Work Program
The wonders of science. The compelling narrative of history. The beautiful complexity of math. We want you to learn about all of those things. But we also think it’s important that you learn about work—real work, the kind of work that sometimes can be dull or repetitive or interrupt a nice Saturday sleep-in. In our high-tech world, it’s sometimes easy to disregard tasks that make that world possible. And cultivating respect for labor is best done through shared work.
That’s why every student at NMH participates in the work program. Each semester you’re assigned a four-hour-per-week job. You might chop fruit for the dining hall or harvest lettuce on the farm. Maybe you’ll be a math tutor or keep the pottery studio organized, be a tour guide or assist a sports trainer. Whatever your duties, you’ll be assessed on attendance, enthusiasm, and productivity, and you’ll have to get a passing grade each semester in order to graduate.
Though schools across the country have now started to adopt pieces of this program, it’s been part of NMH since the beginning. And while some schools have students on financial aid do work jobs, we insist that all our students do. (Yes, Saudi princes wash dishes in our kitchen.)
It’s true some students grumble in the beginning, but they all end up using the words “efficient, inventive, and fair,” words that can describe Northfield Mount Hermon in general, our work program in particular, and you in the end.
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Northfield Mount Hermon
One Lamplighter Way | Mount Hermon, MA 01354