Issue 17

Volume 118 Issue 17

The Record

Horace Mann’s Weekly Newspaper Since 1903

record.horacemann.org January 22nd, 2021

Remote instruction continues due to high COVID-19 rates Emma Colacino Staff Writer In-person learning was postponed for an additional week of online school despite plans to return to campus, Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly announced in an email sent to all parents and guardians on January 17.

This decision was in part due to high numbers of positive COVID-19 tests results and the number of symptomatic students within the community, he wrote. “If school were open Friday or Saturday, we would have seen hundreds of students across the divisions placed in quarantine,” he wrote. “While the data set before us is manageable and nowhere near regional levels, it does present as a concern threatening a reasonable week of inperson instruction for all.”

Later in the email, Kelly wrote that the high COVID-19 positivity rate among the community was a reflection of community members’ unwillingness to abide by Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use and traveling protocols, he wrote. “To those of you who did follow the guidelines and/or confirm with school personnel that a modification to them was appropriate, we are deeply appreciative,” he wrote. “To those of you arriving today or tomorrow, all we can ask is that you understand how disruptive your decision can be and is to the greater community.”

Kelly concluded the email by asking all families to reaffirm their commitment to the HM Promise, a set of guidelines for on and offcampus behavior that community members are expected to follow to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Because some parents did not return home during the two weeks of online school after winter break, Cecile Caer P’21 P’24 understands the decision to postpone inperson learning, she said. However, the news still frustrated her, because remaining online

for long periods of time can be difficult for students’ mental health, she said.

Given the regional COVID-19 levels, Ahana Nayar (10) was unsurprised by the postponement, she said. “I have been watching the numbers go up day by day, and it is honestly terrifying,” she said.

Adam Dickstein (11) would have been upset had school resumed as planned because of the rising COVID-19 cases, he said. “It just wouldn’t make sense to open when COVID is even more prevalent than it was when we closed temporarily for a few weeks in November,” he said.

Co-Chair of the Middle Divison Parents Association Joanne Diaz P’24 P’26 was relieved by the postponement, which she believed to be inevitable given the regional COVID-19 levels.

She was surprised there was even a possibility of returning as originally planned, she said.

“To those of you arriving today or tomorrow, all we can ask is that you understand how disruptive your decision can be and is to the greater community.”

-Dr. Tom Kelly Ajani Green-Watson (11) has seen peers whose actions do not fall in line with the HM promise, and she therefore agrees with the school’s decision to postpone in-person learning, she said. “There are a lot of people on my social media who have been posting when they were out with their friends, or going out to restaurants, or just going into the city,” she said. “I was very concerned that even if they got their COVID test, they would go back

Editorial: Enforce stricter rules When we found out that school would continue to be remote this week, we were disappointed. We wanted to be in person to enjoy the beginning of our last semester of high school. Moreover, we felt as though some of our peers had failed us.

The families who traveled irresponsibly and forced Dr. Kelly to postpone our reopening prioritized their interests over the rest of the community. They blatantly disrespected their peers, their teachers, and the school’s essential workers. Had school not been shut down, they would’ve endangered the wellbeing of others. Let us be clear: Many members of the community traveled safely. But enough students did not, making others’ safety precautions for naught.

We call on the administration to establish consequences for those who violate the rules and endanger the community because evidently, some students don’t feel shame in flaunting their rule-breaking and will stop only if threatened.

In September, we signed the HM Promise, which states that we will wear a face covering when on campus, distance ourselves whenever possible, and complete the symptom check, among other similar rules — all of which are applicable on-campus. Riverdale recently asked their families to abide by a set of safety guidelines applicable to behavior outside of school, and we encourage our administration to create a code of its own. We’d like to propose the following measures: 1. Wear masks whenever you are outside of your home.

2. Do not travel when school is in session or is scheduled to be in session within upcoming days.

3. Do not socialize with friends unless you are outdoors, six feet apart, and masked. If you must socialize indoors, wear a mask, and keep the attendees to a minimum.

4. Do not dine at restaurants indoors.

5. Do not participate in in-person extracurricular activities outside of school.

6. Do not attend gatherings of more than 10 people.

As of now, breaking these guidelines would not lead to official school disciplinary actions. But were the administration to modify and adopt these measures, we could begin to hold each other accountable and maintain a safe and healthful environment.

Riva Vig/Staff Artist

outside, catch COVID and then bring it into the school.”

In his email, Kelly also wrote that by continuing online instruction for an extra week, the school avoids concerns of possible violence in response to the Presidential Inauguration. “While it’s unfortunate and even sad to suggest that parents should not have students participate in peaceful protests or an inauguration, the magnitude of the concerns raised for potential violence requires that I do so,” he wrote.

While Kelly’s initial email explained that no additional testing would be required for members of the community who already submitted their tests, a follow up email announced that all students must be retested between January 19 and January 21 — any positive results submitted for tests administered after the 21st will automatically result in a 10

day quarantine for the student. To ensure that all students were able to be tested, the school reopened the campus with extended hours to facilitate testing.

Aaron Shuchman (12) appreciates that the school is erring on the side of caution in their decision and feels confident that community members will be able to return to school eventually because of the school’s history of caution and its COVID-19 testing and safety protocols, he said.

The vaccination of many of his teachers also reaffirms Shuchman’s feelings, he said.

“It’s good for a lot of them to have this [vaccine] health wise,” he said. “When there is an inevitable large group of students and or teachers who need to quarantine, the vast majority of teachers can stay in school, and that’s really good.”

Courtesy of Yesh Nikam

POWER OF IMAGE Professor Claudia Rankine teaches the school about the history of Black erasure in film.

Poet Claudia Rankine speaks on race and white supremacy at assembly AJ Walker and Nathan Chiang Staff and Contributing Writers Esteemed poet, essayist, and playwright Claudia Rankine used her new book “Just Us: An American Conversation” to spark discussion surrounding issues of race and white supremacy in the United States during the Upper Division (UD) assembly and talkback sessions on Tuesday.

Liliana Greyf (11) introduced Rankine, and a panel of students with questions included Greyf, Rachel Fearon (11), Dalia Pustilnik (11), Hanna Hornfeld (11). English Department Chair Vernon Wilson initiated the question and answer session following Rankine’s presentation.

During the assembly, Rankine touched on a number of recent events, including the storming of the U.S. Capitol, to illustrate the current racial and political state of the

nation.

As someone who often thinks about the role of politics in the classroom, English teacher Jennifer Little was initially hesitant when Rankin included her political beliefs in her talk. However, Little valued the way Rankine approached the integration of politics and academics.

“One of the things I sometimes hear from students is to leave politics outside of the classroom, like this should somehow be about academia in a vacuum,” Little said.

“I thought that [Rankine] framed really nicely that there is no such thing. There’s no such thing as some kind of personal that isn’t tinged with the political.”

One significant focus of Rankine’s presentation was the concept of “whiteness” in the United States. Rankine established her definition of whiteness early on to refer to the ideology of white supremacy, rather than individual see Claudia Rankine on pg. 3

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THE RECORD OPINIONS JANUARY 22ND, 2021

Beyond Inauguration Day: Holding Biden and Harris accountable maskless throngs of mostly white people waving Confederate flags and wearing Holocaustpromoting attire left untouched by police not enough evidence of this?

Yet, Biden’s plans to enact anti-terrorism legislation are also frustrating. How, I asked myself, could he consider putting more power into the hands of law enforcement who stood nearly motionless in the face of domestic terrorism, who are by no means exempt from the roots of white supremacy, and who shamelessly

working to actively fix the long-ignored flaws of our country.

With this in mind, I will say that I do not believe Inauguration Day was purely a celebration. Yes, again, it is a celebration of the end of Trump’s wrath, but it is also the beginning of an undoubtedly flawed presidency. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were elected on the promise that they would help “fix” our country and fill the gaping holes Trump created — but is that enough? No. Lauren Kim/Art Director

Mia Calzolaio When New York erupted into cheers on November 9, 2020, I cheered along. A man screamed “freedom!” and I could not help but feel the same way; Trump was out of office, how else was I to feel? I felt joy, of course, but that joy came from a sense of relief, not from excitement. My happiness was underscored with the anticipation of disappointment.

Inauguration Day has now passed, and I am forced to reckon with that anticipation. I’d first like to acknowledge that this inauguration is momentous — a tyrant has been removed from the government and President Joseph Biden is working with a Democrat-controlled Senate.

However, I am also nervous: nervous about the fate of our country and nervous about Biden’s policies. The insurrection at the Capitol terrified me because it once again proved how deeply white supremacy is rooted in America — are

abuse Black Lives Matter protestors? Like many, I am worried that the introduction of this type of legislation will simply open the door to further abuse of peaceful protestors, of the people

Take, for example, Biden’s proposed gun policy. Biden intends to ban the manufacturing and sale of assault weapons, simultaneously proposing to bring their regulation under

the National Firearms Act (NFA). Americans who already own these types of guns, such as shotguns, pistols, and semiautomatic rifles, can either participate in a federal buyback program or register each of the weapons under the NFA for $200 apiece. Those who violate this policy face up to 10 years in prison and a potential $10,000 fine. This policy creates a massive disparity between the ability of upper-class people and working-class people to retain their guns. It does not matter whether anyone should own these types of firearms in the first place; it instead matters that large groups of people are stripped of their property without fair and equal policy. Furthermore, this legislation bears not a single mention of police officers, who are one of the largest perpetrators of gun-related deaths. Even if this is just a proposal, I fail to see how Biden can “fix” issues like poverty simply by stripping the lower class of their guns. And again, I become more uncertain about what the future with Biden as president will look like.

This is not to say that Biden can not accomplish what I would like to see him do.

However, it is imperative that we hold Biden and Harris to the highest standard and critique them with the greatest scrutiny. The American people, disregarding voter suppression and the Republican party, elected them to fill the presidencies. We can no longer remain content and complacent in our relief from tyranny. It is now a new presidency, and we must work equally as hard — maintaining difficult conversations, continuing to analyze the state of our democracy — to ensure those fighting and facing injustice are considered by President Biden.

Students should appreciate assembly speakers

Liliana Greyf This Tuesday, the Upper Division (UD) watched Claudia Rankine present about her work and beliefs during the scheduled assembly period.

It should not be shocking for Horace Mann students to learn that Rankine is regarded as one of the most talented and impactful writers of our time.

Many have read her writing in their English classes, and most should at least know her name. Outside of this community, students given the chance to hear from someone as celebrated as Rankine would have been thrilled, elated. Somehow, we have allowed for this experience to become common and routine.

The intellectual offerings of our assembly periods have been

normalized, turned into something typical and boring. There was no excitement surrounding Rankine’s presentation. I did not hear any students’ discussion leading up to her visit. After the assembly, I felt inspired, energized, even changed — but I also felt dejected. I waited to engage in critical conversation in my classes, but most of my peers had nothing to say. I was under the impression that everyone had opened their screens to the webinar simply to be in attendance. I wondered how many students had really listened to the incredible things she had said.

Every other week, the school invites a speaker — a journalist, a lawyer, a poet, a photographer, or anyone else excited to present to the school — to speak to the UD for an hour. For most, these assemblies are not a compelling or exciting event. At 10 a.m., hundreds of us mope and meander our ways to Olshan Lobby, stopping to fling our backpacks in haphazard heaps and hide our silenced cell phones in our pockets. We sit through the announcements, mouth the alma mater, and clap when the period ends.

We assume that what we are about to hear is in some way unimportant, unnecessary, or uninteresting. But this makes us ignorant and ungrateful. Few other schools have the opportunity to invite speakers such as the ones we

hear from weekly. We take for granted one of the greatest privileges that this school has to offer.

I do not mean to say that the high school collectively zones out during each of these assemblies, nor do I believe that we as a whole are ungrateful for the speakers we hear from. Still, there exists a culture at this school to denounce anything that could be widely educational or beneficial if it comes in the form of a lecture. We have come to believe that if it is presented in this format, it is no longer of use to us.

Assemblies are one of the few parts of our student lives that are left ungraded; they do not exist as a form of evaluation. The nature of this experience leads us to believe that it is insignificant — since it does not affect our academic performance, it can be missed. I do not propose that we change the rules of our assembly periods — I don’t think that every part of our high school experience should be assessed. Yet, I cannot help but think that if we were to be tested on what we learned in assemblies, audience members would be much more engaged. We seem unable to appreciate what does not change our report cards.

In this school year alone, the high school has had the chance to hear from numerous presenters, all of

Gabby Fischberg/Art Director

whom have had their own lessons to bring to the community. Flo Ngala ‘13 displayed more than the beauty of her photography; she showed Horace Mann students that they can use their creativity throughout the rest of their lives. Wesley Caines not only discussed the impacts of criminal justice reform; he also worked to change current perceptions of the justice system.

David Leonhardt ‘90 explained the fundamental statistics of the election, and Chidi Akusobi ‘08 spoke about the social determinants and impacts of health. Yet, the assemblies we experience are never mentioned after they are finished. Not enough of the student body appreciates what each guest speaker has to offer.

Now, in the midst of online learning, this problem has only worsened.

Those who used to spend half of C-period sitting on the floor of the bathroom can now turn their cameras off and make breakfast. Those who would close their eyes until tapped on the shoulder by their advisor can sleep unperturbed in their beds.

I do not want to sound accusatory.

I know that we are all tired, and we all need breaks. But that rest should be found at a time that is not designated for education and activism.

Assemblies may not affect our college applications, but they can have a profound impact on our educational experiences. We must learn to put this ingrained indifference aside.

Assemblies could — and should — be a time for Horace Mann students to hear, process, learn, and grow.

Volume 118 Editorial Board Managing Editor Talia Winiarsky Features Henry Owens Emily Shi Vivien Sweet

News Sam Chiang Yesh Nikam Marina Kazarian

Staff

Opinions Maurice Campbell Avi Kapadia Natalie Sweet

A&E Izzy Abbott Abby Beckler Oliver Steinman

Staff Writers Devin Allard-Neptune, Mia Calzolaio Chloe Choi, Emma Colacino, Yin Fei, Lucas Glickman, Claire Goldberg, Tuhin Ghosh, Liliana Greyf, Lauren Ho, Hanna Hornfeld, Purvi Jonnalagadda, Oliver Lewis, Rowan Mally, Simon Schackner, Morgan Smith, Arushi Talwar, Katya Tolunsky, Nathan Zelizer, Max Chasin, Alex Lautin, Jillian Lee, Hannah Katzke, Vidhatrie Keetha, Zachary Kurtz, Clio Rao, Ayesha Sen, Emily Salzhauer, Aden Soroca, Emily Sun, Madison Xu Staff Photographers Kelly Troop, Sophie Gordon, Amanda Wein, Emma Colacino, AJ Walker, Lucas Glickman, Lauren Ho Staff Artists Eliza Becker, Felix Brenner, Vivian Coraci, Riva Vig

Editor-in-Chief Julia Goldberg Lions’ Den Yotam Hahn Alison Isko Josh Underberg

Issues Editor Adam Frommer

Middle Division Adrian Arnaboldi Bradley Bennett Jack Crovitz

About Founded in 1903, The Record is Horace Mann School’s award-winning weekly student newspaper. We publish approximately 30 times during the academic year, offering news, features, opinions, arts, Middle Division and sports coverage relevant to the school community. The Record serves as a public forum to provide the community with information, entertainment, and an outlet for various viewpoints. As a student publication, the contents of The Record are the views and work of the students and do not necessarily represent those of the faculty or administration of the Horace Mann School. Horace Mann School is not responsible for the

Design Lowell Finster John Mauro Sarah Sun

Editorial Policy

Art Annabelle Chan Gabby Fischberg Lauren Kim Rachel Zhu

accuracy and contents of The Record and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or views expressed therein.

Editorials All editorial decisions regarding content, grammar, and layout are made by the senior editorial board. The unsigned editorial represents the opinion of the majority of the board.

Opinions Opinion columns represent the viewpoint of the author and not of The Record or the school. We encourage students, alumni, faculty, staff, and parents to submit opinions by emailing record@horacemann.org.

Letters Letters to the editor often respond to editorials,

Photography Jackson Feigin Julia Isko Maxwell Shopkorn

Faculty Adviser David Berenson

articles, and opinions pieces, allowing The Record to uphold its commitment to open discourse within the school community.

They too represent the opinion of the author and not of The Record or the school. To be considered for publication in the next issue, letters should be submitted by mail (The Record, 231 West 246th Street, Bronx, NY 10471) or email (record@ horacemann.org) before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. All submissions must be signed.

Contact For all tips, comments, queries, story suggestions, complaints and corrections, please contact us by email at record@horacemann.org.

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HORACE MANN NEWS JANUARY 22ND, 2021

11th graders participate in virtual Service Learning Day

Devin Allard-Neptune, Kate Beckler, and Zack Pelosky Staff and ContributingWriters

On Thursday, the junior class attended Service Learning Day Zoom workshops hosted by nonprofit agencies located in the Bronx to learn about issues concerning opportunity, wellness, and the environment.

The theme for this year’s event was “Exploring Justice, Hope and Healing through Community Partnerships,” Director of the Center for Community Values and Action (CCVA) Dr. Kimberly Joyce-Bernard wrote in an email to the 11th graders before the event.

Joyce-Bernard and CCVA Office Manager Conasia Watts organized the event with social justice issues in mind. “This day centers conversation and learning about the ways in which social justice can be applied intentionally to service-learning through collaboration with different stakeholders in the community,” she wrote.

Zoom fatigue, and the physical separation changed the format of the workshops and presentations, she wrote.

Although conducting the event online had its limitations, the CCVA made the best out of its new format, Watts wrote in an email. For example, speakers that would have otherwise been unable to attend could participate, and with Zoom they were allowed additional creativity, she wrote.

Since the workshops were online, they were more accessible to both students and speakers, Brett Karpf (11) said. “In the past, the limitations of travel and physical distance could create problems for who comes to speak,” he said.

“Online learning can allow for new speakers and educators to come and speak to HM.” When organizing Service-Learning Day, Joyce-Bernard worked with Acting Director of the Office for Identity, Culture and Institutional Equity Ronald Taylor to ensure that students had opportunities to reflect on their experiences before, during, and after the event, she wrote.

Courtesy of Devin Allard-Neptune

CONVERSING FOR CHANGE CCVA emphasizes the connection between social justice and service.

This year, all of the school’s Service Learning programs have been remote. As a result, the CCVA planned for the event to take place on Zoom, so the day was not interrupted due to the prolonged break from in-person school, JoyceBernard wrote.

However, hosting the event online came with new obstacles, Joyce-Bernard wrote. Spending the entire day in front of a computer can cause

At the beginning of the day, juniors attended an introductory Zoom meeting and watched a documentary titled “Segregated by Design” about unconstitutional segregation after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Students then took a fifteen minute break from Zoom to reflect on the documentary and answer a question about their hopes for the future through Google Classroom.

Following the break, each student attended two workshops, both of which focused on a different topic relating to social issues ranging from educational equity, green space access, environmental justice, wellness for older adults, and the opportunity gap.

The CCVA invited April de Simon, coFounder of the Bronx-based graphic design company Designing the We, to lead one workshop. Through an interactive online exhibition titled Undesign the Redline, Simone taught students about the structures and policies put in place in the Bronx to perpetuate inequality in Black and indigenous communities.

Juniors also learned about the facilities available to the Bronx community, like Van Cortlandt Park. Members of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance gave a presentation explaining the programs that run inside the park, and introduced internships that students could apply for within the nonprofit corporation.

The Riverdale Senior Services (RSS) conducted two different workshops to give students the opportunity to experience what the nonprofit does for senior citizens in the Bronx.

Juniors engaged in a trivia game hosted by the RSS organizers, and another group participated in a yoga lesson.

To end the day, juniors were split into breakout rooms and discussed what they had learned. When students returned to the main Zoom room, they meditated on those same lessons.

After attending the event, Karpf said the singular theme made the day feel more cohesive.

“Last year, most of the workshops were about different studies or projects that speakers had come in to talk about, but this Service Learning Day was more focused on identity, gender, and race,” he said.

This year’s focus on inclusion was beneficial for students, Karpf said. “Especially at HM, more diversity education is needed so that the school can become more open and welcoming, so I’m happy that the focus of Service Learning Day 2021 is on diversity/identity.”

Amada Wein (11) enjoyed the event, but she wished she was able to pick the workshops that interested her as opposed to being assigned workshops based on her SOI groups, she said.

After spending the day learning about the Bronx community, Uddipto Nandi (11) was inspired to create change, he said. “By learning about the different service-learning opportunities, I feel like there is a lot I can do to help the Bronx community just by reaching out,” he said. “The workshops showed me that there are so many opportunities to help people, even right across the street.”

Gender in debate conference

rtesy Cou

of Sasha Snyde r (1 2)

The debate team is hosting its second Gender in Debate Conference this Saturday January 23rd from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. over Zoom. Participants will hear from a panel of experienced alumni from different high school speaking activities and will discuss the gender inequality within these activities. The conference will include students from across the globe in all speaking-related activities, including Debate, Model UN, Model Congress, Speech, Parliamentary Debate, and Mock Trial. We strongly encourage our readers to sign up!

To register for the event, fill out the form below: https://forms.gle/4rnmVax9Y7tWYp5v9 For more information, visit the website: https://genderindebateconf.wixsite.com/gidc For more information, contact Emily Shi, Leyli Granmayeh, and Sasha Snyder.

from Claudia Rankine page 1 white people. “We are citizens of a country where fabricated ideas regarding racial categories and the superiority of whiteness have exerted control over everything from government to policing to education since the conception of this country,” Rankine said at the start of her presentation.

Hannah Moss (10) found Rankine’s statistics regarding the unbalanced power white men have in the United States to be the most compelling evidence of the effects of whiteness in American politics. Although 30% of the population is composed of white men, white men make up over 70% of Congress, which encapsulates the lack of representation present in the U.S. government, Moss said.

“

“We are citizens of a country where fabricated ideas regarding racial categories and the superiority of whiteness have exerted control over everything.”

-Professor Claudia Rankine

Conversations about tackling white supremacy in institutions and the world as a whole have the potential to place the burden of change on people of color, especially in predominantly white institutions, Jaden Richards (12) said.

Richards appreciated how Rankine stressed the fact that white individuals can advocate for the deconstruction of white supremacy as well. “Her saying that you can contribute actively and that your voice as a person who isn’t Black is equally as important in dismantling these very dangerous and damaging concepts helps to dispel the passivity that a lot of people feel about issues regarding race,” Richards said.

English teacher Jacob Kaplan teaches Rankine’s book “Citizen: An American Lyric” to his students in their junior year to encourage them to confront their own experiences with whiteness, he said. “[‘Citizen’] feels like a really important text to teach in an institution that historically has been very white,” Kaplan said. “I want my students — specifically my white students — to grapple with the discomfort [of confronting their whiteness].”

According to Little, “Citizen” displays modern race struggles through a series of microaggressions that existed before the book was published in 2014 and still exist almost seven years later.

Abigail Morse (12) read “Citizen” in Little’s English class during her junior year and found the book to be even more relevant during today’s assembly than last fall, she said. “There are stories in the book and in the present about people being treated as subhuman,” Morse said. “The book brought these moments to life, and the assembly put it into perspective, emphasizing the harsh reality in the world.”

By introducing the UD to Rankine’s work and giving her the platform to speak out against systemic racial issues in our country, the school is continuing to take steps forward in its promotion of anti-racism and racial equity, Pustilnik said.

Tuesday’s assembly had been in the works since this past summer, Director of Student Activities Caroline Bartels said. UD history teachers Barry Bienstock and Dr. Emily Straus recommended Rankine to Bartels as a guest speaker at an assembly.

As the English Department Chair and someone who teaches “Citizen” in the classroom, Wilson contacted Bartels when he first heard about the assembly last summer because he believed having a poet like Rankine speak to the UD would help students better understand the connection between art, literature, and reality, he said.

“What I find most interesting about [Rankine] is the really exciting and challenging way that she is processing, absorbing, and reflecting back the world of today,” Wilson said. “It adds richness and nuance to people’s consideration of the tension between life and art.”

One of Bartels’ hopes is that after this assembly and the History Speaker Series and classroom conversations about race, students will truly begin to internalize the lessons they are learning to live more actively antiracist lives, she said. “[It is important that] you’re not just hearing this and [thinking] ‘Oh, that was an interesting assembly and now I’m going to go about my day,’” Bartels said.

“You’re tying this into what’s actually going on and that’s important.”

4

Grades:

THE RECORD FEATURES JANUARY 22ND, 2021

determination, deliberation, distribution Lauren Ho Staff Writer “People at this school are neurotic about their grades,” Annie Wallach (12) said.

Behind this “neurotic” culture of grades are several systems set in place by administrators and teachers to ensure that students receive the grade they deserve. Individual teachers as well as departments take into consideration many different elements, such as participation, usage of different grading systems, distribution of grades, and class averages. The school spends time focusing on how to grade most effectively, as grades can impact the motivation of students, competition between students, and college admissions.

Depending on the department and course, teachers implement different grading systems.

According to the Family Handbook, “The assessment of student work and the assignment of grades is a responsibility entrusted to the Horace Mann faculty. Faculty members endeavor to be fair and consistent in their assessment of student work and to provide students with sufficient opportunities to demonstrate learning and progress.”

“

“Students feel under enormous pressure to get grades in the A range, which has contributed to grade inflation, because students are now heartbroken to get a B+, when that is not a bad grade.”

-Jennifer Little

In the World Languages Department, grades are based on a variety of different components that each test a different skill, such as speaking, writing, or reading comprehension. Upper Division (UD) Dean of Students Michael Dalo’s Spanish students’ semester grades consist of several components, such as quizzes and tests, oral presentations, group projects, homework, and class participation.

Likewise, in physics, students are also graded on multiple components such as tests, weekly quizzes, lab reports, and a project, science teacher George Epstein said. “It gives students an opportunity to flex different muscles than purely their ‘assessment’ muscles.”

C 6/10 ninth grade English. This quarter grants students the ability to take both creative and intellectual risks, English teacher Stanley Lau said.

“Some of the things I read are just phenomenal, and some of the things I read show promise but need additional work, which is fine because they can try again,” Lau said. “Overall, I have found that students usually work hard during the ungraded period, despite it being pass/fail, which reflects on the culture of the school.”

In the first quarter of ninth grade English, Corey Brooks (11) was able to smoothly transition from middle school to high school because he felt less pressure to perform well with the pass/fail grading system, and he appreciated that he had that opportunity because it made him more excited to participate in English classes, he said.

Many of English teacher Jennifer Little’s upperclassmen advisees express their gratitude for the pass/fail quarter because it took pressure off of them and allowed them to improve their writing skills without the worry of performing poorly, she said.

The one downside to having this pass/fail period is that the first semester grade for English 9 students only consists of the second quarter of that semester, which may not include many assessments, so if a student performs poorly on one, it will factor heavily into their first semester grade, Dean of UD and English teacher Dr. Jessica Levenstein said.

Individual teachers must be inventive and experiment to find what works best for their students, Little said. For example, in all of Little’s senior writing electives, she has a component of the class that is self-evaluated. Little consults students after the self-evaluation and maintains the right to raise or lower their grade, but she has found that — for the most part — students give themselves the grade they deserve, likely because students are honest. She still has the final say over what grade the student will receive, she said.

One subject on which teachers often disagree is participation. Levenstein does not have a participation grade because she hopes to encourage an atmosphere in her class that invites participation, she said. “My personal concern is that a participation grade could give extroverts an advantage over introverts,” Levenstein said.

“Some students learn more quietly than others, and I didn’t want to award points off of a personality trait.”

The author of Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms, Joe Feldman, will visit the school at the end of March to discuss equitable grading. In an interview with Feldman conducted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he

Based on data from the College Counseling Department’s annual School Profile.

When Wallach took physics, tests were worth only 50% of the semester grade, which encouraged her to work harder in other aspects of the class, she said.

The only class out of the five core subjects that is automatically pass/fail is the first quarter of

said “[A big problem] with including behavior in the grade for things like participation is that often the way that teachers interpret student behaviors are through a culturally specific lens.”

This opens the teacher up to their own implicit bias, which is concerning because

grades should be purely objective, Feldman said.

Levenstein, who read Grading for Equity, agrees with Feldman’s rationale.

Epstein also does not use a participation grade because students learn and process at different rates and in different ways, he said.

While some students may know the answers to every question in class, other students need to practice with the material before they fully understand the concepts.

On the other hand, Wallenfang said participation is an essential part of his class. “At the same time, I acknowledge that it is a subjective

grade with the potential for unintentional biases to creep in, which is why I am hesitant to make the participation grade [worth] more than 5 percent.”

Wallach, who always has been extroverted in class, said participation should be counted.

Students who may not feel comfortable may participate in other ways, such as meeting with their teachers and emailing them questions, she said.

Lau uses a “classroom citizenship” grade, which measures the degree to which a student is contributing to a positive learning environment, he said.

History teacher Barry Bienstock also does not have a participation grade in his grading system, but if there is a student between two grades, he will use their participation to raise or lower their grade depending on whether their participation is constructive or not, he said.

Wallenfang, Levenstein, and Dalo set the grading policies of the UD, Wallenfang said.

Wallenfang has advocated for allowing flexibility between using the 10-point scale, percentages, and letter grades as the Dean of Faculty.

In English and history classes, most assessments are papers, so letter grades are easier to use, but in classes where there are assessments such as tests and quizzes, teachers vary between using the 10-point scale and percentages, Dalo said.

Once every year, the English Department engages in “group grading,” where every teacher reads the same essay — without the student’s name on it — to calibrate their grading, Little said.

English Department Chair Vernon Wilson typically chooses papers for group grading, English teacher Jennifer Little said. The paper will typically be one from a previous year’s class.

The papers that are chosen are average relative to the class, because the English Department wants to calibrate how to grade papers in the middle, Little said.

“Through experience, while it’s easy to see when a paper is strong, compelling, and persuasive, how it exactly translates into a B+ or A-, for example, isn’t always so clear cut,” Lau said.

During the group grading, teachers also leave copious comments on the essay. They then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the paper. “We all focus on similar things like close reading and argumentation, but the way that people express those might be slightly different,” Little said.

The results of group grading are typically

within one third of a letter grade, Little said. “If the majority of teachers assign the paper a B+, some might give it an A- or a high B.” Other departments also use similar practices to make sure that assessments are fair. For example, the teachers who teach AP Biology usually share tests that they plan to give to students to ensure that the assessments are of the appropriate length and difficulty, Wallenfang said.

In addition to conversations among faculty members throughout the school year, new teachers have both a department chair as well as a faculty mentor within their department so that

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they can gain an idea of the expectations for grading.

Department chairs often discuss equitable grading during their weekly chair meetings, and these conversations will likely be expanded as the faculty discusses the book Grading for Equity, which they read over the summer, Wallenfang said.

Feldman’s visit to the school will kick off the beginning of more formal and official discussions about equitable grading, Wallenfang said.

“Equitable grading has three pillars: accuracy, bias-resistance, and intrinsic motivation,” Feldman said in a different interview conducted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

“Grades must accurately reflect only a student’s academic level of performance… [and grading] practices must counteract institutional biases that have historically rewarded students with privilege and punished those without. Our grading must stop using points to reward or punish, but instead should teach students the connection between the means of learning and the ends.”

Most teachers observe their year-to-year grade distributions, taking note of any patterns or fluctuations. “My grade distribution fluctuates every year, and like most teachers at the school, most of my grades are Bs and As,” Levenstein said.

She does not think that there is one grade that teachers should aim to hand out most frequently, as students should receive the grades that they earn, and there should not be preconceived notions about the strength of a class.

Dalo said his grades tend to be fairly consistent from year to year, only deviating a third of a letter grade at most. If the teacher prepared a fair assessment, the grades which students receive will be what they deserve, he said. “If they end up on the higher side, I usually feel really good, because it means that students got the material I was trying to teach,” Dalo said.

While grades normally stay fairly consistent from year to year, some teachers who have been teaching at the school for many years have noticed that grades have been slowly increasing.

When Bienstock began teaching at the school in the 1980s, all teachers had to maintain a C+ average; however, this policy was eliminated

by Dr. Eileen Mullady when she became the new Head of School in 1995, he said. Back then Bienstock was more conscious about grade distribution, but currently, he doesn’t pay much attention to it, he said.

“I have seen grade inflation over the years, probably more dramatic for me than it is for younger teachers,” Bienstock said. “The reality is

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Based on data from the College Counseling Department’s annual School Profile. that grades are much higher than they were years ago, and while I am giving more high grades, I think they are justified since students are working harder.”

According to Little, grades in her class have slowly increased over her 17 years at the school from mainly B-range to mainly A-range, she said.

Currently, the average GPA of the class of 2021 as calculated by the College Counseling office is a 3.56. 82% of the current senior class has a GPA between a B+ and an A and 38% has a GPA of between an A- and an A, Head of College Counseling Canh Oxelson said.

In 2007, when the College Counseling office first began tracking the average GPA through the end of junior year, the average was around a 3.2.

Every year, there is a slight increase in the GPA, which is not uncommon at other schools as well, Oxelson said.

In the college process, it becomes harder to distinguish between students as the range of grades they receive become more and more limited, so colleges are forced to turn to other intellectual markers, such rigor of courses, Oxelson said. “Two 3.7 GPAs could be created very differently, so we have to contextualize to colleges how exactly these students earned these GPAs and the rigor behind the coursework,” he said.

While some people may believe that GPAs are increasing because students are becoming smarter, Oxelson said that the increase in GPAs comes from a variety of factors including students, families, teachers, and societal pressures.

One implication of grade inflation is that students show more anxiety over testing and grades than they used to, Bienstock said.

“Students feel under enormous pressure to get grades in the A range, which has contributed to grade inflation, because students are now heartbroken to get a B+, when that is not a bad grade,” Little said. “I don’t grade emotionally, but sometimes I think about the emotional impact of grades on my students and guilt myself into giving a higher grade than I should.” In addition, grade inflation can also make it easier on teachers, as they receive less pushback from students regarding low grades, Little said.

Grade inflation can be problematic because the point of a grade is to represent one’s success in class, and if everyone is getting As, that diminishes the value of the grade, Rohan Buluswar (11) said.

Moreover, teachers are finding it harder to provide nuanced feedback to students, as they have a smaller range of which letter grades they can hand out, math teacher Benjamin Kafoglis said.

While grades have been slowly increasing, Little recognizes that it is possible to have an “anomalously strong” group of students, such as her 11th grade class last year, she said. “I have been teaching here long enough to have felt comfortable that they all did very well: not because of any inflation, but simply because they are strong students.”

Teachers also use grades as an assessment of their own teaching. If grades trend low, Dalo recognizes that as a sign that he might not have taught the material as well as he could have or that something was wrong with the assessment he created, he said.

The culture around grades forces the learning process to prioritize receiving a good grade over learning, Wallach said. “There’s a certain

unspoken standard amongst students, a number or letter, that you have to reach, and that is what actually causes a large chunk of stress — not the workload, but that number or letter.”

Even though teachers tell students to keep their grades private, as they only reflect one’s individual work, many students still share and compare their grades with their peers, exacerbating competition surrounding grades, Ria Chowdhry (11) said.

Adam Dickstein (11) also finds the culture around grades at the school to be competitive, allowing students to be exposed to how the competitive real world operates, which is not necessarily harmful, he said.

Furthermore, competition around grades motivates many students to work harder and do their best, Chowdhry said.

While some competition can be healthy, when taken to an extreme, it can create longlasting emotional and psychological damage, Lau said. “For some students in a competitive school like HM, everything can sometimes feel like a zero sum game where if that kid gets an A, then I can’t get an A, and if that kid gets into a certain college, then I won’t get in,” he said.

There needs to be a change in students’ mindset from being solely grade-oriented to learning-oriented, Chowdhry said. While teachers have continued to push students to focus on learning over grades, students must change this perspective internally, she said.

The overall purpose of education should be to learn, and while part of the process should include markers of a student’s success, students should not go into a class solely with the goal of receiving a high grade, Kafoglis said.

Lau feels dispirited when he hears that some students see the school merely as a “stepping stone” to college, he said. “Students should not just be robots following every rule and taking classes only to get a specific grade so that they can go to a certain college.”

The vast

majority of students at the school are genuinely interested in learning, and thus the grade is not necessarily the only motivation that they have for doing well, Dalo said.

Grades certainly serve to motivate students, especially given the chance to get into a certain college, Bienstock said. If the school did not have grades, teachers would likely have to write extensive reports on students, which many teachers would be disinclined to do.

Written reports already exist at the school in the form of advisor comments before parentteacher conferences and comments at the end of junior year, which allow individual teachers to describe a student’s learning style and progress in that class, Levenstein said. However, students cannot view either of these reports, as they are for advisors and college counselors only.

The only written comments from teachers that students view are typically comments on their report card and any feedback given on assessments, Levenstein said. While a written report for the student would likely be helpful, changing the expectations for teacher feedback would require a shift in teaching practices that would occur over time.

If Walker McCarthy (11) received a report on his learning, he said he would be much happier and engaged in classes that he is particularly passionate about, such as English and history, because he would not have to worry about his grade.

A “three-grade” system could be more equitable to students as well as shift their motivations, Lau said. A three-grade system would include a grade for the product (such as the content of a paper), process (such as the outline and meeting with your teacher), and progress (how much did you improve from the last assignment), which would account for effort, growth, and understanding.

“Grading for learning is just as important as grading of learning,” Lau said. Grading for learning would be how well the student learned the material, while grading of learning would be how well they studied and put ideas together.

Grades should not only reflect the student’s knowledge of the material, but also the effort they put in, so Wallach would like to try out the three-grade system, she said. While she loves the humanities and puts in a lot of effort into those classes, she struggles with writing eloquently. “[I] never reach the standards that certain teachers have,” she said.

McCarthy particularly enjoyed the grading system of his Latin class freshman year, which prioritized progression, he said. “By the end of the year I felt confident and proficient in Latin, which [my teacher]

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valued seeing.”

Especially in the current pandemic environment, teachers recognize that grades might have a greater influence on college admissions, since many colleges are going test optional, Wallenfang said.

While the College Counseling office always expects a rise in GPA annually, during last year they observed a larger jump than normal, which is likely due to the school going remote, Oxelson said.

Since this is the first time colleges are viewing transcripts with grades that are higher than projected, Oxelson is unsure of how exactly colleges will react. However, colleges have told Oxelson that they will continue to read all transcripts within the context of the school, he said.

In the college admissions process, grades are the initial factor that determines whether a student will move on in the admissions process at a particular school, Oxelson said. When viewing a transcript, colleges take into account the number of courses in a core subject area, the rigor of the specific courses, and the grade itself.

One way colleges determine the rigor of the school’s curriculum is by looking at how students from the school have historically performed, Oxelson said. “So if you are from Yale University, you could look at the kids who have come from Horace Mann, how they have done at Yale, and if they succeeded in what are considered rigorous courses at Yale, which would give them a general sense of Horace Mann.”

There are a couple of different possible explanations for this increase, Brooks said. One possibility is that with HM Online, students do not need to commute and also have fewer classes per day, giving them more time to complete their work, he said. In addition, teachers are more sympathetic now than they were beforehand and are more likely to grant an extension, he said.

Working towards equitable grading during the pandemic is complex and a continuous process because there are many outside factors impacting students’ performance in the classroom. Ultimately, there is no one solution to making grades more fair. “Grades are a multidimensional assessment of students’ cognitive and noncognitive abilities,” Lau said.

“Cognitive abilities are skills like knowledge acquisition, but there’s also the noncognitive skills of turning your work in on time and speaking up, for example. Figuring out the right balance between the two can be difficult.”

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THE RECORD NEWS JANUARY 22ND, 2021

Independent Studies

Upperclassmen present year-long research projects Lexi Stein (12): Nutritional disparities in the US Sean Lee Contributing Writer In her Independent Study presentation “Nutritional Disparities in the US based on Race, Community, and Socioeconomic status,” Lexi Stein (12) presented a children’s book she composed that explored nutrition.

The book discusses different types of food groups, vitamins, and minerals, and it contains a number of educational and entertaining activities such as crossword puzzles and Mad Libs to teach elementary school students about the fundamentals of healthy eating.

While nutrition has always interested Stein, she believes that proper eating habits are especially important during a global pandemic, as they can allow for quicker recovery and strengthen the immune system, she said. Her internship last summer for JuicePress, a nutritious beverage company, tasked her with sourcing products, which enabled her to explore the realities of nutritional inequalities.

“They needed [the produce] to be gluten free, no sugar, not processed, USDA certified, and it was really overwhelming at first,” Stein said. “When I finally found those products, I would look at the price for them, and it would be so exorbitant that it was unlikely that the majority of the population could afford [them].”

Stein originally did not picture herself writing a children’s book. “When I was studying about access to healthy foods, I started looking into school lunch and breakfast programs, and when I clicked on more links and more studies, it led me to the study about knowledge being a huge

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factor of nutrition and made me want to write this book,” she said.

In the future, Stein hopes to publish her book and spread her findings to the school’s Lower Division (LD) and to New York City public schools, she said. “I knew I wanted to go out, interact with people, and show what I’ve learned, especially when I’m saying knowledge about nutrition can help kids have a healthier eating mindset,” she said. “It’s one thing to say it, but it’s different to make a difference with it, go out, take everything I’ve learned and throw it out to the rest of the world and to other children.”

Science teacher Dr. Susan Delanty, who is also Stein’s advisor, has been of immense help during the research process, Stein said. “[Delanty] did get her doctorate in nutrition, so she has a wealth of knowledge,” she said. “In addition, she’s always sending me articles, links, and information that could be so useful to my project.”

Delanty serves as a listener to Stein’s research, but Stein has decided the direction of her project on her own, Delanty said. “Her creative brain just took over and she started thinking about how she could teach and give that information to children,” Delanty said.

Mabel Runyon (12): Moldovan and Russian foreign relations Celine Kiriscioglu Contributing Writer This past Thursday, Mabel Runyon (12) showcased her interest in Moldova and its foreign relations in her independent study titled “Moldova in Russian History and the Case of Language.”

Runyon discussed the relationship between the language and politics of Moldova and other foreign powers.

Runyon decided to research Moldova and its foreign relations because the topic was not covered in the US State Department sponsored program, NSLI-Y (National Security Language Initiative for Youth), which Runyon attended online this past summer, she said. The censorship concerning Russia and Moldova’s economic and cultural separation piqued Runyon’s curiosity. “It caught my attention and I wanted to investigate further,” Runyon said.

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In her independent study, Runyon focused on Russian and Moldovan relations, including Moldova’s fight for independence against Russian and Soviet powers, as well as the development of the foreign relations of the Republic of Moldova, mostly in connection with the United States.

A highlight of Runyon’s research process was learning about how Moldova declared Moldavian its official language in 1994 after establishing its independence in 1991. Runyon said she was interested in how the Moldovan government fought back against the Russian government — which tried to implement the teaching of its language in Moldvan schools — and ultimately established its own identity as a separate country.

Runyon and her faculty advisor, history teacher Dr. Susan Groppi, encountered a few obstacles throughout Runyon’s research process. When first researching Moldova, Runyon struggled to find the right scope for her research. Although Groppi and Runyon originally believed Runyon would complete a broad study of the relationship between language and politics in Eastern Europe, once Runyon investigated the history of Moldova, she decided to narrow her focus to the country, she said.

Groppi said her role in Runyon’s research process is to provide guidance so that Runyon can carry out her own vision of the project. “I’m helping her figure out how to teach herself.”

Runyon also struggled to find information pertinent to her specific view on Moldova and its relationship between language and their economy, she said. The school’s database did not have the information she was looking for, but, fortunately, Runyon found information helpful to her research from government sources such as the US embassy, government records about Moldovan trade, and Moldova’s census.

“My next step, if I could do it, would be to go to Moldova and see it and experience it in person.” Runyon said.

Emily Shi (12): Global health ethics Zachary Kurtz and Naomi Yaeger Staff and Contributing Writers This Thursday, Emily Shi (12) described how the prioritization of treatment in the global health system affected the severity of pandemics such as the Ebola virus and the Zika virus in her independent study titled “​Global Health Ethics and Inequities: Crisis Triage.​” Crisis triage refers to the way experts respond to a threat and the allocation of resources and aid during the crisis, which can be inequitable, she said. For example, in an Emergency Room, someone with a heart attack will have their care prioritized over a patient with a broken foot. Shi presented triage through three lenses: utilitarianism, or what benefits the most people, egalitarianism, or what helps those most in need, and solidarity, which is mutual respect and prioritization for those inside a particular society.

During her independent study, Shi had groups of students analyze medical situations using these three ethical lenses.

Then, she discussed how triage was applied during the Ebola and Zika virus pandemics and the inequalities present in those distributions. For example, women who had the Zika virus and recovered, before later getting pregnant, gave birth to children with neurological defects. Instead of prioritizing women — who had the most significant long term effects — when studying and treating the virus, some countries did not make a large distinction in which patients received immediate care. The misuse of triage in this instance caused the Zika virus to have greater impacts on the communities it affected.

Shi first became interested in this topic during her sophomore process was narrowing the scope of her project, as global health year in a unit about science and technology in her French class, ethics is a vast field of study. “For the first quarter, I explored where she learned how different countries respond to scientific how cultural differences impact clinical research and trials,” she research, Shi said. In her class, she discovered that there are no said. From there, she focused on public health emergencies such legally-binding universal frameworks through which people as the Ebola and Zika virus responses. look at global health ethics, Shi said.

This project has inspired Shi to look for interdisciplinary Later, while researching for her Junior Research Paper approaches to studying science, as she has enjoyed looking at in English 11, Shi focused on how the public perceives this topic through political, social, and ethical lenses, Shi said. pandemics and the different factors that go into how healthcare “I want to continue to study many different fields to understand organizations, the government, and the media respond to those how they come together in avenues like this.” perceptions. That research made her realize how important it is Courtesy of Emily Shi to understand the technical science of response efforts to public health crises while also considering the underlying ethics and cultural impacts, connecting multiple fields that Shi took an interest in, she said.

Science Department Chair Dr. Lisa Rosenblum is Shi’s mentor.

The two meet weekly to discuss Shi’s research and progress.

During their sessions, Shi begins by sharing her research from the past week.

“Dr. Rosenblum has been incredibly helpful because I normally have so many different ideas that I want to explore, and she helps me take a step back to understand how they all intersect,” she said.

Rosenblum thinks of herself as a guide for Shi during her research, she said. Shi came in with very broad ideas of topics she wanted to research, and Rosenblum helped her create a roadmap to structure the development of her independent study for both the first and second semesters, Rosenblum said.

For Shi, the most difficult part of the independent study GROUND WORK Shi (12) explains the basics of ethics in triage.

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HORACE MANN ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT & MIDDLE DIVISION JANUARY 22ND, 2021

Community Gallery showcases student and faculty art Ariella Frommer and Erica Jiang Contributing Writers The Community Gallery, which debuted online this week, uses various mediums of art — including baking, photography and sketching — to connect members of the community with one another, art teacher Lombardo said.

“We didn’t have access to the physical space in Fisher, and we wanted to take it a step further and open up the gallery to everyone in the community.”

Courtesy of the Community Gallery

REFLECTIONS Louise Kim’s (10) self portrait.

Courtesy of the Community Gallery

FLORA Ennis Smith’s Flowers Behind Bars.

Lombardo first thought of creating a community gallery last March. Since then, she has been gathering artwork from members of the school community, which ultimately culminated in the creation of the school’s Community Gallery.

The art within the gallery has fostered a sense of community, Nursery Division administrative assistant Katharine Swibold said. “I like being connected to the people, so I thought it was such a nice thing to make this space for all of us to express ourselves,” she said.

During quarantine, artists in the community have had more time to hone their skills and produce art, Louise Kim (10) said. Kim has spent her free time in HM Online 2.0 painting on her easel and drawing, she said.

Kim contributed three pieces to the gallery: a self-portrait with a mask, a photograph of a building reflecting the skyline, and a picture of a home-cooked meal. Kim said the portrait encourages people to “re-examine or reflect on what we see as people or faces,” as masks can blanket one’s expressions and blur one’s perception of others. “I wanted to contribute something to that collective awareness of art,

and how it expresses this moment and other emotions or feelings that are best expressed in art,” Kim said.

The quarantine has allowed Swibold to focus on her baking in a more intense way.

“It’s therapy,” Swibold said. “I like creating something, eating it, and I love sharing it with other people.”

Art teacher Kim Do has had time to meet with a group of friends to paint over Zoom, he said. “Over about eight or nine sessions, I

painted each of the individual artists,” he said.

Two of Do’s works, titled “Zoom Painting With Artist Friends,” have been added to the gallery.

Do said that art tries to address the same “why” questions that philosophy and religion try to answer. “Art expands our notion of what the world could be or what the world is.”

Two of administrative assistant Ennis Smith’s contributions to the gallery, both titled “Flowers Behind Bars,” are photos of flowers behind a fence. They represent the many pleasures that were lost during the pandemic including community gardens, Smith said.

“Suddenly it’s spring and all this beauty is available to us, yet the beauty is kind of on lockdown.”

The Community Gallery was a great opportunity to showcase his work, Smith said. “I had realized very early on that there were things about COVID that I didn’t want to forget, and so you just find yourself taking pictures of things that we ordinarily would probably just kind of walk by.”

The artwork in the community gallery reflects the art program at the school and its wonderful participants, Do said. “They’re not Courtesy of the Community Gallery

Courtesy of the Community Gallery

Rhys Shepherd (12) did not pursue his interest in photography as often during quarantine. “I don’t go out as much, and I’m not getting into the city and being around a lot of interesting subjects and places to take photos,” he said. “Time, yes. Motivation, no.”

Courtesy of the Community Gallery

SPINDLE Rhys Shepherd’s (12) photograph.

Still, Shepherd appreciates that the gallery has many different types of artwork from students in each grade. “Art is self expression, so I think being able to represent all the different student’s ideas and the way they see photography is nice and important,” he said.

Smith realized that much of the art in the Community Gallery depict similar subjects, he said. “It seems to be things that make us feel more at home, like bread baking.”

Raghav Poddar (9) said it was inspiring to see all of the different art forms in the gallery. “I expected to see mostly drawings and paintings, but upon opening the HM Community Gallery,” he said. “I was reminded that art is an application of our creative and imaginative skill.”

Courtesy of the Community Gallery

DAILY BREAD Katherine Swibold’s bread.

PAINTING Raghav Poddar’s (9) artwork.

just talented, but they’re also hard working.”

While the Community Gallery is an illustration of all the art made in quarantine, Lombardo said that not all artists had the ability to create all day long. “There’s a lot of pressure on artists to be able to produce more because of what’s going on now, but it’s not reasonable to discount artists’ anxiety as well.”

ART Kim Do’s Zoom Painting With Artist Friends.

MD introduces “Stamped” to history curriculum Owen Heidings and Emily Salzhauer Contributing Writers

over the remainder of the school year, history teacher Catherine Garrison said. “Through ‘Stamped,’ we are getting an idea of what really formed racism in America,” Garrison said.

All Middle Division (MD) students are reading “Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi as one of the new anti-racism initiatives implemented by the MD this year, said Head of MD History Department Eva Abbamonte. Seventh and eighth graders read the book over the summer, and sixth graders have just begun the book, she said.

“Stamped” is a young-adult book that discusses the history of racism in America. By teaching students about the past, students are inspired to support an anti-racist future, she said.

The book is based on Kendi’s adult book “Stamped from the Beginning” but is written in a way that is engaging for younger students, Abbamonte said. The book deals with a sensitive topic in a way that is digestible for younger students, incorporating humor to make harsher moments more lighthearted, she said.

“Stamped” is an enjoyable read because its language is easy to grasp, Grace Merchant (6) said. “It is a book about history — but it isn’t about history with dates and numbers,” she said. “It talks about racism through dialogue and stories.”

The MD administration chose to incorporate this particular book into the curriculum after librarian Rachael Ricker and the Readers’ Forum club picked Reynolds as their Mock Newbury speaker last year. Reynolds was already planning on speaking to the school this year about his other works, Abbamonte said. When the administration found out about Kendi and Reynolds’ new book, “Stamped,” they decided it would be a work worthwhile for all MD students, as its material is more pertinent now than ever before, Abbamonte said.

The sixth graders will continue to read sections of the book

Felix Brener /Staff Artist

The lessons learned in “Stamped” are woven into seventh grade class discussions, especially when they relate to segregation or

racism, Zach Hornfeld (7) said.

Teachers are steering away from a Eurocentric perspective in sixth-grade history class, which covers the colonization and settlement of the Americas, Garrison said. “We have been using a number of different resources trying to decentralize whiteness in our curriculum,” she said.

Teachers are working towards incorporating more stories about people of color into the curriculum, especially those that do not highlight their oppression, Garrison said. For example, students in the sixth grade are looking at Native American cultures that were successful before European contact, she said.

“We have framed it as ‘unsettling’ the Americas rather than ‘settling’ them, and we’re looking at how disruptive European arrival was to the cultures already residing here.”

Leah Marquardt (8) said the book was informative and relevant to current events. “I learned that racism can come in different forms, and I learned a lot more about the backstory and history of racism, and how many people were judged just by the color of their skin rather than actually getting to know them,” Marquardt said.

There have been mostly positive responses among MD students. Many of them, like Merchant, have enjoyed the new curriculum. “Anti-racist initiatives should expand so that more people are aware of what’s happening in the world around us,” Merchant said.

“All the new anti-racism initiatives in the MD are, in my opinion, important,” Hornfeld said. “There are some students who might not feel comfortable discussing the topic, and the school helps break it down simply.”

The school is likely to keep using the book in the future as an approach to help students understand the history of racism in the United States, Abbamonte said.