Our little town of Andover transforms every 4th of July as visitors flock to the Town Green for food, a flea market, and parade. Each Independence Day for the past 84 years, Andover has become a Norman Rockwell painting - faces painted, local businesses selling their wares and delicious food, a parade of farm animals, fire trucks, Leepin' Lena, and our amazing Fire and EMS crew sponsoring raffles, selling snowcones, and then setting off fireworks from the Proctor Ski Area meadow. As Proctor’s campus served as the venue for Andover’s celebration of America's 250th birthday, we cannot help but reflect on the concept of independence within the context of today’s world.
Divisive politics have played more of a role in our lives than any of us would have liked over the past decade. However, the intricacies, challenges, and resiliency of American democracy have never been more observable than they are at this moment. In a world of ever-growing social media echo chambers, the opportunity for intentional dialogue around political differences have become increasingly scarce. Just in the last few months, we have seen our neighbors at Dartmouth College launch an initiative to encourage civil discourse on their campuses amidst the growing social divide in the United States. We have felt this same ideological divide in our Proctor community over the last few years as our left-leaning campus culture begins to better understand the importance of listening to and understanding other viewpoints in an effort to build a genuine sense of belonging among adults and students.
Formal programs encouraging discourse will undoubtedly have a positive impact on educational communities, however, I would submit that engaging fully in Andover’s 4th of July celebration does more for building community than any structured dialogue ever could. When we spend time alongside our neighbors, we begin to understand the factors that shape their perspectives, while respecting their underlying humanity that has been all-but-forgotten in our “us” versus “them” media landscape.
When we join together in pursuit of a shared goal (celebrating 250 years of America’s declaration of independence), we see that our differing views are often blown out of proportion by a vocal minority on social media or polarized news channels. Simply put, shared experiences with others do more for community building than anything else. If we want to bridge the divide in our society, we need to spend more time working alongside each other.
If we, at Proctor, are to build a school community rooted in mutual respect, belonging, and an appreciation for the responsibility that accompanies independence, we must show young people how to disagree while respecting each other’s human dignity. We must value interpersonal relationships with others, commit to walking beside each other through life’s ups and downs, and in doing so, empower our community to move toward wholeness. Small towns can teach us so much about building and sustaining resilient communities.
- Community and Relationships