All right, students: complete this sentence: "It is the mission of Proctor Academy to…."

Proctor enjoys a reputation as a school with a highly defined mission. Why is it, then, that we have a tough time agreeing on the exact words to convey it? It occurs to me that there’s a distinction between the mission statement and the mission. The former--in our case--is a carefully crafted expression of what we do here. Proctor’s mission, however, exists not in the front of the Green Book, but in the minds of thousands of people. How alumni, parents and friends understand the mission is important, but the rubber meets the road in the relationship between a teacher and a student. The teacher’s behavior, decisions, demands, support, etc. actualize his/her internalized understanding of the mission.

It seems to me that Proctor is like a mature tree, with lots of highly-evolved branches--that lead to other branches--that lead to twigs bearing leaves and flowers. Different people view the tree from different angles--seeing branches called "diversity," and "experiential methods," and "support," and "environment," and disagree over these peripheral manifestations. (What is the proper role of athletics?) Behind all of this foliage, however, is a single massive trunk that has been growing for a long time. Perhaps it is a good thing that we cannot complete the sentence at the top with one simple phrase. But it is only words that fail us.