Qua

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2012

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“ Quakerism is not easily reduced to a simple definition or a simple credo. It is a clear and reasoned approach to life, a way to be open to and honest with the world, a way to acknowledge multiple voices and multiple viewpoints, a way to be contemporary while rooted in simple, basic values, a way to being what Friends term “in right relationship with the world.”

Rose Hagan, Friends Select School

“ It is my hope that we all will be truth-telling, that we all will be fair, that we all will act honestly with each other, and that our relationships with each other will all be upright, reflecting the inner light found within all of us.”

Darryl Ford, William Penn Charter School

“ We strongly believe that the development of character is the foundation on which all else depends. By educating this way, we ask all members of our school community to live more fully in the truth, to understand that moral agency does make a difference in the world.”

William Morris, Jr., Friends Academy

“ Cambridge Friends School honored Andy Towl [one of the school’s founders] on the occasion of his 100th birthday at an all-school meeting for worship. We have been most fortunate to be able to learn from Andy. He reminded us that within each one of us, there is an inner light; that it is our job as teachers, students, and parents to help that light glow, to cultivate each person’s capacity to find and respond to truth, wisdom, and love; and that this is our best preparation for a life of purpose and meaning. As Andy noted in his impromptu remarks at the close of the meeting: ‘Thank you, Cambridge Friends, for helping to provide the words to help us understand our true selves . . . and our being true to ourselves and being true to truth is such a tremendously important thing that you all are learning day-by-day.’”

Peter Sommers, Cambridge Friends School

“ As we prepare to gather for New England Yearly Meeting, we are called as people of faith to live with integrity, to ask hard questions, and to hold each other firmly and lovingly accountable. This means stopping to ask: How do we move deeper into personal witness and collective action? How does our work and witness impact our neighbors, our meeting, our community, our county, and the earth? How are we called to change our behavior? What is God calling us to do next? Choosing integrity means faithfully taking those risky steps into unknown and difficult places for the sake of truth.”

Jacqueline Stillwell, former Head, The Meeting SchoolPresiding Clerk, New England Yearly Meeting

The search for truth is “a lifelong pact with our inner lives that encompasses seeking the truth, speaking the truth, and living the truth — which is to say, letting our lives speak.” Robert Smith, former Head, Sidwell Friends School

Author of A Quaker Book of Wisdom

With the truth as our guideHeads of Quaker schools speak to the testimony of integrityThe testimony of integrity is one of the pillars of Quaker faith and education. Here, current and former Heads of Friends schools offer brief reflections on the centrality of this testimony to our everyday lives both in and outside the school setting.

Through speakers, worship sharing, and discussion groups, William Penn Charter School recently focused on integrity as the

Testimony of the Year. The campus banners are a way to “make Quakerism visible” to the school community and visitors.

FA L L 2 0 1 2

Chronicles of Quaker Education FA L L 2 0 1 2

Students at Greene Street Friends School (Philadelphia, PA) receive applause through traditional means like a performance or sporting event, but they are often most pleased by a different kind of applause — a note mailed home from one of their teachers.

Faculty seek to “catch students doing right,” which is much more uplifting and rewarding than looking for wrongdoing. When teachers witness a student putting a school value into practice or acting with integrity, they capture the event and its impact in writing.

One student received a written “applause” when his teacher overheard him firmly (yet respectfully) resist a peer’s pressure to do an inappropriate web search. Another student was “applauded” for facing her fear of heights by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge with her class. After losing a writing project, a student’s unflappable perseverance earned another student “applause.”

In all, 92 applauses were written in the 2011 – 2012 school year — nearly four times greater than the number of negative behavior incidents.

Integrity, like trust, is so hard to define, yet so obvious when absent. The GSFS applauses place the spotlight where it belongs — on the acts of empathy, integrity, inclusiveness, advocacy, mentoring, leadership, resilience, self-improvement, and forgiveness that result when students let their lives speak.

At Wilmington Friends (Wilmington, DE), one of the most powerful and visible examples of students reflecting on integrity is in our discipline process. Those who have violated a core value of the community come before a committee of their peers. This group prepares queries for the student and spends all the time necessary, often in silent expectation, to gain the fullest understanding of the infraction. The committee and the Dean

Letting one’s life speak

The testimony of integrity at work in Friends schoolsFriends’ testimony on integrity seems so clear and straightforward: be honest, be true, talk the talk and walk the walk, let your life speak. When Friends Council invited Friends school educators to reflect on this focusing theme for the fall issue of Chronicles of Quaker Education, we received a range of submissions lifting up how this testimony is put into action in schools. We read stories of individuals showing their true selves, of service to the wider community, and about the challenges of truth-telling when facing tough times. All of these topics come under the heading of integrity — which in Friends circles challenges us to constantly ask the question, “Are my actions aligned with my beliefs and my commitment to follow the leadings of Spirit?”

for Students then write specific questions for the student to answer in writing, which are meant to encourage the greatest learning and reflection. The outcome is not to punish but to encourage growth.

In the face-to-face meeting with the student and parents after any disciplinary consequence, everyone can feel the respect in the room — respect for the student, respect for mistakes made and lessons learned. Everyone who is part of the process benefits from the reminder that integrity must be cherished and honored in our community.

Integrity also is present in the Wilmington Friends community when we share with each other, opening up possibilities for further connection and dialogue. Several years ago, a group of students attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference at the People of Color Conference. When they returned, the students conducted a “stand up; sit down” exercise during one of our weekly meetings for worship: Participants were asked to stand if they shared any of a series of common attributes announced by a speaker.

At first, students seemed hesitant. Yet, in the context of silent worship, participation grew. The invitation to “stand if your parents will have to struggle to pay for a college education” — raising a normally taboo topic of class and financial status — led to scores of teachers and students standing from a feeling of solidarity and safety. Students organized this same activity another year, with similar success.

Mary McDowell Friends School (MMFS, Brooklyn, NY) begins each school year with a mini-unit focusing on a testimony. Exploring Quaker testimonies (SPICES) over the last several years has led us to believe that the testimony of integrity is the underpinning of all the testimonies, and a core testimony for our community.

Integrity, “letting one’s life speak,” summarizes MMFS’s mission to build on the strengths of students with learning disabilities to help them become successful learners. MMFS will revisit the testimony for the 2012 – 13 school year (first studied in 2005). All students will participate.

For example, the youngest will create a giant spider web, signifying how each student’s personal integrity links with and supports classmates, thereby creating community. Upper school students will study individuals who exemplify a life of integrity: 9th graders, Raoul Wallenberg; 10th graders, Elizabeth Cady Stanton; and 11th graders, Aung San Suu Kyi.

The trust and community nurtured during the mini-unit on integrity will prepare students with learning disabilities to take the risks necessary for learning. Education gives them the tools to “let their lives speak.” As expressed by an 8th grade student, “We are a community that has integrity because we strive to be who we say we are.”

Greene Street Friends School students let

their lives speak.

Students create an “integrity web” at Mary McDowell Friends to signify how each student’s personal integrity links with and supports classmates to create community.

First person: Alex Zinnes

Listening to the movement of SpiritMuch of my personal integrity involves deep awareness and attentive listening to the movement of Spirit in my life. In allowing myself to be open to receiving the Divine Guidance, I believe I am drawing a tiny bit closer to a more authentic and true purpose for myself.

About two years ago, I was teaching my 7th and 8th grade World History class at the Friends School of Atlanta. My focus was on Cuba, a country I have longed to visit since I was a young girl. I was conducting research for a lesson when I felt an intense wave of my longing to visit Cuba. Then, I received a strong, profoundly clear message or leading: “You need to get yourself to Cuba. You need to do this now.”

Following this genuine impulse of the Spirit, I connected to the Global Service Program at George School, which, under the direction of Fran Bradley, has been taking students to Cuba since the 1980s. That program allowed me to visit a Quaker community in Holguin, Cuba, in June 2011.

After this visit, I became more interested in pursuing international Quakerism. I felt that deepening my connection to international Friends would enrich me and my teaching, and would allow pathways to open in ways I could not yet imagine. "Where else is this leading taking me?" I wondered. I was willing to be led.

A very clear idea for an itinerary of countries to visit came to me: Cuba, Costa Rica, Kenya, England, and Palestine. Within 18 months of receiving my initial leading, I had visited all but Palestine. I am waiting for the way to open and lead me there.

I wrote and received a generous grant from the Sue Turner Memorial Fund to visit Quaker-founded Monteverde Friends School in Costa Rica in March 2012. While there I observed classes and listened to incredible stories about the founding of this remarkable Quaker community in a beautiful, rugged cloud forest in Monteverde.

In April 2012, I attended the FWCC World Conference in Nakuru, Kenya, a gathering of more than 850 Quakers from more than 50 countries in a once-in-a-generation experience that was endlessly fascinating, profoundly challenging, and immensely faith-deepening.

Most recently, in July 2012, I participated in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s remarkable pilgrimage experience to 1652 Country in the Lake District of England. I valued the experience of being in the places and spaces that inspired our faith into being. I learned more powerfully than ever what an act of defiance it was to be Quaker in the 1650s and beyond, and to think very deeply about my own commitment and faith.

I am not certain where this is all headed, what is being asked or expected of me to do. As I wrote in my journal in Cuba, perhaps I am not supposed to be figuring out a way of doing, but rather a way of being. And even as I find myself antsy or anxious for answers and information, I realize that I need to return to that deep awareness and attentive listening for leadings and guidance that arise from my heart.

I realize, too, that I simply need to stay open to receive because the answers are on their way.

Alex Zinnes teaches social studies to middle school students at the Friends School of Atlanta (Atlanta, GA).

w w w. f r i e n d s c o u n c i l . o r g

Resources Available from Friends Council on Education

Visit the bookstore online at www.friendscouncil.org

Advices and Queries for Friends School Community Life

Prepared by Sean Compagnucci for the Friends Council on Education Advices and Queries helps Friends

school administrators, faculty, and staff examine how their daily practices and interactions reflect

Quaker values.

Roots and Witness of QuakerismBy Stephen G. Cary

Adapted from a talk given by Stephen Cary, Roots and Witness identifies how

George Fox’s revelation has shaped the Religious Society of Friends and influenced the education of children

in Friends schools. It describes unprogrammed silent meeting

for worship, Friends method of conducting business, social witness, and the continual search for truth.

The Quaker Decision-Making Process: What is it? How do we use it in

a Quaker school?By Barbara Caldwell

This pamphlet explains the Quaker decision-making process and its applicability to school settings.

Philadelphia Friends SchoolsFriends Council on Education with

Janet Chance and Mark FranekUsing historic images, Philadelphia

Friends Schools tells the story of Friends schools’ mission to develop

the human capacity for love and goodwill, analysis and reflection,

respect and responsibility to others.

WelcomeNew Heads:

Beth Reaves* Friends School Mullica Hill, NJ

Jenny Rowe Friends School of Portland, ME

Brenda Esch Boggess Friends School of Wilmington, NC

Craig Sellers Friends’ Central School, PA

Cindy Schultz* Greenwood Friends School, PA

Clare Pitz* Harford Friends School, MD

Deni-lyn Lane London Grove Friends Kindergarten, PA

Francisco J. Burgos Monteverde Friends School, Costa Rica

Sarah Sweeney-Denham* Plymouth Meeting Friends School, PA

Nelson File The Friends’ School, Australia

Kate Lightfoot Wrightstown Friends Nursery School, PA

* Interim Head

Appreciation and best wishes on new journeys to the following Heads:

Bruce Haines, James Grumbach, Ethan Williamson, Jonathan Huxtable, John Blount, Deborah Kost,

Joanne Hoffman, Jean Dinneen, Cynthia Leahan.

News of Giving and SupportFriends Council Donors Share the LoveHave you ever noticed the “comments” section on our giving envelope? That’s a space for you to share your thoughts about Friends education and the work of Friends Council. Donors consistently give us positive feedback, which makes us feel deeply appreciated and loved. Here are some of the reasons people say they give to Friends Council:

Friends’ education best prepares our young people to live in today’s world and increases their spirituality. Friends Council is key in promoting this.

You are all helping us do this work. Thanks for everything you’re doing! It isn’t front-page news but it’s even more valuable.

I’m honored to become a sustaining annual fund contributor in appreciation of the professional development FCE provided for me.

Thank you for opening minds to nonviolent problem resolution, respect, and love of learning.

Friends Council is a beacon of light in a darkening era for education.

What’s YOUR reason for giving? Share your thoughts when you send in your gift. We value every voice and feel sustained by your support in every way.

To find out more, go to www.friendscouncil.org and click on “Make a Gift” or contact Amy Ward Brimmer by phone at (215) 241-7245 or via email at amy@friendscouncil.org.

Alex Zinnes at the top of Pendle Hill, UK, during the July 2012 Quaker pilgrimage.

CHRONICLES OF

Quaker Education

2012FALL

1507 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102215.241.7245 info@friendscouncil.org www.friendscouncil.org

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Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPhiladelphia, PAPermit No. 248

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2012 – 2013 Friends Council Workshops and Peer Network Gatherings Calendar

REGISTER NOW online at www.friendscouncil.org

WorkshopsEducators New to Quakerism, Pendle Hill. Three separate offerings: February 7 – 8, 2013;

March 7 – 8, 2013; May 2 – 3, 2013

Facilitating Quaker-Based Decision Making in a Friends School, November 5, 2012 with

Arthur Larrabee at Friends Center, Philadelphia

Mindfulness in Teaching & Learning based on Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Thursdays, October 25 to December 13, 2012

at Plymouth Meeting Friends School; Wednesdays, January 9 to March 6, 2013 at Stratford Friends School

SPARC, October 1 – 3, 2012, Chalfont Hotel, Cape May, NJ

Leadership Institute, November 7 – 9, 2012, Pendle Hill

Peer Network Events and Head GatheringsAnnual Fall Heads Gathering, October 4 – 5, 2012, Pendle Hill

Admissions Peer Network, May 17, 2013, Friends Center

Development & Public Relations Joint Peer Network, March 4, 2013, Friends Center

Diversity Peer Network, February 1, 2013, Friends Center

Division Directors & Assistant Heads Conference, November 16, 2012, Friends Center

Early Childhood Educators, April 19 – 20, 2013, Abington Friends School

Friends Environmental Educators Network (FEEN), May 2 – 3, 2013, Westtown School

Global Studies & Human Rights: Interdisciplinary Conference, December 3, 2012, William Penn Charter School

Heads’ Assistants Peer Network, November 8 – 9, 2012, Pendle Hill

Librarians Peer Network, February 25, 2013, Germantown Friends School

Quaker Life in Lower & Middle Schools, October 22, 2012, Friends Center

Quaker Youth Leadership Conference, February 7 – 9, 2013, Sidwell Friends School

Service Learning Peer Network, November 30, 2012, Friends Central School

Technology Peer Network, November 2, 2012, Friends CenterUS Religion Teachers, (See Global Studies & Human Rights: Interdisciplinary Conference)

NEW! Trustee U

Online courses for best practices in governance and leadership with experts in

good governance

FALL Generative Conversations: The Role

of Conflict in Good Governance, October 2, 16, 30, 2012

WINTERFiduciary Responsibility: Strategic Thinking for

Financial Sustainability, January 15, 29, and February 12, 2013

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