Innovative Quakerism
The IQ Issue
“I actually reference MB a lot in my life. As the years pass, I begin to realize what a profound effect lessons of human equality and the importance of honesty and service have had on my values and mission in work and life. I love that learning went beyond memorizing materials and made us question what kind of impacts our actions have on the world.”
Grace Gouin ‘06
Stitching together a start-up Those who remember Grace Gouin’s love for textiles at MB may not be surprised to know she’s started an ethically-driven apparel company in Asheville, North Carolina called Appalatch. Grace’s company was highlighted in The Huffington Post this past fall as one of “50 Ethical Businesses to Support on Black Friday.” She made her TV debut on PBS’ Start Up! and has seen Appalatch featured in New York Magazine, Treehugger, and The Washington Post. Initially, Grace wanted to start a company that would change how people relate to clothing. By working directly with suppliers, she and co-founder Mariano deGuzman have cut out the middlemen and retailers, which enables them to profitably sell clothes for less than what you would find in a store. Grace is passionate about reviving American apparel manufacturing. In the past 20 years, America has lost 80% of apparel manufacturing jobs and now only 2% of clothing bought in the U.S. is actually made here. “We are trying to rethink the way that clothing is made, sold, and used in the world,” Grace says. She also aims to reduce needless waste, saying, “Less is more; a few well-made, signature pieces will serve you much better than a surplus of poorly made garments.” Appalatch’s products are 100% American made and made almost entirely
within the Carolinas, where Grace runs machines herself and employs skilled local workers. When she first arrived in Asheville, Grace got a job making organic cotton clothing. Production sewing gave her a visceral understanding of its toll on a worker’s body and mind. “This hard work is happening at a breakneck pace across the world at incredibly low wages to keep up with the demands of microtrends that turn into disposable fashion,” she says. “The terrible treatment of garment workers, as well as the terrible environmental strain placed on the planet in the name of fast fashion is a completely unsustainable cycle that simply has to end.” Grace calls MB a significant point on her journey to Applatch: “I actually reference MB a lot in my life. As the years pass, I begin to realize what a profound effect lessons of human equality and the importance of honesty and service have had on my values and mission in work and life. I love that learning went beyond memorizing materials and made us question what kind of impacts our actions have on the world.”
—Grace Casey-Gouin ’06, Creative Director and Brand Strategist at Echoview Fiber Mill. Grace was on the field hockey team at Moses Brown and went on the medical service trip to the Dominican Republic while a student at MB.
Jason Smith-Vidaurre ’09
How do you goofoffDean theWoodman grid? ’46) Fascinated by the many technical advancements of the industrial era, Headmaster Augustine Jones (great-grandfather As an MB student, Jason Smith-Vidaurre valued the practical application of cross-disciplinary knowledge. Despite skepticism and opposition from the school’s board, he invigorated knew how to operate a bandsaw, loved to the curriculum with the introduction of music, as well as metalworking, woodshop, Shakespeare, and fine arts. And,surfbelieving strongly thatand was in the dead of winter, committed to the environment (his a balanced education improves the body as well as the mind, he built a gymnasium, which is now the Walter Jones Library. Jamestown home was powered in part by windmill). Raised in a Quaker family, activism was important for Jason, and since earning his engineering degree from Stanford, Jason has been putting his beliefs into action as the renewable energy lead at Pu’u O Hoku Ranch, a family-owned biodynamic and organic farm and retreat center in Kaunakakai, Hawaii. As a working ranch, Pu’u O Hoku consumes its share of fossil fuels, and Jason aims to produce more power than they need and feed it back into the grid. Instead of just putting up one large wind generator or one massive solar array, Jason and his colleagues are opting for diversity with a combination of biomass gasification, wind, solar, and hydro-pump energy storage. Right now, they are in the prototyping, applying, and failing stages: “It is all a learning process,” he says. “Too often I see design thinking associated with a consumer culture and perpetuating a cycle of consumption,” Jason says. “For me, design thinking is less about bringing the next big product or service to market and is more of a pattern for problem-solving. The pattern goes something like this: identify problem, brainstorm, prototype, apply, fail, repeat until successful.” In a remote area like Kaunakakai, materials and equipment
At MB, IQ means something different Our school’s legacy of Quaker innovation Matt Glendinning, Head of School Did you know that, for more than three centuries, Quakers have been at the leading edge of nearly every social change movement in this country’s history, from the abolition of slavery to women’s suffrage, prison reform to peace activism, and of course education? Quakers have always been and continue to be incredible innovators.
college. The shift toward heightened academic standards was mirrored by the emergence of qualifying exams—the College Board in 1900, SATs in the 1920s, Achievement tests in the 1930s, and APs in the 1950s. And with the launch of Sputnik in 1957, America was engulfed by a wave 20 and calls for school reform. of existential anxiety
This pioneering spirit is part of Moses Brown’s DNA. Moses Brown himself, along with Samuel Slater, is credited with being among the leading pioneers of the American Industrial Revolution. One of the reasons that MB has been around for 235 years is that the school has always shown an ability to understand and evolve with the changing times.
It was in such an environment that MB chose as its new Headmaster Robert Cunningham (1957-1964), a graduate of Princeton and a Rhodes Scholar who had taught at Exeter and helped develop the AP Program at the College Board. His sterling credentials presaged the thrust of his tenure at MB—academic rigor—and under the rubric of what was called The Program for Progress the school entered another period of growth. Major accomplishments included:
1900 From 1879 to 1904, Moses Brown was blessed by the leadership of a Quaker from Maine named Augustine Jones. At the time, improvements in public schools and changes in higher education were forcing private schools to modernize as well, and in response Jones undertook some important initiatives. A lover of machines as much as art, his vision for Moses Brown included:
• Introduction of Advanced Placement courses, with a strong emphasis on Science. (Six weeks after Sputnik was sent into orbit MB’s rocketry program was featured in Life Magazine); • Focus on teaching excellence, including classroom visitation and evaluation, and increased teacher salaries; and • Introduction of mechanical arts like metal working • A capital campaign that raised almost $1 million for and carpentry, and fine arts like drawing, painting new facilities, including Friends Hall. and music; • Continuation of the school’s religious traditions, When considered 50 years later, these changes appear paralleled by new priorities such as physical fitness and both well-timed and strategic. Enrollment at MB spiked more than 25% under Cunningham’s leadership. outdoor activity; and
• Improvements to the campus such as a centralized heat plant, electric lights, telephones and new facilities for athletics (now Jones Library) and art (Studio of the Three Oaks). Jones harnessed the innovative spirit of the day while preserving the fundamental character of the school. His prescient strategy worked: enrollment flourished, and Jones left an impact on the school long past his tenure.
Historians of the future will have the final say on whether MB in the year 2019 was sufficiently innovative. But in the spirit of Augustine Jones, I am proud of the steps we have taken to honor MB’s past and embrace the future. Our emphasis on creative, collaborative problem-solving; new programs in social entrepreneurship, engineering & design, and coding & robotics; and new facilities such as the Y-Lab and Woodman Center are preparing our students to be global citizens in a rapidly changing world. 1950 In the pages that follow, we share ways that our school The first half of the 20th century was another time of continues to live up to our legacy of Innovative Quakerism, profound change for American education. Whereas in our unique brand of IQ. And, through the voices of 1900 many private schools had a religious affiliation and students, alumni and parents, I hope you’ll gain a sense of focused as much on character development as on academics, how our mission and values create a foundation for lives by mid-century the focus was squarely on preparation for of purpose and fulfillment.
are hard to source so Jason often has to get creative with what’s available. Recently, his team had to put a 2000-pound wind generator on an 80’ tower — with no crane available on the island. So they designed a system to raise the tower and haul the generator up, using four workers, a winch, and a truck. “This place pushes us to be self-reliant,” he says. “Energy usage has always been at the forefront of my consciousness,” says Jason. “For many users, the source of their electricity is out of sight, out of mind. Growing up with a wind generator in Jamestown made me aware it from the very start. When you can hear and see the energy transformation taking place, you are more conscious about your consumption.”
“Though I may not remember certain formulas or historical dates, I know that I will remember what I have been taught in a broader sense: how to think critically, respectfully and independently, to question instead of blindly accepting information as truth, and to remember to consider a variety of perspectives before formulating my own beliefs.” —Abby Gerrish ’20, Current senior at Moses Brown and involved in Science Olympiad, the Disciplinary Committee, Environmental Council, Equal Voice Club, editor and writer for 1784 (MB’s re-vamped newspaper), Omnia Literary Magazine as well as part of the Varsity Cross-Country and Track & Field programs.
Fall 2019, Areté | 1
