NMH Magazine : Winter 2004

Roundtable Discussion with Ninth Graders and Deans

Picture yourself again as that 14-year-old—perhaps 15 by now—closing in on the end of your first year at NMH. You should feel part of something larger, yet also more firmly yourself. You know your classmates well and you’ve gotten to know the school inch by inch, class by class. You’re more mature and confident. In short, you’re ready for your sophomore year, when much will be different—but never again all brand new.

Who better to rate the ninth-grade program than those who live it every day? NMH Magazine recently held a roundtable discussion with ninth graders Rebecca Donald, Andrew Lassalle, Martin Shedd, Emily Tisdale, William Ward, Blisse Wilkinson, and Jung Woo; East Hall student leader Hasan Yilmaz ’04; Merrill-Keep house director Mary Ann Watt; and ninth-grade deans Charlie Tierney and Diane Arena.

What did you think of freshman orientation? Rebecca: It was great because everybody was in the same position. Everyone was new. It was an easy, fast way to meet my classmates. Bill: Everyone was walking up to other people and saying, “Hi, my name is so-and-so—who are you?” You didn’t feel embarrassed because everybody was doing it. Blisse: When I heard we had to go camping, I said, “Oh no, that’s not for me!” I went there with an attitude of “I don’t want to be here,” but I ended up liking it.  Martin: I liked the trust-building and teamwork activities. They give you a sense of bonding. Do you know most of your classmates? Bill: I probably know three quarters of the freshman class so far because we’re always together. But there’s a downside: you don’t meet as many upperclassmen, except for student leaders in your dorm. Rebecca: Yeah, but we have three more years. Bill: A lot of the upperclassmen, because we’re so secluded, are more  biased toward freshmen because they don’t get to meet us. Blisse: I don’t agree with that. I really think it has to do with your personality, because I hang out with a lot of upperclassmen. Rebecca: When we go into a meeting and they announce “Class of ’07,” we’re so loud. We’re totally together—it’s just awesome. Hasan: At the beginning of the year, my class—the class of ’04—had senior class photos taken. I realized I knew only ten percent of the kids there, and I’m a four-year senior. With the ninth-grade program, freshmen really get to know their classmates. How do you feel about having to play on a sports team?  Jung: I played field hockey in the fall; I’d never played any kind of team sport before. It was a chance for me to meet upperclassmen as well as try something new. If it wasn’t for the sports requirement, I wouldn’t have gone out for a team. It’s turned out I love field hockey. Not that great at it yet, but I love it. Blisse: I like that we have to do a sport. I didn’t want to, but then I went and joined three sports. There are a lot of people who don’t want to play a sport—if it were up to them, they probably wouldn’t even do a PE course. I think it’s good because it’s easy to gain a lot of weight here. It’s important to have this type of exercise because otherwise I’d look like a balloon. Andrew: I’ve met a lot of people from Mount Hermon. Also it keeps you in shape for traditions like the Pie Race. Blisse: Not only do the kids benefit from it, but the school may. Kids who wouldn’t have gone out for a sport end up having to do one, and some become really good at it. What do you think of the freshman seminars? Rebecca: It would be great if they didn’t give us homework. Martin: The teachers are good—it’s just that the extra half hour of homework when we’re running out of study time is hard. Bill: For people with incredibly busy schedules, it adds one more thing to their day. For the freshmen who aren’t involved in back-to-back minors, I’m sure it’s a good thing. Jung: I have health class right now, and so far what we’re learning is common sense. We should be able to test out of the class. Rebecca: Maybe we could meet once a week and not cover the whole book. Who didn’t study health last year? Honestly, don’t have sex, don’t do drugs, don’t drink. Diane: Health is one of those topics that, yes, there are things covered that are common sense. But being in a health class gives you the opportunity to talk among your peers and get into decision-making issues. We have students from all over the place—very different communities—and they all arrive here. I don’t think health is something you test out of and then it’s done. We need to know we’ve reached the majority of our freshmen on the health issues. What’s the best thing about the ninth-grade program? Martin: It gives you a sense of bonding. Rebecca: We have the most spirit in the entire school. Blisse: I think we know each other so well we’re almost getting to the point where we’re sick of each other. That’s why we’re all looking forward to next year. Martin: One of the worst things I’ve ever had to do was introduce two  sophomores to each other. Mary Ann: You guys are much more involved in the school than freshmen in the past. It was interesting to me this term because I teach Algebra/Physics, and usually I spend the first day doing introductions. This time I knew everybody in my class and they all knew each other. Diane: I love watching the freshmen as they move around with a sense of confidence about themselves, their class, and their place at NMH. To see them have that sense of security is terrific. It sets the tone for their next three years here.  Charlie: This is also a very hard-working group, and it’s paying off. Fall GPAs for this freshman class are six to seven percent higher than the average of the last three years. We get teachers saying, “These freshmen are great. I’m thrilled they’re in my class.” I can’t remember many teachers thanking me for the kids in their classes. Rebecca: Our student leaders are so great. I really want to be one when I’m a senior, and I want to be in a freshman dorm. Hasan: I was against the ninth-grade program last year. I was like, “This is going to isolate them from the community.” But it hasn’t turned out to be true at all. The freshmen are social—they’re not just sitting in their rooms. If there’s a dance or activities, they want to go. They’re the most dominant class in terms of activities. Our participation is 40 out of 50 kids in intramurals. Mary Ann: Last year I was house director for a small, upperclass dorm of 13 boys. I had more issues to deal with then— those 13 students got into a lot more trouble than the 60 freshman girls. There’s just so much more support for the girls. What’s the worst thing about the program? Rebecca: I can’t think of one thing I’d seriously want to get rid of right now. Blisse: Oh, I can. Lights out. Emily: I feel strongly that late lights should be allowed until after 11 pm. When you’re working the entire day and still have homework left over, it’s not fair. I have a seven am work job, so I can’t get my work done early in the morning. I wish they’d push late lights back by half an hour. Blisse: I’ve started getting up at four in the morning so I can get my work done. Jung: I think we can all admit to staying up with a flashlight at least once. Emily: Yeah, but it’s good to have a policy. Huck Fox, a teacher who lives in my dorm, was telling me that when he went to school here, there wasn’t a lights-out policy. He’d be up until two in the morning, and there’d be people in the hallways talking.  Blisse: I think there are going to be people next year who will isolate themselves because they’ve grown so close to the freshman class. Then they’ll go out in the bigger world with sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and they’ll just want to stay in this little group. And now I hear there’s going to be a sophomore experience. Rebecca: I think the freshman experience is great. But, like, sophomore experience? Diane: We’re looking into all kinds of options. We don’t want you guys just to be dropped after this experience. What advice would you give incoming freshmen? Rebecca: Be open about the ninth-grade program. Don’t be like, “Oh, my gosh, I’m stuck with freshmen.” Don’t prejudge it. Bill: It’s not like you have a tiny class. You’re going to find people you identify with and people you don’t like, but you can choose who you spend your time with. Emily: Definitely go out and make friends who are sophomores, juniors, seniors. Give them an impression of yourself. Andrew: Be open minded and don’t stay in your room all the time. And don’t pretend to be something you’re not because then you’ve got to keep pretending for the rest of your years here. What’s been the most surprising thing about the program? Charlie: That it’s been so terrific. Also the number of faculty members who were skeptical and have been won over. Although there are still some upperclassmen who remain critical, many students who thought this was a bad idea have become real converts. Diane: I’d echo exactly what Charlie said. A tremendous amount of planning went into the program, including research and travel to schools that already had freshman programs. No matter how carefully designed, it’s still a new program, and I’m happily surprised at how well it’s going. I credit this class as well as teachers, student leaders, house staff. Everybody’s very flexible and willing to look at the tweaking that needs to be done. Charlie: Recently I was walking with a colleague across campus and passed four freshmen. I had something to say to each of them, and they had something to say to me. My colleague turned to me afterward and said, “Do you know every freshman?” I said, “Well, I’m not sure I know every one of them—but I’m trying.” I was really proud. I was showing off, too. As we kept walking along, my colleague said, “Isn’t that the way a school is supposed to work?”