Matthew Hartnett

When Classics Instructor Matthew Hartnett came to Exeter, he decided to prioritize getting to know students. In each aspect of student life, he contributes meaningful thoughts whose origins are derived from Greek and Roman ideology.

While growing up in rural Maine, Hartnett discovered his passion for Latin early on. “I come from a part of the world where people did very practical things after high school and got very practical jobs… they mostly stayed in the town where [we] grew up,” he said. “However, I had this amazingly charismatic, eccentric, smart, funny Latin teacher who turned a handful of us on to learning about the ancient world, philosophy and history. It's really because of him that I have been doing classics my entire life.”

This love of Latin and Greek blossomed because of Hartnett’s interest in the mechanics of the languages as well as the significance of ancient literature. “When you study Latin and Greek, you get to do a little bit of linguistics and [are able to] study language, not just as a communication tool, but as a system for conveying meaning that I just ‘geek out’ on,” he said. “Even more than that, it's what the Greeks and Romans were saying.”

His passion for teaching emerged later in life. “I first taught at Columbia [University] as part of my fellowship. That's when I realized that I really enjoyed it,” Hartnett said. “Teaching allows me not just to read these texts and have a conversation with dead white males from the ancient world, but to have conversations with other humans about what we read in the works of those dead white males.”

According to senior Ingrid Bergill, Hartnett has carried his love of conversations into the curriculum he teaches. “He is so friendly with all of his students and cares about each one,” she said. “He loves learning and teaching classics very much. It’s so fun to have a teacher who loves what he does and loves working with students as much as he does.”

Hartnett is also known to spend extra energy helping students to perform at the best of their abilities. “He always puts in the time to ensure that his students are doing well,” Bergill said. “One time when I performed poorly on a quiz, he came up to me and told me that ‘this isn’t the Ingrid [he] knows and loves.’ He is always there to talk and encourages you to get better.”

Hartnett is also skilled at adapting material to best suit his students. Senior Charlie Neuhaus appreciated Hartnett’s flexibility. “Greek is challenging because you have to learn lots of material pretty quickly, so it’s really helpful to have a teacher like Mr. Hartnett who always wants to listen to our feedback and respond to it,” he said. “He’s good at adjusting the course to make going through the chapters as painless for us as possible while also keeping us on track to finish all of the required material.”

In addition to students, Hartnett’s colleagues appreciate the thought and effort he puts into preparing each of his classes. “Mr. Hartnett has been a really great colleague. He is deeply interested in the affairs of the department and really attentive, both as a scholar in the material that we teach but also in exploring different styles of teaching,” fellow classics instructor Paul Langford said.

His devotion to improving the Greek curriculum culminated in him writing his own Greek textbook. The book is being used for the first time this year at the Academy to instruct students across the levels of Greek. “As the author of the textbook, I've been able to make it reflect what I'm interested in,” Hartnett said. “While there are readings about history and mythology, I've been able to include writings on philosophy in the book.”

Hartnett asked for input from his students about the textbook, which allows the challenging Greek curriculum to be continually improved. “I think this kind of student-teacher transparency keeps a tough, fast-moving course like Greek from becoming overwhelming or unfair,” he said.

In addition to his duties in the classroom, Hartnett serves as a member of the Wheelwright Hall dorm faculty team. “When you walk out into the common room, you never know who you're going to find and what the energy level's going to be like,” he said. “I don't know if every adult is temperamentally suited to spend most of their day with adolescents, but I think I am … it's never boring.”

Wheelwright students enjoy Hartnett’s company and Sophie Liu attributes his popularity to his generous personality. “Mr. Hartnett is super kind and exudes positivity with his presence,” she said. “Overall, he really cares about the dorm and its community.”

Alum Alexis Lee ’18, both an advisee and a Latin scholar, further described how Hartnett is universally appreciated among Wheelwright residents. “He is an amazing dorm [faculty],” she said. “Mr. Hartnett is a much-needed and much-loved presence in the Wheel.”

Lee recalled a particular moment last year when on the Day of Dialogue Hartnett attentively listened to Wheelwright concerns throughout the day. “He is a really observant and thoughtful person,” she said. “He always tries to learn more about whatever ways he can support us.”

Hartnett brings his listening skills and empathy to his role as the chair of the Discipline Committee (DC). “I feel that DC is a really important part of our school,” he said. “I think I can relate to kids who have made mistakes because I made mistakes when I was an adolescent. I’m also pretty good at listening before I speak and withholding judgment to hear all sides.”

Langford cited Hartnett’s ability to engage in meaningful thought as one of the main ways Hartnett contributes to the Exeter community. “I think Hartnett has a keen eye about issues of ethics, morality and thinking through the implications of decisions or proposals,” he said. “He brings this thinking both to conversations surrounding the Latin departement and the Academy, as a whole.”

Hartnett uses his abilities to advise students on the court as well—he currently serves as the coach of Exeter’s boys’ junior varsity basketball team. “The court is a whole different dynamic [where] you get to see a different side of the kids and they get to see a different side of you,” he said. “I wouldn't want to change that part of my job because it's so different from the teaching part and from the dorm part. I think it's important for me personally that I get to exercise all those different muscles; [coaching] also keeps me alert, sharp and interested.”

Lee concluded that Hartnett’s most noticeable quality is his genuine concern for all of his colleagues and students. “I think he impacts Exeter positively because he’s an excellent teacher … [he’s] someone who I came to think of as an uncle when I was away from home,” she said. “[Mr. Hartnett is] my advisor for life.”

Hartnett believes that part of his own Classical philosophy on life applies to all students at the Academy. “An observation that so many Greeks and Romans made was that life is short and we have to be really thoughtful about how you spend it,” he said. “I hope that every student here can find a path through life that enables them to find something they are passionate about—something that they can work hard at and that they’re good at. All three of those things feed into one another and, if done right, one doesn’t even notice the time passing.”