Opening All School Meeting, Phillips Academy, 2017-2018

Posted on September 13, 2017 by John Palfrey

All-School Meeting

John Palfrey, Head of School, Phillips Academy

September 13, 2017

Good morning, Andover! I am psyched to see you all here.

The main point of this All School Meeting is simply for us to gather, in one space, to celebrate the start of the year. It’s a great chance to acknowledge the special role that the faculty and staff play in our lives here. And it’s a moment to celebrate the start to the senior year of the great Andover Class of 2018.

Phillips Academy is not a great place because it’s old. It’s a great place because generation after generation of faculty and students, staff and alumni, have refused to rest on the laurels of past greatness. Phillips Academy has always been a place where tradition and values matter a great deal – and you’ll hear much about non sibi, knowledge with goodness, and youth from every quarter during your time here – but also a place where innovation happens, where reform has happened in ways that are consistent with the school’s founding principles.

At this time of year, I always think of footsteps – those left by those who came before us and those that we will leave during OUR time at Andover.

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First, let’s think about the effect of our footsteps on our natural environment. I hope and trust that we are entering a new era of stewardship, in which we are all thinking carefully about how might protect the environment around us and do our part to combat the dangers of climate change.

My thoughts about footsteps this morning relate to treading lightly and carefully during our time here. Those who are returning students to Andover know the rules when it comes to walking around campus. One big one is to be sure to press the button before you cross the street, whether the sun is shining or not. Take out your earbuds. Look out for cars, make eye contact with drivers, and smile and wave if you are crossing in front of a car. Please do this 100% of the time.

When it comes to walking on the grass, the rule goes something like this: one may walk on the grass if one is going to a spot on the grass, say, to have a picnic; but one should use the path, if one is merely walking from point to point on campus, across the grass.

And if you must cross the grass to get from point A to point B, returning students, what do you need to do? Yes, zig-zag.

This rule seems quite sensible; I like it. Please do play Frisbee and soccer and have picnics on the lawns at Andover. Shame on us if we don’t take the time to enjoy the natural beauty of this campus, to enjoy the hard work of our friends in OPP, to share the gifts of the landscape architecture of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles Platt, and others. This rule means that we are both enjoying and respecting the land we have been given, as stewards for the future.

I am reminded, too, of my own first all-school meeting, when I was a student. It turns out my school called it “assembly.” And it turns out, in case you haven’t heard, that I was at Exeter at the time. The only thing I remember about that first assembly, other than the sense of excitement and electricity in the room, was that the head of school, Mr. Kurtz, built his remarks around a single line. At Exeter at the time, one was not permitted to walk on the grass at all. The main line of his speech, to his student body, was “keep off the grass.” It was, of course, a double entendre – for those not taking French, he had a double meaning. I didn’t forget either of those meanings for the four years I was boarding there.

At Andover, we have a different rule. You are encouraged to use the grass in one of those two senses.

I underscore the second meaning: do not ignore those rules of community conduct. Students may not in any instances use drugs and alcohol on this campus. For that matter, we expect you to uphold all of our community expectations with respect to how we treat one another – in everyday encounters and in intimate moments. We expect you to know what we mean by consent and to act accordingly – and yes, I am now talking about sex. If anything about our community expectations is unclear, come see me or a dean or your house counselor or advisor. It’s essential that we are all on the same page at the start of the year about the rules.

This metaphor is useful in thinking about the balance we seek to strike at Andover. I encourage you to zig-zag on purpose; not all who wander, as the saying goes, are lost. Do have fun; do take routes that are not-exactly-linear as you make your way through the school; and do follow the rules, with fidelity, along the way.

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A second context for footsteps, meant as a metaphor for the effect of our footsteps on Phillips Academy as an institution.

One small suggestion I have for all of you is that, during your time here, you find for yourselves a favorite spot, somewhere on campus. We all need a part of the school that gives us a sense of serenity, or happiness, or hope, for those days when we need something to help us to re-center ourselves, to reflect, to recharge our batteries.

Now in my sixth year as Head of School, I have come to love many parts of campus: the inside of SamPhil, because I teach US History there: this chapel, because I cherish being with all of you (I mean that); the entryway to the Addison; the reading room of the OWH Library; a small library area of Phelps House, where I live with my family.

My very favorite place on campus happens to be a staircase – actually, two staircases. These stairs are the stairs leading from the first floor to the second floor of Paresky Commons. There is something about progress upwards, toward the divine, or towards the future, that I like about them. Perhaps it has to do with the food, which is very good. But mostly it has to do with the steps themselves.

The steps have indentations in the marble – indentations made by generations of students, faculty and staff who have gone before us. I love these indentations because they remind me that we are not alone in this journey, not alone today and not alone over time.

As I walk up those steps, I realize that I am making those indentations deeper than they were before. If I put a foot in the deepest part, I am making that indentation just a bit deeper. If I step where others have not stepped so often, perhaps closer to the middle of the stair, then I make a tiny mark where others have not so frequently walked.

I know that my steps do matter, as your head of school. But I also know that my steps do not really matter any more than any of your steps. Perhaps I weigh a bit more than some of you, so my indentation is a bit deeper, or my footfall heavier than yours is, as you sprint more quickly from the first to the second floor. But none of us can change this place very quickly with our footsteps. None of us can change those steps, all that much, on our own. And we will be followed – there will be a sixteenth head of school. There will be a class of 2048, perhaps with some of your children in it, or my grandchildren.

These steps bring to mind one of the most memorable conversations I’ve had with an alumnus of Andover. One morning, in my first summer on the job, I was invited to visit with Mr. and Mrs. Paresky, in their home to have a glass of lemonade and to hear about Andover. I asked them why they loved the school so much and why they had given us the generous gift to renovate the “Commons” into “Paresky.” I loved what the Pareskys said that day: it had to do with how much the school had given to David Paresky as a student, and to their own daughter Pamela, in particular, when she followed him to the school.

But it also was about the way that Mr. Paresky thinks about obligation: the notion that he had been given much by the school, at an early age; that he had gone out and done well – and many good works, in the true non sibi spirit – in his life; and that he believed that he needed to be a steward of Andover, that he had an obligation to give back. We all get more from Andover than we give, he told me, and he wanted to be sure that the students at Andover today know about both the wonderful opportunity that you have while you are here – seize it! – and also about the extent to which great institutions like Andover don’t just happen. They become great because generation after generation, students have been mindful of their own footsteps here and then have given back, when they’ve moved on from life on campus, out of a sense of love for the place and also obligation.

And that’s the key point about the footsteps. Our words and our deeds while we are at Andover matter, just as they matter after we are gone from here.

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As I wrote to you this summer, our theme for the year is citizenship. As you think about the mark you want to make at Andover, I urge you to do so in the context of the larger world – not just what is going on inside the Andover bubble. I expect every Andover student to engage in the issues of our time. This summer gave plenty of examples: senseless violence in Charlottesville and Barcelona; lives disrupted by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma; proposals to end and reform DACA; and on and on. Andover students come from a long and proud tradition of making a mark in the world through their footsteps. I expect us to continue that tradition and in doing so, to be informed, engaged, productive citizens of our communities, nations, and the world.

As we do so, we should have fun – good, wholesome fun, of course. We should have picnics and games on the grass. We will work hard and we should play a lot too, and enjoy this community that we are so lucky to be a part of.

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Before we go, I’d like to do a few quick things. I’ve been so happy to hear the joyful voices of all of you students lighting up this campus since the Blue Keys started to cheer on the corner as new students arrived.

First: Juniors, Lowers, Uppers: the seniors came in with a lot of spirit this morning. I want all the juniors, lowers, and uppers, to make some noise in appreciation of those students who go before you. Let’s hear it for the seniors!

Seniors, you get another shot. Let’s hear it for the juniors, lowers, and uppers, who are following in your enormous footsteps! Make some noise!

And last, after this last cheer, the All School Meeting is adjourned. I want you to do one last cheer – hold on! – and then walk out of this chapel into brilliant sunshine, ideally with a big smile on your faces, and perhaps a little attention, in the back of your minds, to your footsteps as you go.

All students, you are going to do this last cheer. You are surrounded, in this community, by some of the finest adults I have ever had the privilege of meeting. This is a mindful, inspired, caring community of teachers – and citizens – who have CHOSEN to devote their professional lives – and in many respects, their personal lives, too, as they live in the dorms with you and eat together and play together – to your education. For our last cheer of the day, Andover students, and as our last act as we leave the chapel: Let’s hear it for ALL the teachers on this campus!

Thank you – All School Meeting is dismissed.

All School Meeting: Post-Election, November 9, 2016

Posted on November 9, 2016 by John Palfrey

Good morning, Andover.

We gather here in All-School Meeting after a night that goes down in American history as one of the most unpredictable and anxiety-provoking any of us has ever witnessed. I am well aware that this morning there is a wide range of emotions in this Chapel: for some, despair, fear, anger, and similar emotions roll around in your gut and in your head; for others, there may be gladness at the outcome; for still others, a sense of steeliness and resolve; and so on. I am glad we have this place to come together. I am glad we have one another to be with, in the midst of a nation and a world that is so plainly divided.

I want to share some thoughts with you that are not directed at any one person or any one group, but at all of us – all of us – in this community. After that, we will have a short piece of reflective music from the chamber orchestra. Mrs. Elliott and Mrs. Griffith also have some words to share with you. And then, the Chapel will be open for us to remain and talk together until the next period begins.

This morning, I am focusing my own thoughts on why I came to Andover. I came here because I recognized and admired in this community the values that are most important to me. I know we talk about these values a lot in this Chapel, in All School Meeting, and I think it is more important than ever that we take the time this morning to reflect on them here together. I choose to spend these moments today thinking about what is in our control and what we can manage, right here and now, at Andover – to be part of the healing and part of the solution to a problem of divisiveness that is undeniable this morning in America.

We start with Non Sibi. We embrace together the idea that thinking and acting for others must guide our lives – not for self. Andover has stood for this value for 239 years and it will for ever more. I call on us today, and in the days to come, to can act with the empathy and kindness toward one another that is at the heart of the Non Sibi spirit. That is hard, I am certain, for those who feel attacked and abandoned this morning, and there are many who do. Non Sibi teaches us at Andover to be a community guided by love and tolerance. It is on all of us to ensure that everyone here feels that love and support.

Second: knowledge and goodness. We stand for the idea that it not enough just to be smart, just to have a head filled with the knowledge of books; we stand for the idea that character is as essential to education as our book-learning is. At the same time, our founding values emphasize that it is also not enough just to be good – that the knowledge that comes from hard work, the hard kind of work you know so well as Andover students, really matters. I take heart today in both aspects of this commitment: that we see it as our job to focus on both mind and morals as we go through this journey together, as students and teachers.

For some people, in your comments and your bearing this morning, I sense a certain despair – a sense of “why bother”? I hope and trust that, as we reflect on this election, that those who feel grief and despair today can turn those feelings over time into a commitment – a clear sense of exactly why to bother – why, exactly, we absolutely must bother with both knowledge and goodness, why all that hard work – on both your skills and your goodness – matters so very much.

Third: youth from every quarter. I want to be very clear that there is a place for everyone at Andover – no matter where you come from, who your parents are, how much money you have. I want to be clear that there is also a place at Andover for you no matter whether you are a conservative or a liberal. Our commitment to youth from every quarter is not partial; our commitment is absolute. This Academy shall be ever equally open to youth from every quarter. Those words are supposed to mean what they say – and we are all called upon, every one of us, to make them come true.

The thing that hurts the most about this election, for many people – and here, I speak for myself, too – is that too much of the rhetoric has been about exclusion, not inclusion; it has been about hate and not about love; it has been about putting some people above others. The conversation has not been about an America that I recognize – a land in which literally every person, by definition, came from another place or from the Native American nations that were on this very land before the European settlers arrived.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: there is absolutely no place for that kind of divisive and hateful rhetoric at Andover. We can disagree about laws and policies and politics – and, in fact, we must. But we cannot embrace the hateful aspects of the campaign we have just witnessed. Hate, in all its forms, is inconsistent with the values of this school, as they were written and as we now interpret them. We are a place where we invite people from all over the world, based solely on their abilities and their promise, to live, work, and play together. There is no student more valued than any other student; there is no adult more valued than any other adult. No election, nothing that could happen in politics can change that fact.

To every student at Andover: you have a place here that you have earned and which you earn every day through your good conduct and your hard work. You have adults here who have chosen to spend our professional lives with you because we believe in you, what you stand for, and what you will go on to do.

I do not want to hear about anyone acting with disrespect toward anyone else based on who they are, their race, where they came from, their faith, their beliefs, or any other reason of this sort. That is not what Andover is about. There is a better way and we must find it. And for those who disagree or act otherwise, we need to talk. You know where to find me in GW.

The very hardest problem at the heart of this election, for me, is the paradox of tolerance. Please forgive me this short foray into political philosophy, but I think you will get what I mean in a moment. At Andover, we teach tolerance. I doubt anyone here would disagree with that – I hope and trust that no one here would disagree with that. It is extremely easy to be a tolerant person when everyone around you is tolerant. It is easy to tolerate the tolerant, if you get what I mean. If we all commit to this principle, things go well. I hope at Andover we can indeed all commit to a deep, abiding sense of tolerance.

The problem with tolerance is when it comes to the intolerant. To the extent that some people in society are intolerant of other people – and we know that to be true – there becomes, all of a sudden, a problem with tolerance. The tolerant are called upon to tolerate the intolerant (who, in turn, are not asked to tolerate anyone). And to some degree, in a democracy, we must – that is part of the deal. We do not just give votes to the tolerant. And it is true that we grow and learn when we tolerate the views of others with whom we disagree.

What I believe is that there must be a point at which the tolerant are allowed to be intolerant of those who are intolerant. Our study of history points to many examples when it was a terrible mistake to tolerate intolerance for too long. This is the paradox of tolerance – and it is much on my mind today. Each one of us must find for ourselves that point. For me, that point is here, where I insist that we value all our students and their well-being equally.

As a school, I believe we must do everything we can to focus on building tolerance and love for one another so we do not find ourselves faced with this very paradox – a true paradox in the sense that it cannot be resolved when it gets to that point. As a leader of this community, I will give a very wide berth to the conversations we need to have about politics and difference. But intolerance of one another is something that we must resist.

Last concept, for now anyway: Finis Origine Pendet. The end depends upon the beginning. I love this concept because it emphasizes how much what happens here, matters to what happens out there, in the broader world. It matters because who you become when you leave Andover and what you do is grounded in who you are and what you do when you are here.

There is one idea that has been puzzling me since I got to Andover that I wanted to toss out to you this morning, on this topic of Finis Origine Pendet. One thing that adults often remark upon is the extent to which young people today are not interested in the political process – that you do not believe in the institutions of government and that you do not aspire to run for office or serve in the military or in the civil service.

I am quick to point out, by the way, what I know from research and from being with all of you: your civic activism is actually at a very high level historically, but you tend to prefer NGOs, social entrepreneurship, and approaches that are outside of the formal government processes.

One aspect of Andover’s history, as I trust you all know, is that we have produced in the past graduates who have gone on to be presidents, senators, representatives, judges, military leaders, and leaders of the civil service. In fact, last night, we all re-elected an Andover graduate, Seth Moulton, to represent this very district in the United States Congress.

I mention all this because I hope that this election, wherever you stood, will make you think about whether a life in politics – or at least active engagement in politics – is worth your time. I believe it is and I hope you will do. In fact, I think the health of our republic, and republics around the world, depends upon your doing so.

Our founding values at Andover are inextricably tied to the founding values of America. In both cases, the words are (mostly) very beautiful and inspiring. In both cases, we have lived up to them only in part. At Andover, I believe we can and will live up to ours, and in so doing, both support one another here, and support the healing of our world. Out of many, we must can and must be one – e Pluribus Unum.

This morning, as we wake up to a divided nation and a world of hurt and anger, I find I am devoted more than ever to the central cause that brought me to Andover: to help to make this residential school an example of a tolerant, loving, diverse, serious, hard-working, supportive, unbreakable community. Andover can be a symbol of unity and healing in a world that feels awfully divided and broken. No matter where we come from, we all have great good fortune in being here at this school, right now. In my view, we have no choice – no choice – but to roll up our sleeves even higher than we did yesterday to make this community, to make Andover, a beacon of hope – a beacon of hope for this country and for the world. Thank you.

All-School Meeting Introduction: Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld ’96

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Posted on October 8, 2016 by John Palfrey

[These are my prepared remarks for the introduction to our All School Meeting on the topic of Youth From Every Quarter for Fall, 2016. I did not give these remarks verbatim in the interest of time, but delivered most of them as written.]

ASM Introduction
Youth From Every Quarter, October 5, 2016

Good morning, Andover. I am glad to see you all gathered today. To see all your smiling faces is always a heartwarming sight from up here.

We continue in our sequence of All School Meetings that encourage us to interrogate our founding values as a school. Today’s ASM centers on Youth from Every Quarter. We are fortunate to have a distinguished alumnus from the class of 1996, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, to be with us as our speaker. Dr. Ehrenfeld, welcome back!

Before I turn the proceedings over to our fabulous Dean of CAMD, Ms. Springer, I thought I would share what I believe Youth from Every Quarter means today, to me. It is worthy of much more time than I have for this introduction, so I will reduce my thoughts to two essential elements: that Youth from Every Quarter is a changing, living idea; and that it is an active, not a passive, idea.

First, I believe that Youth from Every Quarter is a changing, living, idea. I mean that it is not static in its meaning. Yes, the words are still the same; it is, in that sense, a stable statement that can be found in our school’s Constitution. At its core, it was right on: it stated that this Academy, I quote:

“shall be ever equally open to Youth, of requisite qualifications, from every quarter.”

Youth from every quarter meant one thing in 1778 and it means something very different today. Back then, it was a much narrower conception of the “youth” who would be educated here. (It turns out the Constitution also said that all your teachers needed to belong to a particular strand of Christianity – that we should all be strict Calvinists – and I don’t think today we have any strict Calvinists on the faculty. If you meet one, please let me know.)

Today, it means that we strive for true equity and true inclusion. It means that our admissions office not only doesn’t mind if someone comes from a certain background; it means, in fact, that our admissions office seeks students out from different backgrounds. It means that we don’t merely tolerate diversity on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, faith, geography, and types of ability – it means that we seek it out. Plainly, the founders of this Academy were on the right track in 1778, but they didn’t get it exactly right the first time. It said one thing, and it meant another.

The same can be said for another famous document from that same time: our Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1776, which said: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, …” These are beautiful words, and they have resonated for hundreds of years. But they did not mean then what they mean today. And that change is a very good thing.

That brings me to the second point: Youth from Every Quarter is not a passive idea; it is an active one. It is not enough merely to attend Andover or to teach at Andover – to be a member of a place that seeks equity and inclusion. It is an active task – an essential task for every one of us as community members, to make this a place that is welcoming, supportive, nurturing, and challenging in equal measure for all our students.

What do I mean by that? I believe it means actively finding ways to connect with people different from you. It means refraining from using language that mocks another person on the basis of their identity or where their family came from – and apologizing if you mess that part up. It means recognizing hateful and harmful speech for what it is, and not hiding behind political smokescreens. It means calling people in to a discussion about diversity, not calling people out.

And it is active because it calls upon you to engage in critical thinking. It calls upon you to recognize injustices in the past and the present and to work to make your community stronger, fairer – more equitable and more inclusive. That is not work just for your teachers; that is work for every student to engage in – equally – to make this community stronger than it is today. I know that some of you at Andover do not feel equally treated and fully included, even today, and we all need to keep working at that.

One thing that is on my mind, in this mode of critical thinking: Why, today, does hateful speech – speech that demeans and divides people – in political discourse seem to attract votes? We can and should call out the speech that is contrary to our school’s founding values, of non sibi, of knowledge and goodness, of youth from every quarter.

But I also want to know: what is going on here in this country? How is it that language that is hateful toward some people — language which puts some people above other people – seems to some to be acceptable, and is working politically in some places? This is not the first election in which hateful speech has animated the discourse – but why today, and why to such a degree? I know I am not alone in wondering and worrying about this problem.

I think the answer has to do with that first point – the idea of change. I think a big part of what is going on, with Youth from Every Quarter, is that we are headed toward a country, and a world, that is more complex and more diverse than ever before. Let me leave you with one fact: In the 1950, this country was 90% white and 10% comprised of people of color. This country will no longer have a white majority by 2042 – that is 25 years from now. I take this change to be good and important – and also a major challenge for us to get Youth from Every Quarter right.

May this Academy, in its founding words, be: ever equally open in terms of who can come here – and ever equally open in our minds, especially to the changes of what Youth from Every Quarter actually means.

It is my pleasure to turn the program over to Ms. LaShawn Springer.

All-School Meeting Introduction: Laci Green

Posted on October 1, 2016 by John Palfrey

All-School Meeting Opening Remarks, Phillips Academy

September 28, 2016

Good morning, Andover. We gather today, early in the school year, to begin our exploration of our values as a school. You are by now deeply ensconced in your classes, clubs, arts and sports. We are also deeply engaged in the work of what kind of a community we will have this year at Andover – how we will support one another, develop as young people (and as adults for that matter), and treat one another. In that work, I would urge you to be guided by the values of our school.

Today, we take up the theme of goodness and knowledge, in a very particular context. For those who were here last year, you will recall that we began, early in the Fall, with an ASM focused on sex and sexuality. I know that can seem shocking to some ears, but it is true – we are talking about sex in this chapel today, as we start the year, and we believe it to be very important that we do so.

Before I turn things over to those who will introduce Laci Green, our guest today, I want to share with you just a few brief thoughts of my own. For some of you, this discussion of sex and sexuality may seem too early to be talking about it. After all, you have just gotten here and you are still trying to find your way at Andover. I also want to be clear that our discussion of sex and sexuality is not intended as encouragement. We strongly support those who abstain from sexual intimacy at Andover and believe that to be a positive and healthy choice.

At the same time, we are aware that sex does take place in all high schools, and that Andover is no exception. You certainly tell us as much in the State of the Academy Survey and otherwise, and we take your words seriously.

We also take seriously what you tell us about sexual assault on our campus. You tell us that it does happen at Andover, and that it has happened to some of you gathered in this room. You tell us that sexual assault is carried out by your classmates at Andover and also by people you meet off campus. Given what we have all read about surveys on college campuses – the astonishing reports of last year that sometimes a third, and sometimes more, of young women experience sexual assault during colleges – we are heartbroken, we are outraged, and we know we have to do something, here at Andover. It is in this context that we begin today.

Let me make it clear: we cannot and we will not tolerate a rape culture at Andover. As adults, we will take seriously all claims of sexual misconduct that you bring to us. When that happens, we will treat everyone involved with the highest degree of respect and fairness that we can muster.

Andover: make no mistake: this one’s on us. This issue is not just for college campuses – it’s for our campus, and I know that we can together make a difference through the way we conduct ourselves, through the way we lead – with both knowledge and goodness.

It is my pleasure to turn the program over to Dr. Flavia Vidal and Larson Tolo, class of 2018.