Together We Are More

Two weeks ago, our Admissions Team shared admission decisions with our next cohort of Proctor Hornets, a remarkable group of students that has demonstrated not only impressive individual accomplishments but also how they will thoughtfully contribute to our community. All good independent schools, and there are many, will provide excellent academics, college placement, facilities, and programs. What sets Proctor apart is our ability to hold seemingly contradictory values at the core of our educational model. These values tell the story of a school that makes a difference for each student while recognizing that together, we are more.
 

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Five banners decorate the walls of the Norris Family Theater. Perhaps they too often go unnoticed, as part of the everyday visuals of our lives. One of them proclaims TOGETHER in bold white letters on a background of deep Hornet Green. That unofficial motto has been a guiding word in the Proctor community since the late 1970s. The other four illustrations require some story telling. 

I love that the banners hang in an assembly hall named for four people who taught me to love Proctor: Chris and Kit Norris, and Tim and Suzie Norris.

Upon leaving Proctor in 2005, Sarah and I collaborated in a graduation presentation of gratitude and respect for the core elements of Proctor philosophy. Sarah crafted the banners; I spoke the words. When a school is defined by an atypical set of values, it is a worthy effort to memorialize those precepts. Much to our surprise and delight, those banners still decorate our assembly hall twenty years later.

JUNTOS SOMOS MÁS

The Green banner asserts that “together we are more.” This banner intends to emphasize an equity and inclusion quality about the classic TOGETHER. Significantly, the Spanish Language highlights that we are more when our community includes many cultures, religions, ethnicities, opinions, identities, ages, and brain types. We are more when we build a community that listens to each other, learns from a diversity of perspectives, and expresses our personal views respectfully and with kindness. We know that humans have a tendency to care first for themselves and that caring for others evolves later. We also understand that humans tend to gravitate toward the familiar. The Proctor message is that when we think outside of ourselves and our comfort zones, we grow stronger. This is not a selfish school; it is a true community. None of this occurs without effort. We need to work to look outside of ourselves. We need to stand up when we see injustice and unkindness. In doing so, we are all more, and we become better individuals.

RING THE BELLS

The purple banner honors lyrics from poet/singer Leonard Cohen’s "Anthem":

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

This is an ode to the truth that humans are fundamentally imperfect and that is a good thing. When we acknowledge our imperfections, light shines on us. Light shines on what merits our attention. Light shines on the beauty of our imperfections. Schools should not be designed for the terminally perfect; there is no such thing. I went to a prep school that praised the fastest, most linear, and highly verbal students to the detriment of those who processed differently. When I received a test or paper back from my teachers, my first move was to hide my results from my peers. I didn’t want to see my errors for fear of humiliation. As a result, I failed to learn from my mistakes. Proctor stands in sharp opposition to that view of education. A math classroom wall in Shirley Hall states that: “Mistakes are… expected, respected, inspected, and corrected.” That’s how the understanding gets it.

Proctor is a community that celebrates effort over achievement, understanding that effort precedes achievement. We teach effort. We reward effort. We also teach achievement, and we reward it. We understand that learning complex things is a roller coaster of successes and errors. That’s how the light gets in.

The realization that we strive to “ring the bells that still can ring” in order to “let the light in” makes Proctor a healthier community. Because we choose to “forget your perfect offering” the type of person who is compelled to attend Proctor and work at Proctor tends to be more compassionate, less arrogant, more willing to take smart risks, and more accepting of human differences.

I’LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The blue banner refers to the parable of the starfish. It goes like this: I was walking along a beautiful sandy beach the day after an ocean storm. In the distance I detected the figure of a person apparently dancing alone with rhythmic beauty. As I neared the person, I realized that she wasn’t exactly dancing but rather throwing things into the ocean. Even closer inspection revealed that she was standing among thousands of starfish that were washed ashore by last night’s storm. One by one, she was throwing starfish back into the water. I said to her, “You know, there are thousands of starfish here. Too bad you really won’t be able to help most of them.” As she frisbeed the next starfish back into the ocean, she replied “At least I’ll make a difference for this one.”

The parable emphasizes an apparent paradox in Proctor’s philosophy. The unofficial motto “TOGETHER” is one of selflessness, while the parable speaks of individuality. Proctor dares to be complex enough and sophisticated enough to hold both values. We respond to the individual needs and passions of each Proctor student. We do it in a social context. It is worth propelling each starfish back to health, one by one. We do it in advisories. We do it in learning skills. We do it in extra help sessions. We do it in our dorms, on our teams, ensembles, casts, and clubs. We do it all day, everyday. We make a difference.

EVADO VESTRI TERGUM QUOD PERCEPTUM

The yellow banner is intended to be humorous. Here’s the story: Years ago it seemed that our hockey teams played a series of home games against schools whose jerseys sported their school crests with a lot of words. Some other faculty members and I started into a conversation about those traditional schools and their Latin mottos. We then wondered what Proctor’s crest and Latin words might be. Of course, the crest would be a pine tree. The Latin words, though, led to considerable amusing and whimsical conversation. We ended up with “evado vestri tergum quod perceptum” which poorly translated means “get off your butt and learn.” (The precise translation is something like “evade that which is behind”.) The translation isn’t quite right, but the sentiment is perfect. A Proctor education isn’t four years of sitting in a chair. It isn’t a four year incarceration in a locked-down classroom. A Proctor education is alive and vibrant, spanning the globe, and engaging with a variety of cultures and perspectives. Our ersatz Latin motto incorporates the notion that together we are more, while taking risks into imperfect opportunities, making a difference for each and every student, with as much joy as possible. That’s a Proctor education.

Click here to register for one of our Accepted Student Days!