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encourage an active awareness of our impact on others, in the way we behave toward each other here at the Priory and in the way we contribute to other communities of which we are a part.
Describe the community service graduation requirement. What does it bring to the student and what doesitcontributetoadevelopingconscience?
Some people initially think the purpose of this program is to give volunteer hours to worthy causes. I hope the students give good service but, actually, our goal is to augment the students’ education with some real life experience. Hopefully, it gives a context to the social studies curriculum and it also gives the students an opportunity to develop their own real-life problem-solving skills.
I have four goals for the students. I want them to see people and environments different from their own. I want them to see that the situations in which people find themselves are not always a matter of choice for those people. I want them to become aware of the different conditions that shape a person’s life and choices. Finally, I want them to develop the habit of reflective living. This last, reflection, is where they can move from just having an experience to integrating the experience with their assumptions and their conscience. The habit of reflection will affect their decision-making and is the most important skill I hope to give them.
What do you say about trying to change situations that students may consider counter to their values?
That is a very individual thing — it is part of their reflection. I try to frame questions that help them think. We discuss many aspects of their own views and the situations they participated in but we don’t prescribe a particular view or solution. We try to look at the issues critically, which means asking how the situation came to be as it is.
What do you think will be the issues of conscience for the next generation?
I see these students being very interested in issues of economics. Many know people who have lost jobs, maybe in their families. They seem to be
environmentally attuned. Bioethics, medicine and technology are beginning to raise issues for these students.
Who, or what, influences the Priory’s students?
Several of my students identify their parents as their most important influences. Several were fascinated with “TheLongLoneliness,” the autobiography of Dorothy Day, . (Tom identified muckraker journalist Upton Sinclair’s book, “The Jungle,” as a turning point for him in high school.)
Our student leaders tend to be motivated and not cynical. Grant Rosenquist, Gladys Martin and Ben Hurlbut last year, Brooke Barry and Young Lee this year are just a few examples of kids who have values and act on them, and other kids respect them. Also, we on the faculty try to be models. The monks are models in the lives they have chosen. Chapel speakers talk about connecting the events of the week with our values. Kids hear about values all over the curriculum. This school is a big part of the students’ lives, they are veryinvolvedhere. Otherthingsinfluencetheir values, too, of course, but school has to be a big part of it.
What is the school’s responsibility in helping students define the role of conscience in their lives?
We try to lay out basic principles upon which they can evaluate their own current principles and their decisions in the future. We recognize that there is a social component to conscience and we try to
Many of the Priory’s community service activities, such as “Community Garden” work days, are independent of the new graduation requirement.
Our student leaders tend to be motivated and not cynical. They are examples of kids who have values and act on them, and other kids respect them.
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