Head of School Jan 19, 2024
Earlier this week, I had some time to dip into a handful of Upper School humanities classrooms. Here are a few vignettes:
Eleventh grade English students parsed these lines from Thoreau’s “Walden.” “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains … The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way into the secret of things.” To help unpack these metaphors, the students first sketched the scenes on the surface of their desks. Then they debated the merits of a life of activity versus one of simplicity and quiet contemplation.
In an adjacent classroom, the focus was on this passage from Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”: “The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. He is supported on crutches, but lacks so much support of muscle. He has a fine Geneva watch, but he fails of the skill to tell the hour by the sun.” They debated the implications, positive and negative, of our reliance on technology in the modern world.
Next door, the seniors were wrestling with Hamlet’s great soliloquy from Act I: “How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,/Seem to me all the uses of this world!/Fie on’t! ah fie! ’tis an unweeded garden,/That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature/Possess it merely.” After a skillful performance by one of their classmates, they discussed how a bright and privileged young man could sink into such deep despair and what, ultimately, could give his life greater meaning and purpose.
Finally, in a 10th grade world history class, students explored the economic impact of the shift from the cottage industries of 18th century Britain’s putting-out system to the 19th century’s factory system. Using a set of primary source readings and cartoons, students were asked to design a museum exhibit that would show how these two production systems affected the relative lifestyles of the upper, middle, and working classes. What was the impact on education, income and employment, living conditions, political influence? Who were the winners and losers?
Over the course of those 40 minutes, I was struck by two things: how skillfully these talented teachers used a variety of techniques to engage their students’ attention and how much passion the students brought to these critical questions about what makes life fulfilling and meaningful. Very, very exciting!
Christopher P. Garten
Head of School
Key Dates & Events
Monday, Jan. 22 — Re-enrollment Contracts Expire
Week of Jan. 29 — Prevention Solutions Week
February — Black History Month
Wednesday, Feb. 7 — Parent Community Board Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
Friday, Feb. 16 — Faculty Professional Development Day. No Classes.
Monday, Feb. 19 — Presidents Day. No School. All buildings and offices are closed.