I followed two boys' lacrosse teams to Tilton yesterday, and Proctor won both games. What mattered, though, was that people on both teams played with respect for one another. We were on the same ethical plane, you might say.
Nineteen years ago, when the accrediting team from the New England Association of Schools & Colleges was on campus and asked us how we cultivated spirituality at Proctor, they loved our neo-unitarian response: it's all about relationships between people...here and now...values...the way we treat one another. Not preaching. Not rationalizing scripture.
Yesterday two girls lacrosse teams went to a school that will remain nameless and had bad experiences. We were not on the field for the same reason, you might say. Lots of things... An opposing coach, for example, behaved so poorly...chewing out refs, storming in front of our team's bench, etc., that he was yellow-carded and ordered to stand behind his own team. The teams tied 2-2, but everyone suffered. Oh, yeah: he is that school's chaplain....
Contrast that hypocrisy with the values offered by candidates for next year's School Leader. Speeches were delivered in today's assembly. Honest, caring, heartfelt.
