Last week, a family revisiting Proctor got in their car and started out of town after seven hours on campus. The parents expected the usual silence from their son, but--by the time they passed Pizza Chef--(according to the mother,) the boy blurted out, "I'm going there." "What made your decision?" mom asked. "The kids like each other," he replied.
This was not what the parents were expecting. The kid is into environmental stuff, and is a sailor...so Ocean Classroom might be a factor, and he had been excited by the fact that there is a theme dorm dedicated to environmental issues. For their own reasons, they had hoped he would choose Proctor, but this was a surprise.
It is true that Proctor has a social climate that does not exist anywhere else. It's not perfect, but it is good enough, and healthy enough, that people will sacrifice huge personal resources to have their children live within it.
Small groups, like advisee groups, are a part of the equation. This is Dougo's, demonstrating the importance of sugary foods to Tuesday advisory period....
And we have 20 small dormitories, averaging about twelve kids. But those of us who are on the inside know that that is just a minor, contributing factor to Proctor's appeal. This is Eric Viandier's advisee group meeting.
When a visitor ends up choosing the school because "the kids like each other," as I was told by this parent, that's an emotional reaction to an experience, and the experience was one of community. This is Michael's advisee group heading over to Jake's for some sugary treats.
Proctor's social climate would be tough to replicate elsewhere, because it is the current manifestation of something that has been respected and nurtured over time. A long time! Zack and Ned work on a tendon/ligament dissection:
I stumbled on these kids peer tutoring before an honors math class yesterday.
Years ago, when I was Director of Admission, it occurred to me that Proctor was a great school for kids with passions like unicycling and juggling... skills that revealed real focussed character.
Nothing has changed that sentiment. Proctor is a school where--according to a recent visitor--the students like each other. That may be because they are allowed the freedom to be individuals.
