Horace Mann - Spring 2012 - (Page 4)

Head of School letter from the head of school he Horace Mann School believes that children should be developed to the fullest in order that they may best contribute to the society of which they are a part. The… school attempts to develop in children four fundamental powers: The Power to Know; The Power to Do; The Power to Think; and The Power to Feel. This, then, is the philosophy of the Horace Mann School. Its purpose is to develop men and women whose feelings toward the world and its people are right; whose knowledge of the world is accurate and broad; who think with trained minds; and whose actions, while expressing individuality, contribute to the welfare of the group, the state, and the world in which they live.” So begins “The Horace Mann Plan for Teaching Children.” Written in 1932 the document represented a “composite product of the thinking of the entire staff” and was developed following the preceding three years that teachers and administrators had spent “analyzing (the school’s) process of education.” Founded in 1887, Horace Mann School was then 45 years young. Eighty years since this document was drafted, and 125 years since our school’s creation, it is illuminating to use the opportunity our 125th anniversary grants us to examine our history, and to learn that the core values of our school today and throughout its history are rooted in the same ideal: that of promoting skills of critical thought in educating future citizens to “contribute to the welfare of the group”—or in Horace Mann School’s current parlance, to pursue “The Life of the Mind” by preparing “a diverse community of students to lead great and giving lives.” During this past year our diverse school community has come together in rewarding ways, as students learn in classes, studios, on our fields and in serving our neighbors in surrounding communities. They learn in seminars, science clubs, on debate teams, and in discussion groups as they work together in ways that encourage interplay among nimble minds. Our faculty, administrators, and our families have come together too, to share intercultural connections, not only as we commemorate our 125th year, but as we celebrate the intrinsic value of our relationships with one another, today and in decades forth. These are gratifying developments on our journey along the road from Horace Mann School’s past to the horizons of our future. As our HM academic “ancestors” of 1932 enjoined, “Look to their education. What they know, what they think, what they feel, and what they do will determine tomorrow.” To the four powers delineated in Horace Mann School documents of the past I add one more: The Power to Dream, for that power is what will carry the day, now and in the century and a quarter ahead. May we, together, pursue the dream of purposeful learning and living, at Horace Mann School. With sincere best wishes, Head of School “T Dr. Thomas M. Kelly P ’18 4 Horace Mann Magazine Spring 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Spring 2012

Horace Mann - Spring 2012
Contents
Letters
Greetings From Dr. Tom Kelly
Greetings From Melissa Parento ’90
Horace Mann School Celebrates 125 Years
Alumni Council Corner
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials

Horace Mann - Spring 2012