Athenian Needs to Know Itself
Though neither the most urgent nor the most apparent, arguably the most fundamental problem at The Athenian School is a question of its identity. What makes The Athenian School Athenian? What does it mean to be The Athenian School? Almost no one gives the same answer to these questions, which points to an ambiguity or a lack of self-awareness around Athenian’s identity. One may argue that the diversity of answers does not indicate a lack of self-awareness but rather shows the flexibility of Athenian education: a student can freely decide what their Athenian experience will be. However, this would be true only if all those conceptions were in harmony, instead of dissonance.
The conflict between a focus on college preparation, on the one hand, and other Athenian ideals, on the other, exemplifies the lack of agreement around the Athenian identity. Athenian’s mission statement begins with the sentence: “The Athenian School prepares students for the rigorous expectations of college and for a life of purpose and personal fulfillment,” which shows that the first goal the school presents to the public is preparing its students for college.
However, there has always been a dispute among faculty on what the school ought to prioritize— college prep elements or traditional Athenian ideals. The five-paragraph long mission statement from Athenian in comparison to one succinct paragraph mission statement from most other schools is another testament to the chronic confusion and controversy over the school's identity.
Because of this miscommunication about the school’s purpose and identity, students come to Athenian with a fragmented understanding. They come with certain expectations, but slowly realize there is more in Athenian education than they first perceived; again, the most prominent case of this misconception happens with college preparation. The students’ pushback against seemingly constant grade system changes, the removal of AP classes, the school’s policy changes around AP exams, and even AWE, is underlined by the conflict between students’ aspiration for college admission and the school’s attempt to manifest its other educational ideals. Although “preparing students for the rigorous expectations of college” is its first pronounced goal, Athenian also wants to prepare students “for a life of purpose and personal fulfillment.” Athenian’s failure to fully express its purpose and identity to prospective students can be traced back to a conflict of desires within the school—between the students, the administration, and the faculty—intensifying the confusion and controversy.
Athenian must realize that this disagreement between the student body and the school harms the trust between them. Many administrators and faculty members use the inverted pyramid model to explain Athenian education, where students are supported by faculty who are supported by administrators. However, when the administration cannot provide a lucid and consistent rationale on what school is about, students view them as authority figures who attempt to subdue students’ aims by imposing ambiguous and seemingly arbitrary ideals.
This distrust due to the school’s miscommunication is amplified by the school’s failure to embody its ideals, which are too fragmented to practice fully. When there are diverse goals, the school fails to accomplish them all. Athenian promotes environmentalism, yet resistance to Meatless Monday, a mispractice of recycling and composting, unreturned Main Hall plates, and increased use of disposable products is obvious. Athenian supports social justice, yet its action is limited to performative activism and it remains a bubbled community. Athenian encourages experiential learning, yet almost all classes in Athenian are not experiential but academic to meet the rigorous expectations of college. Athenian emphasizes critical thinking, yet the political diversity and discourse at Athenian are constrained. This lack of integrity is perceived almost as hypocrisy by students, which results in students’ and faculty members’ distrust in the institution.
Without trust, students become closed and skeptical toward the school’s agenda, which is demonstrated through numerous conflicts between students and the administration. The incessant disputes and complaints around the many initiatives and programs proposed by the school will be alleviated only if students can understand and trust the actions and intentions of the administration. Unless students can trust the school, the school will not be able to teach students, at least not up to its ideals.
To remedy this erosion of Athenian community and identity, the school needs to know itself through consistent effort and conversation and to be able to elucidate what it is striving for. A diversity of aims is acceptable as long as there is a coherent and overarching framework that can encompass them all. The school needs to ask whether any of its aims are mutually exclusive, and if so, which aims Athenian should aspire to. Is it truly necessary to have a seemingly random compilation of goals, or is the school missing a fundamental idea?
After establishing its foundation, Athenian can then clearly communicate the purpose of its institution to students so that they can come to school expecting what is waiting for them. With mature self-awareness, the school can align its actions with its ideals. By fully embodying its purpose, Athenian can lead students by example and restore trust.
Finally, some may argue that finding identity is not essential for a school. Even if there is no identity, students only spend four years at Athenian and move on to the next stage of their lives, and teachers will earn their pay. Students will pay tuition, teachers will teach, students will submit work, teachers will grade it, students will graduate, and teachers will then teach the next line of students.A school can be nothing more than a vessel for the exchange of goods and services. Athenian can be more than just a mechanical institution. It is conceived to be more—as demonstrated in the mission statement—and indeed, throughout its history, it has been more.
