Strengthening the Honor System

A pillar of Norfolk Academy life, the Honor System expanded and strengthened during Dennis Manning’s 22 years as Headmaster. This growth was most noticeable in the formation of the Royster Honor Council (RHC), established at the start of the 2005–06 school year. The strengthening continues with the recent appointment of a Lower School faculty member, Cosby Hall ’93, as coordinator for instruction about honor in the Lower School, and faculty professional development focused on the Honor System.

TOY SAVAGE ’71, LONGTIME MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER AND SCHOOL HISTORIAN, WAS THE FACULTY ADVISOR FOR THE FIRST DECADE OF THE ROYSTER HONOR COUNCIL; ASSISTANT MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTOR TRISH HOPKINS CURRENTLY SERVES IN THAT ROLE. MR. SAVAGE DESCRIBES HOW THE ROYSTER HONOR COUNCIL CAME INTO BEING AND ITS IMPORTANCE:

To fully understand the Royster Honor Council’s creation takes historical context. The Honor System was instituted in 1950 by new Headmaster James B. Massey Jr., who sought to communicate his belief that the teaching of right and wrong was the school’s primary objective. Massey tasked Arthur A. Maconochie Jr., a new Upper School English teacher, with creating and implementing the system. In its original form, every student would sign a pledge upon the submission of any graded assignment that said, “I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment,” and append his signature.

At the time of its inception the school had 48 students in grades 9 through 12 and eight faculty. The procedures put into place accommodated that size. Upon an infraction, the student-elected Honor Council, six students strong, convened to learn what had happened and make a recommendation as to any disciplinary action, which would then be submitted to the faculty and ultimately the Headmaster for approval. The process took an hour or so. It worked like a charm.

Fast forward through merger and explosive growth. As of 2005, there were 300-plus students in both Tunstall and Royster and a combined faculty exceeding 60. The old way of enforcing the Honor System was no longer as simple as a handful of students and faculty meeting around a conference table.

Gary Laws, longtime Director of the Middle School, sought a way to recapture some of the advantages of the system, particularly with respect to younger students. With consultation and approval from Mr. Manning, Laws sought to create a Royster Honor System that more directly impacted the daily lives of Middle School students.

Laws had two major goals in mind. The first was to give younger students a legitimate leadership experience. The second was, in Laws’ words, to have the Honor System “walking the halls of the building.” Before 2005, if Middle Schoolers appeared before an Honor Council, they were meeting Upper School students, who were strangers to them.

To think through how it would work, Laws turned to Witt Borum, eighth grade science teacher. Borum had attended St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, which had a Middle School Honor System during his years there. Second, as a career Naval veteran, he had a proper sense of the importance of honor.

There were several chief differences between the Tunstall Honor System and the new Royster one. First, in any RHC meeting there were two faculty members present. Second, there would be a visible presence of student honor representatives in the building. Finally, the entire faculty no longer needed to approve the RHC’s recommendation.

My experience was that the RHC accomplished everything it was intended to do. Time after time I witnessed the benefits bestowed on young people by having to confront and admit to mistakes in the presence of peers. For many, the experience was transformative, even life-changing.

The student body greatly benefited in another way. In electing their representatives, students undertake the important task of gaining ownership of the system itself. Choosing leaders provides leadership “training” for the choosers as well. They take the job seriously.

The entire Norfolk Academy community is the better for it. ◆

Toy Savage III ’71 served in an array of administrative, teaching, and coaching roles during his decades of service. He retired from teaching in 2022 but continues to serve as school historian and author of The Savage Chronicles

Dear Dennis Manning,

I trust this letter finds you well. Where I am, the wind is damp and lazy. Clouds are strolling in like a bunch of bad boys in black leather jackets.

Word has it that you’re about to turn it loose, reshuffle the deck, retire, and run roughshod into the free world! After twenty-two years of headmastery, you must be asking yourself, where did they go, all those busy days and days. Those many hungry hearts and minds gathered under your governance, shaped and sent out to move this world with sweat and grace, words that fueled your stride. I remember your Shakespeare class. The students aloft, the sonnets like delicious jewels in their mouths — because of you, man! As the captain steers, so goes the ship: Norfolk Academy, so close to utopia, where restless minds find teachers filled with passion. You lived on campus — worked, slept, and dreamed this school — and I know you’re too humble to believe me, but your kindness, your faith in the light of learning, your love for people kindled the heart of this place.

I’m sure you’ll remember the sunlight slanting on the walls, the steady rains walking across the campus grass, young voices flying the halls and perhaps you’ll also remember what’s harder to name — the timpani of a school in motion: everyone breathing together, books open, pencils whispering to paper, fingertips tapping the keys, and the thoughtful silence of teachers settling their souls at the close of a day.

I hope you can take these words with you, my friend and, in the coming quieter hours, celebrate the many amazements that blossomed while you were here, then get up and get on with what’s next.

Wishing you all that you wish,

Tim Seibles

Tim Seibles served as Virginia’s Poet Laureate from 2016–2018. Seibles, who served as a professor of English at ODU until his retirement in 2019, has also been the Visiting Poet at Norfolk Academy. He is the author of numerous poetry collections, including the 2012 National Book Award–nominated collection, Fast Animal