The One About Why We Go To School

From Tom Gibian's welcome at the Beginning of Year All-School Assembly, Sept. 17, 2019.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone: faculty and staff, seniors, their buddies, all of the other students and any parents who have snuck in. (There are always a few.) My welcome goes to all of us who are glad to be back and, especially, those of us who are attending our first All-School Assembly. This is where are traditions are on display, our enthusiasm is evident and where we celebrate those of us who actually enjoy singing and dancing in front of a big crowd wowing us with how they make and share beauty.   
 
First, let me explain one thing. We outgrew the PAC. So bear with us as we make this very big space feel like the place where we should have all-school assemblies. We promise that we will make it work.
 
Besides welcoming everyone back I want to share an idea with all of you. I’ll start by asking a question. Were you glad summer vacation ended and it was time to come back to school?  I don’t know a single teacher who doesn’t like summer vacation. And I don’t know a single teacher who isn’t excited by the beginning of a new year. Why? Because Sandy Spring Friends School teachers have answered a calling and for them, for us, we don’t want to be anywhere else doing anything else. This is our home. 
 
What about the students? Are you excited about being with your friends? Your classmates? Your teammates? Your teachers? Your crew? When I was a kid, adults would ask me what was my favorite class or my favorite subject. I always answered gym. Or lunch. Or recess.  Often, this was the end of the conversation. Actually, I now have a better understanding of my answer. I liked to play. I liked being with my friends. I liked being on a team. I liked working together, collaborating, problem solving, shooting the breeze, being part of a community. I may not have been the best trombone player or the first one to raise my hand in math class or a straight “A” student, but I was learning how to connect, how to argue, how to listen, how to question, how to understand others, how to reflect, how to act. I was learning about boundaries, about random acts of kindness, about the trauma of bullying and the magic created by a smile. In other words, I was learning all the things that I have needed for the life I have led.
 
At the time, no one told me that helping a new student find their classroom, or inviting someone I did not know to sit at my lunch table would be more important than knowing who Copernicus was. That is not to say that Copernicus was not important or that facts do not matter or that content is irrelevant. What we teach here and what we learn here, our academic studies,  are super important. Knowing things is part and parcel to knowing yourself.  Knowing things and being able to learn new things gives us standing in the public square as we seek to understand how to contribute to civil society so that our country can be more fair, more equal, more sustainable, more hopeful.
 
So, we are here for two vital things. One is to learn and to learn how to learn. The other is to connect; with each other and all those around you. Each of you have everything you need to do this already built in, baked in, it comes as standard equipment. Your great natural talent is within you. Your Light burns bright. I can’t wait to see how much you discover this year, how much you contribute to our beloved community, how high you will ascend.
 
Have a great year. We love you.