Goodness Beyond Exeter

With Wednesday classes cancelled last week for a school planning session, two assemblies attempting to bring out the opinions of students and an ongoing discussion amongst the faculty, "goodness" and its future at Exeter has become a central issue, along with the concurrent search for a new principal.When I first came to Exeter, what intrigued my parents and me was not necessarily the goodness at this school, but the value of education that the school could provide for me. Non sibi was something I scrolled through on the school homepage, but I honestly spent more time looking through the different extracurricular programs, courses and dormitory activities provided by Exeter. It was only after the first assembly, led by Principal Hassan, that I heard about the "importance" of goodness and non sibi at Exeter. I write the word importance with quotations because I kept hearing it, but I never felt it become a part of me, through my heart. Something else did, however.Exeter is a competitive environment. Bringing intelligent and talented students from all corners of the world through a selective process, Exeter is undoubtedly one of the smartest group of students in the world. The facts prove it: we have one of the highest average SAT scores in the country. Under this pressure, everyone at Exeter is pushed to try their hardest, and if you aren’t able to keep up, you are put on probation or asked to leave. On a small scale, we are all competing at the Harkness table for a better grade or even within clubs for leadership positions. On a larger scale, we are all competing against members of the same class for a brighter future.This competition, unfortunately, detracts from the educational value that Exeter can provide and goodness that Exeter tries to provide. Is not the purpose of education to hone your own skills and personality to make you a better person? You shouldn’t write a history paper solely for the grade, but to become a more critical thinker and learn to articulate your thoughts and arguments through writing. Or is it? We all receive grades. These grades don’t determine everything, but they seem to matter in the college process. Our colleges don’t decide everything, but they seem to determine our jobs. Jobs don’t mean everything, but they seem to define our source of income. Money doesn’t determine everything, but in this increasingly materialistic world, it sort of does.So is this competition bad? Yes, and it doesn’t do anything for "goodness" other than take away from it, but this attitude should, and will most likely, stay in place because it makes up Exeter and all it embodies. Then how do we address the issue of goodness at Exeter?Exeter is one of the stepping stones in our educational career. It is not the final step to our education. After we graduate and go on to our own paths, we are introduced to greater competition: the world. With an introduction to the rigors of the outside world, we are also introduced and taught to be moral, healthy-thinking individuals. Acts of immorality or deceit are condemned and even lead to expulsion. We live in an environment where "badness" is punished. Many environments don’t shun and penalize "badness" enough, which can lead to corrupt and non-"good" lives.I am proud of Exeter for bringing this issue to light. While I do not believe much should or can be changed about goodness at Exeter, I have heard about the topic time and time again. Continuous hearing does enough to make it into believing. And as an environment where "goodness" is praised and "badness" is justly punished, Exeter, despite the competition, helps "form the noblest character, and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind."