Welcome to
Classical Greek for excellence, justice, or virtue, the concept of areté nicely captures our aspirations for children at Moses Brown. We seek to foster the inner promise in all students, and promote habits of mind, body, and spirit that prepare our graduates to do both well and good in the world.
The Public Purpose of a Moses Brown Education
Middle School Students Explore Legacies Through Storytelling
By Matt Glendinning What’s the best way to educate children for the rapidly changing world of the 21st century? After 20 years working in three different Quaker schools, my admiration for the Friends educational model is stronger than ever. It amazes me that a 350-year old religion with around 100,000 practitioners in America today is able to sustain a network of some of the oldest, most successful and prestigious schools in the country. W hat accounts for this sustained level of success? In a lot of ways, it seems that history has come full circle – today the world desperately needs what Friends schools have always offered: academic rigor framed within a context of moral reflection, an education that builds not only intellect but wisdom. To some extent this is counter-cultural, because many people define “best” schools
strictly in terms of academic outcomes (AP scores, college admissions, etc.). But at Moses Brown we believe that, in addition to such measures, a world-class education also fosters integrity, respect for others, and a feeling of responsibility for the broader world. A strong sense of public purpose informs all we do, and one of the driving forces behind the school’s strategic plan, MB Believes, is a commitment to develop the next generation of smart, globally fluent, and ethical leaders. How are we doing that? In our classrooms teachers are making use of Project-Based Learning, bringing course content to life by asking students to collaborate in addressing real-world problems. This continued inside
Middle school English and Drama classes have been collaborating on a storytelling unit based around the StoryCorps project they’ve been studying. The StoryCorps mission is to provide all people with “the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.” In that spirit, the first phase of the projects saw students sharing characteristics that they have inherited from their families and written down. The traits were then sent aloft in balloons to then be received, cared for, and performed by other members of the class. The class environment was one where students felt comfortable, willing, and excited to share their own stories with each other. The project culminated in a creative and collaborative way, with groups developing moving tableaux that represented the legacy characteristics. To learn more, visit http://abcn.ws/21oIBAH
Areté, December 2015 research-tested method builds on a legacy of great teaching at MB while fostering critical 21st-century skills.
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Students are venturing into our region and across the world as part of a new initiative called TRIPs (Travel, Research and Immersion Programs). New adventures this year include studying marine science in Puerto Rico, cultural exploration in Cuba, and attending an international affairs conference at The Hague. As I write, our Civics in Action students are in Washington, D.C. studying political activism with the Friends Committee on National Legislation. At the same time, we are engaging with our local community in new ways. For example, all incoming ninth graders did service as part of orientation this year, while football players worked at the R.I. Community Food Bank for
“Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
MB is also developing and hosting events with a public purpose, such as last fall’s Providence mayoral debate and Chez Innovation, a food-themed overnight camp focused on social innovation and entrepreneurship in Rhode Island. Those familiar with traditional indicators of school quality may wonder about the benefits of such initiatives. Obviously, quantifiable measures like SAT scores continue to be important. But we are paying equally close attention to qualitative outcomes like creativity, global awareness, and ethical leadership. Abundant research from both business and academia suggests that these particular attributes are among the most valued and rewarded in the workplace today. And we believe MB is uniquely positioned to provide this essential skill set for our children. If knowledge is power – as Francis Bacon famously said in the 17th century – then our job as a Friends school is to teach students to use knowledge wisely and ethically. From the perspective of Head of School, I see no more important a goal than marrying the pursuit of academic rigor with the promotion of ethical leadership and a sense of public purpose. I am proud to know that this is the vital work that goes on everyday at Moses Brown.
- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. In friendship, three days during pre-season. During our EXPO festival in October, middle school students conducted ethnographic research in all the neighborhoods of Providence in preparation for a longer civic engagement project.
Matt Glendinning
mglendinning@mosesbrown.org
Global and Ethical Leadership at MB Today A Foundation for Growth By Debbie Phipps
Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs For centuries, Friends have been letting their lives speak, a notion that students encounter throughout their MB years. As students identify their own ethical core and understanding of leadership, they learn to lead by doing, letting their own lives speak, and MB’s program has evolved dramatically with our recognition that ethical leadership is a skill that can be developed through coursework. Offerings in the Upper School in Contemporary Ethics and Medical Ethics are in their fifth and third years, respectively, and English electives explore race, class, and gender. A senior elective in Peer Leadership allows students to teach ninth graders in Freshman Studies, serving as mentors for these younger students. Courses like Civics in Action and Literature of War offer students the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. and lobby, teaching the importance of civic involvement and responsibility. The TRIPs program gives students access to travel, service, language immersion, and intensive research opportunities, and many of these TRIPs include service work. Last year, an intrepid band of students spent part of spring break sleeping in the Meeting House, studying hunger and homelessness, cooking their own meals based on the budget of a low-income household, and engaging in local daily service. MB has increased its involvement in conferences for Model United Nations, Quaker Youth Leadership, and national and local Student Diversity groups. This year, a Girl Up chapter began in the upper school, and five students travelled to Washington D.C. for the Girl Up annual conference, highlighted by an address by Michelle Obama. Middle School team trips – a signature experience of these years – emphasize cooperation and collaboration, themes that permeate the middle school curriculum. The English and history curriculum throughout the middle school years regularly asks students to confront major global and ethical issues, from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict to the tension between cattle ranchers, environmentalists, and animal rights activists in the western United States. The lower school supports the early development of ethical thinking. Diversity workshops help students appreciate difference, and work with the Institute for the Study and Practice of NonViolence encourages respect for others. A new fifth grade trip to Washington, DC connected student work to the civil rights movement. A partnership with Quaker communities in Kenya has our fouth graders learning about children their own age in that part of the world. These are just some of the ways Ethical Leadership is already part of learning and teaching at Moses Brown.
December 2015, Areté
Students Volunteer at Operation Stand Down Rhode Island By Rosemary M. ’16 My first thought when writing about this experience was, “how can I even begin to put it into words?” Operation Stand Down Rhode Island is an amazing organization that provides various services to homeless and atrisk veterans. Their motto is that they give “a hand up, not a hand out.” Our Literature of War class spent most of the school day Friday, September 18 volunteering at their 23rd annual Stand Down weekend at Diamond Hill Park in Cumberland. The event provides legal, medical, financial, housing, and general life services to veterans who spend the weekend in tents at the park. When we got there we split up into two groups. My group went to the clothing tent. We helped sort and organize different clothing and then also helped some veterans find the correct size or style that
Upper school students volunteering in the Operation Stand Down Rhode Island clothing tent at Diamond Hill Park they were looking for. The veterans got a blue athletic bag to fill with whatever they needed from the tent. There are so many veterans in need that they could only take as many items of clothing as would fit in their small bag. Seeing that really enlightened me that it is not just a couple dozen people in need in our state, it is hundreds. Luis and I got the best job possible, passing out cookies during lunch…we were definitely the favorites of the group! One group helped pass out various drinks and water, and another group helped maintain the trash cans so we weren’t leaving a mess in the park. To see these men and women smiling and saying thank you to me for handing them a cookie was so touching; they are the ones who need
to be thanked for their service to our country. For me personally though, the most touching experience of the whole day, the time when it really hit me, was during the formal opening ceremony, when a group performed the Fallen Soldier Ceremony. My eyes started tearing up seeing the American flag, helmet, boots, gun, and dog tags of soldiers who gave their lives for this country all in the shadow of the flagpole, upon which flew the American flag, the OSDRI flag, and a flag commemorating POWs. But the real tearjerker was when the family members of those fallen soldiers were recognized. Families have to deal with the loss of a loved one every day and it was amazing to see a community of strangers comforting and honoring them.
pollutants in a watershed when it rains. At another station, the children used a large hands-on model of a flounder to learn about its anatomy. They enjoyed burning off some energy by playing a running game to simulate the challenging journey a fish needs to make to its spawning territory, and the relationship between predators and prey.
Learning by Doing
For many students, seining for macroinvertebrates in the river was a highlight of this trip. At this station, we caught lots of critters, and discovered what kinds of creatures indicate a healthy habitat. Save the Bay has added a cool new viewing apparatus to this station, allowing the children to get a Finding macroinvertebrates in the Woonasquatucket River close-up look at the water rushing by and the creatures they found.
3rd Grade Visits the Woonasquatucket River By Laura Hunt P’14 and Beth Runci P’19’20 learned about ways in which native people once used resources available near the river and how Third grade teachers the industrial revolution brought with it some We had a wonderful day of learning with Save harmful changes. This station helped students the Bay teachers! They met our class at Riverside build connections to the book, A River Ran Park in Olneyville, near the Woonasquatucket Wild, by Lynne Cherry, which we are reading River Greenway. After helping the children in social studies. locate our place on a map and explaining Save At the hands-on watershed model, we enjoyed the Bay’s mission, the teachers split the students creating a little community with buildings into four groups. Each group spent about 40 and vehicles. Then the children simulated minutes at four different stations. adding fertilizers and other chemicals to this On the History of the River walk, students environment to discover what happens to
This field trip is an important foundational experience for much of the learning we will do in social studies this year. Working in small groups helps students begin building cooperative problem-solving skills. Thinking about the native people who once inhabited our local region sets the stage for our study of the Pilgrims and Wampanoags. We will re-visit big ideas about conservation during our National Parks unit. Many students are better able to think about conservation efforts in other regions of our country by drawing upon the experience they had in September learning with Save the Bay. How fortunate we feel to be able to offer such rich experiential learning to our students.