Panthers' Purpose
There is a false dichotomy in describing a school as “traditional” or “progressive” in its approach to teaching and learning. These labels tend to conjure up caricatures of each camp, with assumptions of rigidly teacher-centric transmission of core knowledge on the one hand, and an academically unserious emphasis on cultivating self-esteem and the “whole child” on the other. These stereotypes deny the nuances of both approaches, and undersell the degree to which schools and teachers constantly borrow from each supposed orthodoxy. In addition, framing these outlooks as polar opposites hides the degree to which any school, no matter its commitment to rigorous intellectual development, actively promotes both values and a social-ethical orientation.
Certainly the family, faith institutions, civic organizations, and cultural groups should and do have primary responsibility for shaping the contours of a child’s moral orientation toward the world. It is decidedly not the place of a school to tell parents how to raise their children. At the same time, we cannot avoid the truth that teachers, coaches, and advisors are always communicating values and ethical stances to students in virtually all that they do. As the cognitive scientist Guy Claxton notes, “Whether overtly or covertly, every aspect of a school system is riddled with value judgments about what is worth knowing, and what kinds of young people we are trying to turn out… [E]ducation has always been about more than knowledge manipulation and test scores. It is also, inevitably, about the formation of character.”
Browning is proud of its aim to help boys become men who contribute meaningfully to the world, and will always remain a community rooted in mission and core values like courage, compassion, honesty, dignity, curiosity, and purpose. Our school does not pretend to be value neutral on the qualities that we believe help boys to lead flourishing and fulfilling lives. But to help develop these qualities also requires thoughtful curriculum, teaching, and conversation so that our community can be intentional about the messages it shares. We must make sure to give our boys time and space to reflect critically on those messages, as well as their own sense of values and ethical identity.
And all of this is the point behind “Panthers’ Purpose,” our program of incorporating inquiry and activity related to character, health and wellness, social impact, and equitable practices into the framework of K-12 student learning. This architecture emerges from Browning’s mission to produce not just men of intellect, but those of integrity, those who discover themselves in developing a personal story founded in a sense of strong character, in looking out for others, and in making a difference in our world.
Intellectual growth and academic accomplishment will always remain our school’s fundamental purposes: Browning’s institutional identity is grounded in the rigorous exploration of the liberal arts to induct boys into the life of the mind, to deepen their appreciation of the power of ideas, and to prepare them for future educational opportunities. At the same time, the commitments of Panthers’ Purpose build the sorts of skills and dispositions that enhance a boy’s capacity for academic achievement, and also give him a greater sense of how that achievement can be applied to the world’s use.
These skills and dispositions come in many forms, including:
Habits that speed learning, like enhanced self-regulation, habits of deep listening, and curiosity about others’ stories and patterns
Improved emotional, relational and ethical literacy that emphasizes the place of empathy, honesty, and respect in interpersonal and disciplinary knowledge alike
Leadership and collaborative skills that emerge from community engagement projects both within and beyond Browning.
There is almost no end to the developmentally appropriate Panthers' Purpose programming that we can create to help our boys become disciplined and critical thinkers, thoughtful and courageous friends, and men who seek to use their academic achievements to influence others for the better.
The choice between academic pursuit and character development is a false one; indeed, the two are deeply intertwined, and both are fundamental to a rigorous and values-driven school that promises to develop men of intellect and integrity. When we are intentional in our effort to help all of our Panthers to become young men of purpose, our community is marked by excellence, fulfillment, accomplishment, awareness, challenge, and wholeness in equal measure. When we complement our intellectual aspirations with Panthers’ Purpose, we are at our best.