Why Boys Need Authenticity
November 7, 2019
It’s October, and school is in full swing, with field trips, athletic competitions, and artistic performances rounding out the academic days of our boys. It is also the heart of our admissions season, which only adds to the excitement in our building, as our enrollment officers create incoming classes of talented, curious, and caring boys who will become the gentlemen of intellect and integrity that are central to our mission.
My own contribution to the admissions process is a comparatively minor one, but it often provides real affirmation about the strengths and direction of our community. Three days a week, from mid-September through the end of January, Head of Lower School Laurie Gruhn and I meet with six to 12 applicant families for an hour of conversation and hear the hopes and aspirations that parents have for their boys as they explore independent education.
During the course of a season, I may sit with over 200 admissions visitors and two themes invariably emerge. First, parents appreciate the programmatic strengths that current Browning boys and families know, such as a demanding liberal arts curriculum, significant commitment to exploring the importance of character, equity and purpose in living well, and an invitation to all boys to participate widely in our arts, athletics, leadership, and service-learning opportunities.
“Authentic self-understanding furnishes a boy with the ability to comprehend his place in the world, and to both find and create meaning within it. ”
Second, our guests almost always witness (in our hallways and classrooms) or intuit the power of relationships in our community. They talk about the warmth of faculty and staff, the trust the boys develop in one another, and the belief that we want every boy’s story to matter as he learns who he can be at school and in the world. Given the centrality of relationships to our intellectual and ethical pursuits--we simply cannot deliver on our mission without them--it is powerfully affirming to hear their worth described by our applicant families.
Our busy admissions season is surely an inspirational time, for it gives all of us involved an opportunity to share with new friends (and remind ourselves of) what we know to be true: That in challenging him intellectually and supporting his ethical development, a Browning education helps a boy deepen his relationships, broaden his understanding, and empowers him to contribute meaningfully to our world, preparing him well for life beyond our red doors.