Photo Credit @Kelsey Kobik Photography
My experience leaving Germantown Friends School and settling into Friends School of Portland has had me contemplating (and treasuring!) how special it is to work in Quaker education. For me, I keep coming back to how the experience of learning at a Quaker school is transformed by the conscientious blend of love, joy, and the courage to face the truth. There is both an openness and certainty that comes from finding stillness before action. Also, I am galvanized by the collective commitment to individuality and kindness. I was curious to learn what others feel is unique and special. I asked a few faculty, former teachers, and board members "What does it mean to be a Friends School?"
Power Comes in Finding Stillness
Linda, educator and Aftercare coordinator:
“One of the benefits of working at a Friends School is the tradition of silence before meetings and gatherings. In a very busy world sitting in the peace of a quiet room has helped to center my mind leaving space to delve deeply into questions that are seeking answers. Quaker Silence is a wonderful gift to my spirit.”
Learning to Listen Deeply with Respect and Trust
Nicole Favreau, current 3-4 teacher:
“Being a Friend's School means listening to the sense of the group, being willing to stand aside when necessary, and valuing that truth is collectively revealed. It means living in the pause, confronting discomfort directly, forgiving yourself and others again and again, and trusting in the integrity of intentions. Being a Friends School means centering your work around what is ‘well’ and witnessing the joy that comes from seeing and valuing others for who they are.”
Lea Sutton, former preschool teacher:
“Quakers believe that there is a spark of the divine in every person. That belief makes it imperative that all be valued, even when there are differences. There is faith that it is possible to come to unity when there is conflict. This requires deep listening, patience, and respect. When children see these things being modeled every day, and when they are helped to learn them, the future can be changed in powerful and joyful ways. May it ever be so.”
Letting Students Be Their Whole Selves
Ashley Blake, current preschool teacher:
“FSP and Quaker-rooted education have changed my view on education forever… There is a steady, persistent hum of respect that echoes in the hallways at FSP every day… Educators at FSP honor each individual child for who they are, which provides them the solid foundation of relationship and trust to root themselves in as they learn and grow. Children are active partners in their educational experiences from preschool to 8th grade. The school’s community takes care of each other in a way that I’ve never experienced. It starts from the top and the children emulate it… The educational experiences at FSP are rooted in respect, are focused on the whole child, and truly are nurturing ‘joyful learning’ in students.”
James, former head of FSP and current board member:
“In my experience what has been a common thread in the Quaker schools I have known is that kids can be their authentic selves… The community accepts them as they are; they develop a sense of self as they learn to accept others in the same way. I also believe that the flattened hierarchy not only for administrators and faculty… but for kids and adults… allows kids to know adults and, more importantly, find their voices when talking to adults. All of this, of course, stems from the underlying mission of looking for that of God in everyone... and doing it cheerfully.”
Being “Patterns of Integrity”
Kirk, current board member:
"Quakerism shapes the most kind, reflective, and grounded educational ethos I can imagine. We are called to answer to what is divine in all our students and colleagues; to be patterns of integrity; to arrive with love as our first and guiding motion. What a joy for our teachers to work in that kind of community. As a Quaker and a teacher working at a non-Quaker institution, I envy that sense of loving community, yet live it daily to the best of my ability."
Letting Love Transform and Letting Everyone Contribute to the Discovery of Truth
Mary Tracy, founding teacher:
“A Quaker school believes love is a transforming power, that students will learn best when they are held to high standards as learners and as members of a loving and respectful community. A Quaker school embraces continuing revelation as an exciting process of exploration and discovery, and believes that each member of the school community is capable of revealing another facet of Truth. A Quaker school knows that humans thrive on learning and that learning is fun.”
Nell, Director of Studies:
“At a Quaker school, community isn’t an add-on: it’s at the center. The expectation that we’re all learners and seekers is baked in. It makes for a different kind of education where we’re all questioning together and none of us are expected to have the truth all figured out.”