The Academy Welcomes George Bennet Fellow Raisa Tolchinsky

By Andrew Yuan, Lucy Jung, Hannah Park, Selim Kim, Dushant Lohano

This year, Family Weekend was held from Friday, Oct. 21 to Monday, Oct. 24, featuring activities for family members to participate in. 

From Friday to Sunday, families could choose to attend a series of panels and speakers to learn about campus life. In addition to those events, family members were allowed to spectate classes on Friday and Saturday, marking the return of a long-standing tradition that was put on hold in 2019. The following Monday was designated as a no-class day to accommodate family visits. 

Both faculty and students have shared positive reactions to the return of family spectators in classes. “I think it's cool for parents to be able to get to experience Exeter because there's such a disconnect, especially for those who live farther away, “ upper David Goodall said.  

Upper Nicholas Lin shared similar sentiments. “It’s really fun to see what [the parents] have to add or just the reactions on their faces when they listen in on our really long tangents.”

Instructor in English Emily Quirk agreed. “I think, in a boarding school environment, it's good for parents to get to see what Harkness is and what their kids are up to. Especially in an English class, it could be something that the parents feel like they can understand or get excited about as well.” 

Instructor in Visual Arts Tara Lewis looked forward to iterating with families during the weekend. “I enjoy welcoming families to the art studios! It’s a unique approach to using the Harkness table and a fantastic opportunity for families to have an experiential window into the daily life of their kids and [their] creative minds at work,” Lewis said. 

Though many students look forward to Family Weekend, some students have admitted that the presence of parents in class can be intimidating. “Personally, if I were participating in classes, I would find that it's a bit scary because I would want my parents to see the best version of myself. I feel like I'd be sad if they didn't see the 100% best version of myself, lower Samantha Halbower said.

Halbower continued, “But I think that it's a really good opportunity for parents to see what's up with their kids and catch up with their children, especially since they go to a boarding school…So I think the concept of it is really very nice, and it’s also really cool, having an older perspective in the classroom.”

Lower Sarah Hanson believes that there are both “positives and negatives” to family spectators. “I think it'll be cool for parents to be able to see what their kids do each day, especially for those who are away from their kids for most of the year. But also it might be just a little strange to have your mom and your dad watching you in class. So it'll be interesting to see how that goes,” Hanson said. 

Additionally, some faculty members noted that the presence of family members in class may raise difficulties. 

For Instructor in History Sally Komarek, her “apprehension” about Family Weekend “stem[med] more from the planning side of things.” Komarek explained, “We haven't had families able to come observe class in three years, and I think there's a lot of built up excitement and enthusiasm around that. With the instructions that two family members per student can come to class, realistically, we can't fit that in my classroom…I don't think everybody that wants to come is gonna be able to come. Hopefully, that's not the case.”

Komarek added, “I wish there was a clear way to have signups, in the sense that you would know how many people to anticipate, and if you needed to switch classrooms, then you could do that in advance. Or to at least to say like, ‘can half of your families come Friday, half Saturday?’ Things like that. But, I think parents coming is exciting, and it's really cool that we're offering that again because Harkness is so unique and so special…and to be able to see that is pretty special.”

Despite parents being present during classes, some faculty planned to operate classes like normal with small adjustments. 

Instructor in Math Eric Bergofsky said, “I like to have as normal a class as we normally do, so they see the real thing, and once in a while I'll look for opportunities, particularly in the younger classes to see if we can get the parents involved in doing some of the math with the students.”

Like Bergofsky, Quirk planned to find possible spaces for parent involvement. “The only class that I teach that day will be my prep day, and I think we're just gonna Harkness and their parents can see what that looks like and maybe even participate in the community circle,” Quirk said. “I'm just gonna think about which texts might be most fun for parents to observe or which texts might best showcase what my students have learned.”

Others planned on keeping the role of family members solely to observation. “The dynamic shifts a bit, as it always does with visitors,” Lewis said. “I like to consider the nature of the dynamic and offer an authentic day of working in the studio so that everyone is comfortable and natural. I try to make the agenda purposeful to the progress of the course and fun to observe. I definitely enjoy rearranging the décor in my classroom space!” 

Komarek shared similar plans. “I plan to structure it like a regular class. So, I always frame the classes in a way that makes the expectations clear for the families, which is that they are there to observe and listen, and not actually participate themselves,” Komarek said. “I also try to assign students material that they have confidence in. So, it's not like the most puzzling reading or assignment because that can be intimidating with family members in attendance.”

Following classes, many students looked forward to spending the weekend out-of-town with their families. “My parents are coming and we're going to Boston for the weekend. We might see the head of the Charles race since some of my friends are doing that.” lower Laura Saldarriaga said. 

Students without families visiting them over the weekend had scheduled activities and fun events planned for the weekend as well. “[My parents] are not coming and I don’t really mind since I’ll see them over the winter break,” Lin said. “[I’m] going to Boston with a few of my friends. It’s a trip set up by OMA … I’m thinking of getting hotpot.”

For all students, the weekend will be one of rejuvenation as they prepare to face the rest of the term ahead. “It's really just resting and sleeping and spending time with each other,” Saldarriaga said.