News and Events : News 06-07

Opening Convocation Speech

by Head of School Tom Sturtevant

School years begin like the fall mornings here—in the mist. Covering the view is the bustle of getting settled in, meeting new friends and catching up with old ones, and getting one’s feet on the ground. After the first week of school, with that new-year mist subsiding, the landscape of our community begins to come clear, and each of us takes stock of opportunities and goals we can seize.

I asked senior class president Blisse Wilkinson ’07 what topic she thought I ought to address today, and she replied that students might be well served to hear about the purpose of the challenges and educational requirements they undertake. So I will take this opportunity to follow Blisse’s suggestion and reflect upon why we do what we do here.

The richness of the social and cultural fabric of our community is a curriculum in itself. We have students and faculty from over 20 nations because we know the world is shrinking and that making intercultural connections and understanding the world’s cultural complexity may be the keys to global peace and economic prosperity. Developing multicultural sensitivity and awareness may seem like it should come automatically to NMH. However, the benefits of living and learning in a diverse community do not come automatically. They require effort, intention, and individual commitment to seek and understand a variety of perspectives as well as the inclination to advance one’s own beliefs and opinions.

I know of a courageous student who pushed herself to understand more about the complexities of cultural identity over the course of a year. She read several good books, attended a conference, and engaged in thoughtful conversations with other students and faculty. By the end of the year, she had gained the confidence to navigate across cultural boundaries without fear, though with skillful sensitivity. Her story compels me to encourage students to follow her example and seek real conversations about identity, culture, and difference. Because such dialogue can be hard to create in an everyday setting, you can make a good start at an affinity group meeting, like AIMS (Association in the Interest of a Multicultural School). I mention only one affinity group not to exclude but to provide an example. There are many other affinity and religious groups that also provide support and thoughtful consideration of the many cultural pillars in this school. Go check it out. Also go the library and ask for something to read on this many-faceted topic.

Our academic and cocurricular programs foster both independent and interdependent living. Our emphasis on writing and on developing one’s voice and opinions prepares you for success in college and, more important, gives you an essential skill for leadership. Good writing is like good manners: it is always appreciated; and when lacking, it’s always noted.

Longer classes, which provide time for interdisciplinary discussion, allow multiple approaches to problem-solving and foster the kind of thinking that complex problems require. We use long blocks to inspire each student to engage in her own way and to allow for discussions that might deepen one’s understanding or even change one’s views on a given topic.

Some students find technical subjects like math and science harder to appreciate than the subjects in the humanities. We require significant work in these areas not simply because it’s a tradition of academia, but because quantitative thinking is essential to the kinds of analysis that make businesses thrive and succeed. As educational opportunities spread worldwide, technical competence with quantitative approaches to analysis will become as essential as good writing skills. Perhaps this point will inspire widespread attendance at the useful math help and writing help workshops during the evenings.

The outreach programs, the farm, and our 128-year-old work program highlight the interdependence of lives within and beyond our community. It is important to make the connection between the job you do when collecting sap in the spring and the syrup you might enjoy one Sunday morning at Alumni Hall. In fact, it is worth considering carefully why the school asks you to do a work job. You do it because it serves the community that supports you. I would like every student to understand that point so well that it becomes a reflex to pick up trash or extra dishes from the table when you head to the dish room after a meal.

Another key point about interdependence is the fact that every student receives some form of subsidy from our school’s endowment and the Annual Fund. Every student should know that someone gave money to this school so you could become educated here. When you understand that, you will know your obligation to give back to the school and support the NMH students of the future.

We sing a lot of old songs that we all learn by heart in our first few meetings. Beyond the artistic and aesthetic values that song brings into our lives, our singing literally binds us to each other and to generations of alumni who sang here before us. When we sing “Jerusalem” or “The Northfield Benediction” or the senior class song, we experience the wholeness of our community. Individual voices, joining in independently, create a whole sound in which we feel our collected strength and our interdependence.

Singing together symbolizes a more general commitment to wholehearted participation in the community. We have a wide and exciting range of options for individual focus in the cocurriculum: on a sports team, an affinity group, at WNMH, for the Hermon Echo, with the Model UN, outreach, APB, to name a few. Commitment in one or a few of these areas is essential to your NMH experience. It is the nexus of you and we.

NMH students respect and support each other. What this means in the cocurriculum is a packed crowd to support our teams and performing groups. I would like to express special encouragement to support our arts program this year. Our school, particularly the class of 2007, is chock full of outstanding artists. To witness the skill and dedication of these talented friends is an inspiration and a joy. Anyone not already involved in a performing arts group should attend at least one concert, one dance performance, and one theatrical production.

For all the advice and perspective on our educational program I have offered here, the success of our students and the inspiration of our community come down to individual commitments made by each of you.

I am confident that, with the very talented postgraduate students, the class of 2007 will set the tone for wholehearted participation in the life of our community. With their leadership, and the support of our faculty and staff, we are going to have an outstanding year together.