Excellence as a Means, not an End

Two months ago a distinguished group of eleven educators from independent schools around New England spent three days on the Rivers campus sitting in on classes and interviewing students, teachers, and parents.  Their visit was part of the accreditation process for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.  The group included the Head of Greenwich Academy, the Head of Milton Academy, and educators from Concord Academy, Hotchkiss, Thayer, and Brunswick Academy. Their final report confirmed what we already know  ̶  Rivers lives its mission.

I wanted to share three excerpts from the visiting committee report because I think they capture the essence of Rivers.

 “Rivers students exemplify the motto “Excellence with Humanity.” Witnessing the dynamics, the casual moments captured as one moves through the campus buildings, the committee saw the warmth of relationships and care and pride of the student body.  From doors held for those who walk behind, the smile and the pat on the back after a brave sixth grader shares herself with the school community, and the willingness to speak up and take a stab at a hard question in class, Rivers students show their embodiment of the values of the school.”

And from another section of the visiting committee report:

“Constituents articulate the mission of the school in deeply personal ways, indicating a strong buy-in to the core values of the school. Students readily articulate their investment in their experience, including ways they have grown in character.  Faculty members are committed to their mission as educators and role models and routinely go above and beyond the parameters of their job descriptions when it serves the interests of their students… the Rivers faculty have distinguished itself not only for professionalism, knowledge, and teaching skill, but also for a collaborative and humane spirit that pervades this school.

“Students and teachers alike spoke with a sense of belonging to a stimulating academic culture, one in which learning is championed even while students are pulled toward extracurricular specialization.  Rivers has not forgotten that the primary academic business of a school is the conversation between teacher and student… In addition to respect, there’s great affection on both sides, too.  Students lavished praise on their teachers.  And teachers did likewise.” 

And finally from another section of the report:

“Faculty feel supported, motivated, and encouraged to teach their passions and to pursue various teaching strategies.  Faculty at Rivers are happy and engaged; they exude a loyalty and admiration for their school, their colleagues, and their students.  Their love of Rives is palpable.”

These excerpts point so clearly to the reason Rivers exists… the why of the school and that is to help students live meaningful lives, lives filled with purpose.

The why of most independent schools is excellence. These schools teach students how to compete, how to win, how to work harder and smarter in this competitive world. For these schools, demonstrated excellence is an end. A graduate of a highly regarded school in the area once told me that he always felt that the question being asked of him while he was a student there was “What are you doing to enhance the reputation of the school?” 

Make no mistake, Rivers teaches students how to be successful, how to work hard, how to compete; we can point to lots of markers of success to demonstrate that excellence is a critical value. Seniors accepted to highly selective colleges, 5’s and 4’s on the AP exams, art and music prizes, athletic championships, awards in Robotics, Model UN, and Debate. We are proud of these achievements.

But these accomplishments are not why Rivers exists.  They are not what fundamentally inspire us to go the extra mile for our students.

Rivers exists for one simple reason  ̶  to help students live meaningful lives, now and in the future. At Rivers excellence is a means, not an end.  We don’t challenge our students for the sole purpose of demonstrating that we have excellence.  We challenge them so that they can learn about themselves, so that they can discover what they are good at, what they love, what they need to work on.  We challenge them so that they can discover who they are and who they want to be.  We challenge them so that they can live lives that matter.

And here’s the kicker. The best way to help students live meaningful lives is to make sure that teachers are living meaningful lives, to make sure that the reason our teachers got into this business in the first place  ̶  to make a positive difference in kids’ lives  ̶  never dies out, that their life purpose is not only valued but constantly nurtured. “Faculty at Rivers are happy and engaged.” That statement from the Visiting Accreditation Committee reflects the school’s belief that people should live meaningful lives. That is why Rivers exists.

 

Sorting Machines

Several years ago the Director of College Counseling and I met with a senior admissions officer at an Ivy League school.  At one point in the conversation she said, “If you want more Ivies on your college list, admit more talent.”  I don’t think I will ever forget that statement.  I understand what she was saying, and I certainly see the validity of her point.  But implicit in this statement is a rather cynical attitude about the value of teaching. 

It’s subtle, I admit, but still, unmistakable – don’t expect your teachers to do more than sort the wheat from the chaff. Insist that teachers throw out the challenges to the kids, and the school will eventually be able to separate the great students from the merely good ones, the athletes who will play in college from the others, and the great musicians from the rest. The role of the teacher is simply to challenge - challenge to the nth degree so that the school can properly sort the students in ways that make it easy for selective colleges to render admission decisions. 

OK, I admit that the above is only a partial truth, but that’s what happens when a school, almost unknowingly, acts as if its sorting function is the most important value.   There are lots of schools - private and public - that would never admit to this uncomfortable truth, but they exist.  Having teachers who inspire, teachers who care, teachers who make a difference, teachers who value students and search for their talents, takes a back seat to the sorting function.  Many of these “sorting” schools veil their ultimate goal with lots of talk about close student-teacher relationships, and there is probably enough truth in these statements to make prospective students and parents feel good about their choice.  But make no mistake; the highest value in the hierarchy of values at these schools is to sort. 

I love teachers and their power to make a difference in so many wonderful ways.  Even as I moved into administration, I was always in awe of the impact teachers had on the lives of students.  I was, to be honest, jealous of these great teachers even in my role as their supervisor.  To become a mere ‘sorting machine” is to denigrate this great profession and limit a school’s ability to value the multi-dimensional glory of each of its students.  May this never happen at Rivers!