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THE ROEPER PHILOSOPHY: WHY STUDY IT?
KIT THE ROEPER PHILOSOPHY: WHY STUDY IT? Marcia Ruff School Historian
This fall was the ninth year of the Roeper History and Philosophy classes. The classes were initiated in 2010 by RPC members, who formed a committee that was chaired by parent Christine Lyon. Over the years, the classes have become a valuable way for parents, teachers and students to develop a deeper understanding of the Philosophy and, in turn, ensure that the Philosophy remains a core element of the school.
“Emery (Pence) gave a Coffee Talk on the history, and he talked about the Roepers, both of whom he knew well,” Christine said, when asked recently about the origins of the classes. “I think he was deliberately letting the story seep into us, and we were all, how will we keep this going when the Roepers are gone? And he said, we should talk about that.”
A group of interested parents started “talking about that” during the 2010/11 school year with Emery, whose position at the time was Alumni Director and Philosophy Dude, and with me, who had become the School Historian in 2008. At the time, historical materials were not readily available, and definitions of the Roeper Philosophy were more personal and less rooted in primary sources.
At the same time, a number of factors had created uncertainty about the role of the philosophy at the school. Two of the directors at the time were relatively new; the Head, Randall Dunn, was leaving after seven years for a headship elsewhere; and an Interim Head was coming in for the 2011/12 school year. In addition, Annemarie had become too frail to travel to the school as she had been doing over the years.
The committee members wanted to develop a solid understanding of the Roeper Philosophy and a common language so that conversations about decisions and policies were rooted in a mutual agreement about the meaning of the Philosophy.
By the end of the year, the committee, Emery, and I had developed a History and Philosophy class to be offered the next school year. It included a history of the people and ideas behind the development of our Philosophy; an exploration of the qualities that need to be present at the school for the Philosophy to thrive, such as respect, relationships, challenge, diversity, and empowerment; and scenarios of incidents that had occurred at the school that were discussed from the perspective of the Philosophy.
Enthusiastic crusaders, we designed the first History and Philosophy class as a six-hour class, broken into two three-hour sessions. (The class has since been pared down to three hours total.)
At the Philosophy in Practice class held on November 9, teachers Aaron Robinson, Susannah Nichols, and Michelle Lane talked about the ways the Philosophy guides their curriculum choices, their relationships with their students, and their own personal development as teachers and people.
pants to discuss their own understanding and experience of giftedness within the context of the Philosophy.
The classes have become an integral part of the school’s extensive Parent Education program. At the same time the Philosophy Committee was developing the classes, another parent, Nancy Nolan, stepped up to develop the Coffee Talks into the substantive educational opportunities we have today. The current RPC Vice President for Education, Megan Safford Nishiburi, works with the rest of the RPC leadership to provide enthusiastic insight, support and hospitality for the classes and Coffee Talks. And even though Emery retired at the end of the 2017-/8 school year, he continues to teach the classes, because each class is a chance to refresh our appreciation for the Philosophy through new perspectives.
There were 52 attendees for the first classes in 2011, consisting of new and long-term parents, faculty, staff and board members.
Asked why they came, attendees listed a number of reasons:
to be able to articulate what makes this place different; to build a stronger, more knowledgeable parent community to support student and teacher efforts; to make sure we remain true to our Philosophy in the future; to better understand how the Philosophy comes into play in handling specific issues at the school.
Over the years, two additional classes were added. The first was The Philosophy in Practice, in which teachers speak about the ways they incorporate the Philosophy into their teaching. The class was Christine’s brainchild. “I was very lucky at the time to be a young mother of three children and able to spend time at the school,” she said. “I knew that teachers had all these wonderful stories and that parents wouldn’t understand unless they learned it from the teachers themselves.”
The second class is The Intersection of the Philosophy and Giftedness, which allows particiIt’s reassuring that the original goals for the class have continued to be relevant. Asked what she gained from attending this year’s History and Philosophy class, parent Lauren Stevenson said, “I really appreciated learning about the history of Roeper but also about the mission. I’ve been a part of the Roeper community for five years and sometimes you forget what initially drew you to the school as you’re dealing with everyday issues, so I appreciated that reminder.”
Another goal for the class has been to bring people together in the community, and that also continues to happen. New parent Ann Williams commented that she gained “a better understanding of the history and the Roepers’ mission for the school, and that it is a living, breathing thing. I met new people and felt accepted and appreciated.”
The Roeper Philosophy was shaped by the life experiences of George and Annemarie Roeper and Annemarie’s parents, Max and Gertrud Bondy. They were confronted by the greatest crises of the 20 th century and forced to leave their own country to make a life as refugees in the United States. Despite those experiences, they exuded a resilience and belief in the essential goodness of humanity and developed a warm, humanistic educational model to support and nurture that potential. This Philosophy is indeed a “living, breathing thing,” and it is deeply rewarding to study it so that we can in turn live it. F
