Dear MHS Parents:

Teaching at an independent school requires a certain belief in the
importance of community and personal investiture in the teaching and
learning process. The faculty here works hard to foster and encourage both.
Equally, all of you have come to Mooreland Hill School because of similar
beliefs and also work hard to support the mission of the school.

While Mooreland is not the first, nor the only school in which parents thank
teachers for their dedication and effort on behalf of their children, the
manner and genuine quality of your expression of thanks was and is very much
appreciated. From the tokens of gratitude to the sentiments expressed on the
accompanying notes to the four-course luncheon on Wednesday, we consider
ourselves lucky to have such a supportive parent group.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to do make Teacher
Appreciation Week so meaningful for all of us.

Mike Dooman
Headmaster

February 8, 2013:  From the desk of the Headmaster…

Scire Valere

Knowledge (Understanding) is Strength

I have a saw, an “old saw” for that matter. It’s on the verge of getting rusty and a little bit duller each time it’s put to use. I know this because when I pull it out, people who have seen me wield it begin to groan sometimes quietly and at other times audibly. My “old saw” is of the semantic variety, and it is localized in Kensington, specifically at Mooreland Hill School.

Growing up in the Mooreland community, I was used to hearing the school’s Latin motto frequently. I must admit, I never thought much about it as I studied the language. I could translate it. I could explain it. I’m not sure I ever thought about it the way that I finally did years later when by chance I considered the words from a fresh point of view.

Mooreland Hill’s motto: Scire Valere. Students of Latin would know that this motto is constructed using two infinitives in the present tense, active voice. In between, as was customary in Roman times, was the implied use of the verb to be. Literally translated for the English speaker, “To know is to be strong.”

The infinitives, in this case, are substitutes for the nominative (subjective) case of the gerund form derived from verbs. The Latin language, for whatever reason, does not have a nominative form for the gerund. Perhaps, Roman linguists believed that the infinitive form was plenty to memorize for young American Latin students centuries in the future. In English (as in Latin), the gerund is a verbal noun expressed with the suffix “–ing”. Thus, a better translation of the motto might be “Knowing is being strong,” leading then to the final translation into good English: “Knowledge is Strength.”

Scire Valere: Knowledge is Strength. This translation seems reasonable if we leave it as is, but this is where I begin to lose sleep. My problem with the translation is not with the linguistic version of the phrase, but the implication of the word to know. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the verb to know this way:

1. To perceive directly; grasp in the mind with clarity or certainty.

2. To regard as true beyond doubt: I know she won’t fail.

3. To have a practical understanding of, as through experience; be skilled in: knows how to cook.

4. To have fixed in the mind: knows her Latin verbs.¹

It appears then that knowing means having all human discoveries at your fingertips, at the tip of your tongue, available for instant recall when it is needed, like an encyclopedic brain. Does “knowledge” or “to know” mean “to be familiar with” then? This is a decidedly utilitarian view, but can it imply anything more profound, more noble? Over the course of many sleepless nights, I have come to the conclusion that it can and should. I would add to the possible meanings of the word to understand, which the American Heritage Dictionary defines in several ways. For our purposes, the first definition ought to serve:  To become aware of the nature and significance of; know or comprehend: She understands the difficulty involved.²

I believe that the key to living in harmony with the motto and hence the school’s mission rests in the dual implication of the word to know. I grant that knowledge of important information and useful skills is highly valuable for the success of our students.  I would add that knowledge as understanding of our natural world and the human condition is equally, if not more, important. The two notions together make for an unbeatable combination. Imagine a person who is not only skilled at the use of tools, but also has the knowledge to employ them in a useful way with an understanding of the grand design of his or her work.

Since I am a Classicist at heart, I have to circle back to our motto. I realized that one of the reasons I embarked upon this semantic exercise was the limitation of the English language in its lack of exactitude. How many arguments and misunderstandings could be averted if the English vocabulary had definitive meanings? The Romans, with very few exceptions, did not suffer in the same way. Each word had one, possibly two, at most three, implications. In Latin, the verb Scire means to know, to realize, understand, have skill in, to know how to. Our original founders must have understood this. They chose their Latin word deliberately and wisely.

 Scire Valere

Knowledge (Understanding) is Strength

¹http://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=know&submit.x=9&submit.y=35

² http://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=understand&submit.x=14&submit.y=30

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day last Monday, our middle school students heard a variety of presentations celebrating the life and achievements of Dr. King. At morning meeting, I presented a brief biography capped with a brief background talk on Dr. King’s “Mountain Top” speech in April of 1968 in Memphis on the night before his assassination. Students were able to see and hear a portion of this speech, as well.

Later in the day, Tim Blauvelt, a middle school science and math teacher, spoke to our older students about his experiences during the early 1960s in Mississippi. A young Wesleyan student at the time, Mr. Blauvelt heard Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. speak about the Civil Rights Movement. Inspired to action, Mr. Blauvelt trained with the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) before traveling to Mississippi to work on voter registration in the South. Mr. Blauvelt spoke about what he experienced and witnessed in his first-hand account of those turbulent years in the segregated south. In 1967, he was drafted and served a tour of duty in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot.

In his presentation, Mr. Blauvelt spoke about acting from the courage of one’s convictions and the need for all of us to do the right thing. He also spoke candidly and effectively about facing one’s fears as he recounted some of his experiences including hearing of the news of the disappearance and subsequent deaths of three civil rights workers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Two of the men were his personal friends.

Later in the day, Mr. Blauvelt spoke to the fourth to sixth grade students in a modified presentation about his experiences. He was able to provide background information about the era for our younger students many of whom have read The Watsons Go To Birmingham and other fictional works about life in the south in the mid 20th Century.

Our students learned much from this experiences on Monday, the 21st. In particular, the fourth and fifth graders recorded their understanding of the times poignantly and eloquently in poems they wrote in class and delivered at Monday’s morning meeting. An eighth grade student remarked that Mr. Blauvelt’s presentation was all the more important because it was based on his first-hand experiences.

On Tuesday morning, Deirdre Roberts extended the discussion to include not only Civil Rights, but also Human Rights. She spoke of her experiences in Pakistan, Ecuador, and Cambodia and how access to basic needs and the guarantee of human rights was still a major concern for people of all ages in those countries.

The experiences of Tim Blauvelt and Deirdre Roberts help our students understand the world in a very different way.

Michael Dooman, ‘78
Headmaster

From the desk of the Headmaster (reprint from Spring, 2011)…

I am often asked by friends who do not have children in an independent school, “Why Mooreland?” It seems so self-evident to me that I scarcely know where to begin. I talk about the high ideals of education for education’s sake and how all children have the ability to succeed to their fullest if given the chance. It is then that I realize that I have lost my audience. Their inquisitive, interested attention gives way to the beginnings of a far away gaze.

I have learned to change gears rather quickly in dealing with this type of question. Now when confronted with the “why?” I answer with the concretes first. Here it is:

1. Class Size: Our classes are small. On average, our class sizes are eight or nine students. Our largest class is fifteen and our smallest is a tutorial in accelerated Latin. Why is class size important? Every student is engaged in every minute of the class period. They are actively involved in the learning process from the moment they step in to the class until they leave.

2. Accountability: Our faculty members are expected to know each student academically, athletically, and socially with his or her peers. This holistic view of the individual helps us to understand how a student thinks, works, and interacts with the outside world. It is important to know this to engage students in the learning process. If there are difficulties, we can learn why and redirect our efforts to reach each student.

Our advisor system provides each student with a faculty mentor who becomes the expert on that student. They become the point person for the transmission of information to the home and from the home to the school. In the first few weeks of school, we get to know each of our students as individuals.

3. Learning Community: It is no accident that our school is a community of learners. We have a well-established mission statement to guide us. Beyond this, the Headmaster, faculty and staff work together to create an environment where safety is paramount, and learning in and out of the classroom is the norm. The adults and children work together in a variety of ways to build this community. Ask us about our chore program, the 8th grade kitchen crew, landscaping, team sports, Fine Arts Night, and Morning Meetings.

4. Strong Academics: Our faculty provides a strong and balanced academic preparation. As an independent school, we do not have to subject our students to the testing necessary in public schools. Consequently, we have time to focus on the essentials of good preparation in all disciplines. Our students engage in active learning, as they develop critical thinking skills essential for 21st century learners.

Our students have access to two modern languages and Latin, high levels of math ranging from arithmetic to Geometry and beyond, a laboratory science curriculum beginning in the fourth grade and culminating in Conceptual Physics for our ninth graders. This is in addition to a strong English and history program. Our students are consistently placed in high-level courses at the secondary school level.

5. Secondary School Placement: As students prepare to move on from Mooreland, we help families make placement decisions for their children. With over 80 years of experience in middle school education, we know the secondary school environment quite well. At the core of our placement process is the belief that each child is different and success in secondary school is based on a good fit for the student. We explore all local options including public and parochial schools in addition to independent day/boarding schools. We use our wealth of knowledge to find the best school for each child.

I believe parents new to independent schools intuitively know what the advantages are. Experience allows them the certainty that the decision they have made to send their children to one was a good one. With this experience solidly in grasp, the high ideals I spoke of earlier become self-evident. What a student leaves with is far more than a shopping cart filled with certificates of completion. They graduate with a sense of purpose and direction, ready to take on the challenges of secondary school and beyond.

Michael Dooman

It has become tradition for students at Mooreland to hear an excerpt from a letter written by Edward Winslow to a friend in England from the Plymouth plantation dated the 11^th of December 1621. (A copy of the excerpt is below.) Former teacher and mentor, Joanne Pigott used to recite this letter to students at morning meeting on the last day before Thanksgiving Break. In it, Winslow recounts the trials and tribulations of the small group of settlers as they struggled to survive in the harsh environment of New England. Despite the hardships, there are glimmers of hope. Winslow concludes one segment with a recounting of the very first Thanksgiving with a very memorable and heartfelt wish of good tidings.

“…You shall understand that in this little time a few of us have been here, we have built seven dwelling-houses and four for the use of the plantation, and have made preparation for divers others. We set last spring some twenty acres of Indian corn, and sowed some six acres of barley and peas; and according to the manner of the Indians, we manured our ground with herrings, or rather shads, which we have in great abundance, and take with great ease at our doors. Our corn did prove well; and, God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our peas not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed; but the sun parched them in the blossom.

 Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming among us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation, and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty….

 Your loving friend,

Edward Winslow

Plymouth, in New England, this 11^th of December, 1621”

The tradition of reading this letter on the eve of our Thanksgiving break continues to this year. We wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Annual Thanksgiving Reading