Rusty Saber: Graduation not an end to learning process

Long-time Rusty Saber readers know there are certain column topics that can't be said to be regular features; irregular is more descriptive. One of these sometime annual features is the commencement address I would give to graduating college seniors, if I were to do such a thing.

Since it's been at least a couple of years since the Rusty Saber has sent seniors off into the world, the time has come.

To the Class of 2001: You may feel as though you have escaped from the maze this institution has put you through, one that began four years ago. Now you are about to exit the maze; this speech being the last step. You will be handed your diploma and by fiat you will join the demographic group designated college graduates.

When you march out of here, you will enter another maze, the one called the real world. It will soon become obvious to you that the steps in the maze the university put you through will help you find your way through the larger and far more complex maze as you live your daily life in the world.

In a long ago Rusty Saber column I quoted an old adage, one that a reader told me she borrowed and used in an actual commencement speech she was giving. It seems to fit here, so I'll use it again: "Socrates was a man of the people. Socrates loved the people. The people loved Socrates. Socrates gave the people advice. The people killed Socrates!"

So, it is with some trepidation that I give you some advice.

It was more than a devious plot on the part of the university to put you through the seemingly precarious steps in the maze. No, there was a purpose for all those required courses that didn't have anything to do with your major.

Life requires more of educated people than that they be able to add a column of figures and understand the language well enough to speak it and read without moving their lips. There is a vast distinction between knowing facts and being educated.

You have received a good education. My advice to you: Use it. Your education allowed you to experience good literature and the arts.

You have studied history so that you have an understanding of how we got where we are; I hope you have a notion as to where we need to go.

You have a good grasp of the language. Hopefully, you know enough about science, even if you aren't a science major, to at least have a grasp of the technological advances that will continue to occur in rapid-fire order.

And if the curriculum "soaked in" with you, you are aware that many different and varied cultures exist around you.

The essence of life in the 21st century will be defined by how well different groups in your generation learn to exist side by side.

Another piece of advice: Don't assume that your education ends with this ceremony. It's called "commencement," not "conclusion."

What you have learned so far should induce you to continue to expand your knowledge. Although I didn't appreciate it at the time, some of the best advice I ever received came from a delightful lady, a professor and my mentor in graduate school.

At my final doctoral oral exam she sat silent while other senior faculty pelted me with questions, most of which I answered to their satisfaction.

Finally, she took the floor, asking five questions. I hadn't a clue as to the answer to any of them. I thought she had done me in. She smiled and said: "Don't worry. None of my colleagues in this room can answer these questions either. I just want you to realize, doctor, that you don't know everything."

I offer you the same advice today. Some of you will go on to graduate or professional schools. Others will pursue careers that require no further formal education.

If you don't remember anything else I say to you, please remember this: The classroom isn't the only place for learning. Learn from books, from people and from travel. Never stop learning.

I hope your professors talked to you about values, and the need to develop a solid value system upon which to base your life.

If the university has helped you understand that doing what is right is the only acceptable behavior, you are ready to face life in this new and exciting century. Yes indeed, Class of 2001, character counts. The world awaits.

(Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University and a Springfield public relations consultant.)