The Leadership of the Class of 2023
The French philosopher Simone Weil argued that one of the principal benefits of education was the development of the capacity to pay attention. In this, Weil did not mean “attention” as task orientation or task initiation, or the ability to manage multiple challenging subjects simultaneously, even as those qualities are useful, perhaps even essential, in formal schooling. It was, instead, an understanding that real attention (and, therefore, real education) is motivated not by competition or production or even achievement, but by the pleasure and the joy inherent in truly seeing other people. This capacity to recognize others in their full humanity, to ask “What are you going through?” with sincerity was, Weil believed, rare and difficult—and thus all the more rewarding when realized.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve asked the Grade 12 guys to join me for lunch in my office, simply to give me the chance to check in with them at the halfway point of their final year behind the Red Doors. January is a tough time for any student—who really wants to trade the more relaxed pace of Winter Break for a return to the cold, dark, early commutes of the school day?—and for seniors, there are the added stresses of college applications, end-of-semester assessments, and weighty commitments to extracurricular activities. Our oldest students, then, could be forgiven if they weren’t really keen to have their temperature taken by the Head of School when they just wanted to eat a sandwich in peace. But during the course of a half-dozen gatherings, Browning’s seniors gave me a conversational patience, honesty, and generosity that inspired me, challenged me—and put me in mind of Simone Weil.
Our seniors are a group of young men who have done some remarkable things in and around the classroom; indeed, they have excelled in a challenging curriculum, they have enriched our school through their artistic and athletic talents, they have been the pioneering group in our Certificates of Distinction program, and they bring incredible skill to Robotics and Mock Trial and a host of other endeavors. In my office, however, conversation with these guys revealed not so much their brilliance as students, but rather the degree to which they understand their school community and their journey through it. There was certainly an element of nostalgia in their reflections, as they looked back with affection on shared events, beloved teachers, and vital rituals, but they were most enthusiastic when they used their own experiences to reflect on how others are presently traveling through Browning. Our seniors recognized that the sense of closeness and purpose that their class now feels was a hard-won thing, something that only fully emerged when they learned how to listen and to care about—how to really pay attention—to perspectives and stories other than their own.
“These 32 boys understand education as not only preparing them for college, but also showing them the joy and possibility in seeing, extending, and affirming the shared humanity all around them.”
And in asserting that the importance of Browning has more to do with qualities like decency and dignity and compassion than even its intellectual wattage or artistic ability or athletic prowess, our oldest boys staked out territory very close to that which Weil describes. To be sure, they resisted hagiography, as they recounted the times when they themselves didn’t pay attention, or when others didn’t pay attention to them. They were also eloquent and intentional in reminding all of us that today, there are boys and adults who live in our community who may still feel unseen, who do not believe that others are curious about what they’re going through, and that we can’t feel ourselves a healthy school—or, as Weil might say, as truly educated—until we extend that curiosity with a senses of mutual regard, hope, and joy.
In all kinds of ways, the Class of ’23 can be considered successful: They endured a high school journey syncopated by the pandemic; they have realized significant academic accomplishments; they have distinguished themselves in extracurricular pursuits; they will thrive in higher education. All of these give us ample reason to be proud of them. But two weeks’ worth of lunches with the senior class has shown me that I can be prouder still of their capacity for paying attention. These 32 boys understand education as not only preparing them for college, but also showing them the joy and possibility in seeing, extending, and affirming the shared humanity all around them. They are a credit to themselves, our mission, and to all who have been fortunate enough to work with them.