn to accommodate yourselves to change because change is all about you and you won' t survive unless you can accommodate to a changed world .Where does the individual fit into such a world? I 'd like to suggest to you that your assignment for tomorrow is to begin working tonight on the devel opment of certain basic traits which characterize the worthy American in the years ahead. integrity, moral courage, and a deep -seated sense of faith. - They are: - m not kidding you because an assignment but you haven 't , because here -
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