YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN – and You Can Take Your Students With You
Dr. Glen Pinder’s Philadelphia Story Middle School Head Glen Pinder led his first overnight student trip last spring for BFS, but it wasn’t just a typical chaperoning necessity. When the opportunity arose to join the entire seventh grade class to the City of Brotherly Love, he jumped at the chance. “Being from Philadelphia, it was like coming home again,” he explained. “It was really special for me to be with the seventh graders. I don’t often get to go there since my mom passed away.” The purpose of the trip was to support the seventh grade’s American history curriculum and “Constitution Works” study. “We went to Philadelphia to learn about the history of the Constitution at the National Constitution Center. When I was a kid, the Center was not great,” he admitted. “I was happy to see that it’s really amazing now.”
<PORTR AITS
IN LEADERSHIP>
by Jeffrey Stanley
Philadelphia, being the city founded by the first Religious Society of Friends members to settle in North America, provided the students with much more to discuss and explore than the Constitution. One of their visits was to the historic Arch Street Meeting House, a National Historic Landmark built by the Quakers in 1803. “We talked about Quakerism, and the fact that even back then, it was segregated. Everyone was not inclusive, not even the Quakers,” said Glen. “I think that was a revelation for the students.” He continued: “I want to emphasize that even at Arch Street there was segregation of women and of people of color. It’s something that resonated with all of us in today’s world and it was kind of striking to us knowing that Quakers, who stress equality and the inner light in everyone, behaved that way so many years ago. We’re big on social justice at BFS, and it was something to think about.” Glen also appreciated the chance to get to know the students informally outside the classroom on a more personal level. “They only see me as an administrative head,” he said.
14 BROOKLYN FRIENDS SCHOOL JOURNAL Winter 2018/19
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