What Happens When You “Enter Here to be and Find a Friend”?
By Cyndy Jean, Hackley Director of Middle School
“When we see that others are concerned about our own welfare, we’ll invest more in building community with them, and we’ll feel more connected.” — Charles Vogl, The Art of Community
Eleven years ago I left the cloistered halls of college eager to embrace the freedoms of adulthood. I would begin my career as an assistant teacher in the Lower School of Hackley — my first foray into independent schools. Without question, the physical landscape of the school was inspiring, but something about my first interactions with members of the community made me leave the campus after my round of interviews feeling energized and appreciative. My first impressions of Hackley have endured well into my eleventh year on the Hilltop.
Like me, upon their first arrival, guests are often struck by the beauty of our sprawling campus; however, when they leave, they are left with lasting memories of the connections they have made with the students and faculty. At Hackley, people matter most. Our faculty take great care to weave a deeper understanding of how learning can help connect us to others in profound ways, and those connections can and will have a lasting impact.
If one were to step into a middle school science class, you may find Ms. Olsen discussing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks with her seventh graders. Though each day students are learning new terminology related to the scientific processes, they take time at least once a week to discuss the medical and scientific ethics of the course. What impresses me most about students’ interactions throughout the conversations is the level of care they present for one another — truly listening to the “varying perspectives” of their classmates. One may agree or disagree throughout the discussion, but the students move forward to build understanding together.
Consider also Ms. Maddox’s theater classes. After students have worked diligently to master a new scene, they perform for the middle and lower schoolers; the audiences cheer them on enthusiastically. There are also moments outside of class when students take part in mixed grade-level activities. Fifth and eighth graders don’t shy away from one another. Instead, and perhaps even naturally, the eighth graders look out for the fifth graders and offer words of encouragement — as was the case during our activities for the grand opening of the Health and Wellness Center. Learning at Hackley involves working and growing with one another. It is not an act of competition. Rather, we learn best when we can move the needle of knowledge together and celebrate one another.
Maybe even more convincing than how students perform in the classroom when a teacher is looking is how they behave towards one another when an adult is not present. In our fifth grade, advisors nominate a citizen of the month. That citizen is selected because students (and teachers) report having “caught another student being good” or helpful in a variety of ways. I’ve witnessed students carry the books of a friend on crutches or offer to help clear the table at lunch. As a coach, nothing inspires me more than to see varsity athletes cheering on the middle school teams. Study groups form out of the spirit of helping out a friend, and students return frequently to visit former teachers just to “catch up.”
One of my favorite events on campus is the all-school sing along. We join grades K-12 together in the PAC in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In that space, we are reminded of the strength of our community when we join together in one voice. Though each individual brings a particular gift to the room — some sing, some play instruments, others just hold the hand of the friend standing near — the collective spirit draws us even closer to the heart of who we are as a school. My gifts are not better than the other, nor is my singing necessarily more powerful. The individual sound is muted by the magnitude of the collective voice, and together we move forward spreading “beauty and light.”
