david mccollough, the legendary historian and author. found out talking to him about it this weekend his message to the kids he loves was about a lot more. >> each of you is dressed you will notice exactly the same. and your diploma, but for your name, exactly the same. all of this is as it should be because none of you is special. >> i wanted to give these kids whom i know well and care very much about something useful. you are not special. you're not exceptional. contrary to what your u-9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh grade report card despite every assurance of a corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice mr. rogers and your batty aunt sylvia, no matter how often your paternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you you are nothing special. >> i perhaps naively had no idea that the entire electronic world was eavesdropping. >> if everyone gets a trophy trophies become meaningless. we have of lately, americans to our detriment come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. >> kids have to stumble they should fall. the

you may have heard of david mccollough. he wrote a best seller and john adams. his son has been teaching high school for 26 years. he said this to the graduating class of well in massachusetts. >> you are not contrary or special. contrary to what the soccer trophy suggests and the glowing 7th grade report card and despite every asur ranse of nice mr. rogers and your batty anda silvia or how often your eternal. ed crusader has swooped in to save you, you are nothing special. you have been pampered and coveted and bubble wrapped. if everyone is special then no one is. >> after he said that he was hammered. >> , but also praised in some quarters. talking points believes that students need to hear the stern message. america is a very competitive place. nobody is going to hand you money except the federal government and those funds will by paltry. in the private sector you must prove yourself to be special. few will care if your feelings are hurt. performance is what counts. many american students are not prepared for the real world. the old saying is life is hard an

. >> reporter: the brutal truth, david mccollough jr.he country, no fewer than 2.3 million seniors are graduating right now from more than 37,000 high schools. >> reporter: the wellesley high school english teacher downplaying this rite of passage, he says, to prove a point. >> we have of late, we americans, to our detriment come to love accolades more than genuine achievement the the relevant life is an achievement. not something that falls into your lap because you're a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. >> reporter: his words were hailed online with comments calling it best commencement speech ever. and another calling him my new hero. a stand-out speech that in the end put a new twist on an old theme. >> dream big. work hard. think for yourself. love everything you love, everyone you love with all your might. >> reporter: for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> wonder how the class accepted that speech. >> nice sobering speech right there. >>> up next on "today," a really special kid. he's a 15-year-old w