From Where I Stand

In my welcome-back talk for faculty this year, I highlighted the work of American political scientist Robert Putnam, best known for his seminal book Bowling Alone. Putnam reports on the decline of community in America and explores social capital, the web of relationships that helps a society to function. He describes two kinds of social capital, bonding and bridging. Bonding is connecting with people who are similar to you, bridging to people who are different. Putnam argues that while both are important, in this polarized moment, we’re doing more bonding than bridging, and this is threatening the health of our democracy and society.

GDS’s creation was an act of bridging—our founders believed that by bringing together young people of different races, backgrounds, religions, and life experiences, we would create the conditions for a thriving school and ultimately for a better world. Teaching our students to build bridges is as vital in 2024 as it was in 1945. In our classrooms and corridors, we strive to develop bridge-building capacities for our students, including listening, critical thinking, curiosity, open-mindedness, empathy, and perspective-taking. 

GDS is, and must be, a non-partisan institution. We do not align ourselves with individual parties or candidates. And yet, while we are a non-partisan institution, we are not a values-free institution. The first line of our mission reads, “Georgetown Day School honors the integrity and worth of each individual within a diverse school community.” Our GDS Statement of Philosophy calls us to cultivate in our students “an abhorrence of bigotry and intolerance.” From the youngest ages, we teach students the value of respect for others, and we make this value visible through conversations in classrooms, assemblies, and a very intentional celebration of the richness that comes from difference.

Just as it is vital to model for our students an intolerance of bigotry, we must also demonstrate an openness to different perspectives. One of our core values is that “A GDS Student Will…build networks and collaborate across difference.” GDS believes that we can create a more just and healed world not simply by bringing individuals from diverse backgrounds together under the same roof, but by having those individuals learn together, work together, collaborate, and learn each other’s stories. It is for this reason that we intentionally seek out opportunities to engage different perspectives, as you will read about in this issue of Georgetown Days. We know that preparing young people to thrive means preparing them to build bridges.

In these pages, you will read about how we foster civil discourse and center the student as citizen. We see citizenship as an essential component of education and take seriously our obligation to prepare young people for engaged citizenship–here at GDS, in their communities, in our city, in our country, and in the world at large. We believe that young people want to be called to something bigger than themselves. We believe they want to experience what it means to be part of shared work and shared purpose. We already do so much as a school to ready our students for citizenship. I’m proud of the ways in which our alumni step into the world with purpose, prepared to have an impact. 

GDS has always believed in the powerful capacity of young people to do good. As educators, we bet on a future in which GDS students and alumni participate in and support a thriving democracy. This vision comes to life through the unwavering philanthropic support of our community, as demonstrated in the Giving Report published in this magazine. Each year, I’m moved by the generosity of parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and even students who contribute to GDS. We're excited to realize our vision in partnership with our community.
 

On the cover:
The Spring 2024 Georgetown Days print magazine cover features the drawings of second grade students from a few years back, who were asked to draw Russell's outfits for the day. The project demonstrates (at Russell's expense) how people can hold different perspectives on the same topic, and all can be valid. More masterpieces below.