Inside Exeter's Faculty Meeting

First it was pass/fail for preps during the fall term. Next it was the addition of Adviser Meetings on Wednesday mornings. And finally it was the requirement of tablets in math class. Faculty meetings play a major role in discussing and shaping campus culture.Before the meeting occurs, Dean of Faculty Ronald Kim sends out an agenda, a weekly discipline report and an attendance committee report. Principal Hassan then leads the meeting, which begins with announcements from the Dean of Faculty and Dean of Students and questions about the discipline and attendance reports before proceeding to discussion on the items on the agenda.“The faculty meeting is an opportunity for the faculty to make important decisions about students and the curriculum,” Kim said. “It also provides the instructors with an opportunity to hear various perspectives on issues. I'm always struck by the seriousness with which the instructors approach an issue, and when the matter is about a student, the care for and concern about the student are paramount.”The Harkness-like factor of faculty meetings allows faculty members to argue both sides of the issue and make the fairest decisions possible.“I really appreciate the fact that people are willing to vote against or bring up issues so that we can discuss all the sides of what’s at hand,” science instructor Frances Johnson said. "The fact that we discuss some things for so long is due to the fact that we're taking it seriously and we're not glossing over anything, and that's really good.”On the other hand, some faculty members believe that more teachers need to speak up during the meetings.“The problem of our faculty meetings is that it isn’t like a Harkness table because significantly more than half the people in that room have simply have no intention of ever opening their mouths,” math instructor Joe Wolfson said. “I think that it is as detrimental to the meeting as it would be in a class. If everyone spoke up, everyone would have a share and it would be a totally different experience. We would actually be listening to a far wider range of views, and in order for that to happen there would have to be a different atmosphere where people felt encouraged to speak up and wanted to speak up and knew there was a value in speaking up.”History instructor Giorgio Secondi, also looking for ways to improve the current system, believed that the meetings could become more streamlined and effective. “There are times when discussions can go on far longer than I would prefer, especially on issues we need to vote on,” he said. “The first few people say something of substance, and after that there is an awful lot of rehashing the same points without much value added. I'm usually ready to vote about a half-hour before we do. Also, personally I would much prefer to get the announcements in an e-mail, but I realize that some people don't read [their] e-mail[s].”Secondi suggested that adding a subcommittee to deal with certain issues rather than having all faculty members vote on every issue could improve the efficiency of the meeting.“There are issues we discuss in faculty meetings that I wish were delegated to a sub-committee of faculty,” Secondi said. “For example, if a student petitions to drop a class for health reasons, I don’t see why the entire faculty has to listen to that even after her adviser and the academic advising committee have approved it. Inter-departmental senior projects are another example—they are discussed by the entire faculty but a sub-committee could take care of those.”Johnson agreed. “There’s a body of faculty that is supposed to propose items for the agenda, but I wish the things the agenda committee suggested could have more weight,” she said. “They usually take a poll of the faculty to find out what’s important to us, but sometimes these issues don’t get addressed. “Wolfson hopes that faculty meetings will be able to reach out on a level that not only helps decide changes for the school, but also bring the teachers together in a way that they can learn from each other.“My main goal of a meeting is that we get empowered by being with each other,” he said. “And that is the main goal, that we leave that meeting feeling more powerful, more alive, more vibrant and more in tune with what our educational mission is then when we walked into the room. If this happens, we will be better colleagues to one another and we will be better teachers as a result.”To meet this goal, he suggested increased communication. “Every time we have had a new Dean of Faculty or new principal, they kind of ask, ‘Well, what do you want me to do,’” he said. “I always say the same thing, which is I want faculty meetings to be enlivening and I want that to be the purpose of the faculty meeting. I have never gotten back anything that’s not just ‘thanks for your thoughts.’”