JBK speaker misses the point; school’s efforts should go elsewhere

“Follow your heart over your head!”

Speaker Jason Hewlett twists his features into various expressions ranging from comical to downright off-putting. In the audience, the students’ faces reflect different forms of shock and fascinated disgust. On the whole, it’s not the kind of heartwarming material one would expect from an inspirational speech. 

Hewlett was this year’s Speak Up for Change speaker. This assembly is part of the school’s effort to spur students to make the school a kinder, better place. But Hewlett, like all hired speakers, was an outsider to the community, unable to truly understand Saratoga’s unique culture. 

At best, guest speakers like Hewlett are unmemorable. At worst, the message is off the mark. This year, the assembly focused on Jason Hewlett’s personal journey to becoming an entertainer. 

In fact, Hewlett, who was paid $2,000 for the speech, is not even an inspirational speaker. His website calls him an “entertainer” and boasts he has performed in every major casino in Las Vegas. Near the end, Hewlett’s “motivational” speech disintegrated into a 10-minute self-advertisement performance with the catchphrase “heart over head” thrown in as an afterthought. 

Even from the very beginning, Hewlett’s words were laced with offensive stereotypes targeting certain social groups. For instance, when Hewlett was describing his childhood experience, he implied that all jocks are dull and then plastered an unpleasant expression onto his face that was meant to portray the “face that all jocks have.” How is stereotyping supposed to make Saratoga more inclusive?

Then, to end his speech with a flourish, he encouraged students to like his Facebook page and follow him on Twitter, not even bothering to disguise his self-advertisement as improving Saratoga culture. 

Though the speaker choice was unfortunate, the school deserves credit for its effort. Truth be told, the student and teacher speakers at the Friday assembly were far more inspiring. 

Academic pressure, sibling rivalry, stress from home — the student speakers spoke about experiences Saratoga students share. And when they told their stories, they did so with far more conviction and meaning than any professional speaker ever could.

Unfortunately, though, many students listen to their peers’ stories one January morning and then return to their classrooms with the same attitudes they had before. Change takes time, and the seed that Speak Up for Change plants in students fails to take root because there is a lack of follow-up. 

In fact, by only promoting these messages during one week a year, Speak Up for Change unwittingly encourages students to compartmentalize “kindness,” instead of seeing it as a defining aspect of their personalities. It reinforces ideas such as, “I’ll talk to the kid who always sits alone during lunch — after finals week.”  

Speak Up for Change doesn’t need more paid assemblies. If the school truly wants to teach students to just be kind, what it needs to do is bring up this topic on a regular basis, integrate it with the school culture and make it just as much part of Saratoga experience as cramming for the SAT is. 

For example, the classroom discussions held in science, English and math classes during Speak Up for Change week can be extended to happen on a bimonthly basis. Sleep and course selection are important issues that can be expounded upon, and other subjects can be touched on, too, like how to deal with family stress. What if we devoted some time each month to Socratic seminars on Saratoga issues?

In short, hiring paid speakers for all-school assemblies isn’t the best approach. Saratoga doesn’t need so-called “inspirational” speakers like Jason Hewlett and last year’s Scott Backovich — save the money the school is paying for them and give it towards worthier causes. At the same time, the school needs to do a better job living the kindness the Speak Up for Change movement calls for.