When we describe Proctor as "supportive," the term transcends the notion of academic structure or extra help. The ethos of the place is supportive; we are here pulling for one another's success.
This is a great strength, but being supportive carries risk. Working together to accomplish great things fosters intense relationships and friendships of considerable weight and significance. Students live by rules that apply to all without regard to our personal bonds, and when a much-loved student makes a critical mistake--as happened this weekend--his dismissal from school leaves dozens of people reeling with painful emotions. We are desperately honest about things, and Steve confirmed the incident in Monday's assembly. This was followed by an emotional plea by the kid's advisor for students to work together to value and protect their time here.
Brooks Bicknell offered a set of readings that used climbing as a metaphor for teamwork and the rewards of delayed gratification. Here's Brooks's Proctor Mountaineering team on an ice climbing excursion last Sunday:
As a distinctly human community, Proctor aspires to greatness without any pretense of perfection. Good people make mistakes, and mistakes affect many. Today's lesson is to look out for one another...to act as a team working for the best in each of us.
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