“Lean into Tension” Class of 2022 Closing Exercises

The following are remarks made by Head of School Aaron Cooper to the Class of 2022 on June 14.

I find myself thinking about the concept of tension. That’s right: tension. Just coming off exams, I am sure you felt some tension. When you decided what school to attend next year and awaited for the results after you applied, I am sure you experienced stress. You probably feel some tension today, perhaps in excitement at being here, maybe in nervousness that you will trip when walking up here to get your certificate — it’s OK if you do — maybe even some imaginings about what next year will be like. I can relate. I have felt butterflies all day myself.

And you have probably felt tension in other ways as well. I imagine you have gotten into an argument with a friend and wondered whether that would impact your friendship. Maybe you have felt nervous before a big game or performance or presentation. You have probably done poorly on a test or two. Perhaps a team you were on lost a game because of a mistake you made. And so on.

I bet not all the memories of those moments of tension are positive. So why, you may be wondering, would I be talking about tension in a setting like this at Closing Exercises? Well, because there is a positive side to tension that we sometimes think about less than the negative one but which, if you can lean into it, might hold a key to your future success.

Recently, the faculty and staff spent a Wednesday afternoon weaving. I suppose that might sound strange, and it might be even stranger to think that we were weaving strands of recycled plastic upon which we had written reflections into pieces of plastic construction fence. Out of context that does sound odd. But part of the lesson was about tension. You see, we did not use any tape or glue or knots or staples or adhesive of any kind. As we learned, when weaving is done well, it holds itself together with its own internal tension.

Similarly, think of a favorite sport, and I bet you can find an example of weaving demonstrating this principle of tension. The strings of a tennis or squash racquet are only