| What Others Say About Khalsa Montessori School |
Graduation 2011
Guest Speaker
Alexsandra Stallcup
It’s strange for me to look back on my days at Khalsa, as I’m sure it will be strange for you one day, once you’ve graduated high school. The time between when I sat where you are now and this very moment speaking to you all seems so long and yet so short. Middle and High School don’t fly by; I’d be lying if I said they did. There’s a lot that happens, and sometimes a single hour will seem like an excruciating amount of time, and sometimes months will go by in a flash. I can look back at the six years that have just passed and see how hard I worked, how hard you have to work to be able to reach your dreams and meet your goals. It all just seems like a mess now. But my years at Khalsa are so much more stable than that. Some of my earliest memories were in school. It’s this solid time in my head where even if I can’t remember everything specifically, I remember and feel so happy that I went here.
When you leave, you might remember things that seem unimportant now, things that at the time seemed daunting and strange. I remember the first time I saw the bead chain, this long snake of beads organized so carefully, and me having no idea what it was or what impossible task the teachers expected me to perform on it. There are other things, like the pink cubes, and to be honest I can’t even remember what the pink cubes are for. I’m sure they taught me something important that I use every day, but I have no idea what. I just remember a stack of pink cubes. Does it sound strange me forgetting something like that? Do you worry you’ll forget too? Because I promise you there are things you will forget. Hopefully not the pink cubes, because that just seems embarrassing. You’ll forget jokes you and your friends had and where the rugs were stored in the classroom.
But you’ll remember the important things. You won’t forget your friends, your teachers, or the things you learned here. I have memories that truly amaze me; I remember learning fractions on these plastic irritating red circles. They never stayed together and when I took them out I had to roll out a rug, which never helped their stability. I never thought I would master the idea of fractions, ever, and next thing I knew I was multiplying them in my head. That was such a monument for me back then, such a bound and such proof that I was learning grown up things, and now it’s such an easy thing for me to do, it’s uncanny the way that time will shift things in your head like that.
Of course there are other things that Khalsa teaches you, other than numbers, basic grammar and yoga. There are some things you will, or have been taught indirectly here that will stay with you for the rest of your life, usually the small things. I’m sure someone has told, or lectured, you on time management. So I’m sure it’s old news that the contracts, or work sheets, will help you with that later in life. Unfortunately, they really do. The way you spend your own time and your work habits are one of the most important things you can do to guarantee your school career. Something you will find that is unique to Khalsa is its size. You may not realize it now, but having to work so closely with so few people sets a few courteous rules in your head. You can’t really cause a huge fuss and create heinous feuds with a classmate if you only have so many to choose to spend time with. This is a nice little thing that’ll help you avoid some of the nastier social situations that will happen later. Another thing Khalsa really enforces, even though the majority of it is subtle, is seeing people for who they are inside. Try to never judge a book by its cover. Cliché, I know, but it’s something I’ve found extraordinarily true. People who judge others by extraneous details that have to do with the way they were raised or the way they were born miss out on knowing people, who really can turn out to be fantastic.
To those of you going into middle school, don’t be scared. Middle school is a fairly kind two years, and I forbid you to worry about high school until you’re there. You’re going to meet many new people, and be separated from people you’ve known all your life. But believe me, it is very easy to keep in touch with your friends if you really want to. I’m still best friends with a girl I first met when I was three. The rest of the world isn’t like Khalsa. There will be new rules to follow, many new teachers and bigger campuses to memorize. I remember I was so excited to finally sit in desks during class, but I have to tell you, desks really aren’t all that comfortable. You’re going to like things other schools have to offer and you’re going to miss things about Khalsa. So move on from Khalsa and be excited about all there is for you out there in years to come, but remember where you started fondly.
