Why is Exeter Extraordinary?
Our Academy is extraordinary. Perhaps not exceptional, but at least not ordinary. But why is Exeter extraordinary? If asked, most students would reference the Harkness plan. Yes, Harkness is critical, but perhaps less fundamental than the focus on character that pervades the words, philosophy and vision on which this school was founded.
“But above all, the attention of the instructors to dispositions of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge should exceed every other care,” John Phillips wrote in the Deed of Gift. One wonders why the founder would immortalize such a forceful demand in the words of our constitution. Clearly, he believed that the instructors should emphasize and unite goodness and knowledge to “form the noblest character and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind.”
We all know Abbot, Soule, Hoyt, Wentworth and Amen—as buildings. A brief glance at the leadership of Benjamin Abbot, Gideon Lane Soule, Joseph Hoyt, George A. Wentworth, Harlan P. Amen and other venerated administrators and faculty shows us that these leaders sanctified their responsibility to shape young scholars’ character and held it as the sole end of their task. I suppose it had to be; the school could not rely on Harkness alone to impart to its graduates the collaborative nature which they so proudly carry today. The goal, to unite goodness and knowledge and form the noblest character, is conveniently vague and may adapt to the times. And while it has (no longer must a high-caliber Exonian be a pious man), Professor Wentworth’s illustration at his 1903 reunion still holds strong: “cheerful devotion to work, a supreme regard for high moral standards and careful obedience to the recognized rules of gentlemanly conduct,” he said, “have always been the factors in the formation of that peculiar type of character which has stamped Exeter with a mark of its own and made it one of the great schools of America.” I acknowledge the male-centric language and the antiquated phrasing, but I dearly hope that the meaning of these words is not lost because of their age. Five-star Exonians, as one might call them, ought to have a zeal for work, be principled and ethical and abide by the (hopefully obvious) customs of courtesy and respect. I also acknowledge that this is an ideal and that it would be foolish to expect such perfection out of a group of high schoolers.
Principal Amen realized that he was a leader of boys, not men. So, in his 1895 essay “The Spirit of the Place,” he noted his lower standards, more reasonable for adolescents. To him (an Exonian himself) a student of Phillips Exeter Academy was expected “to be honest…and high-minded…to show decent and courteous behavior…He is, in brief, without the proclamation of numerous rules, expected to be merely the good citizen.” I, if appropriately equipped with these words, would have published them following the thefts from Grill. But this message is appropriate at any time; the theft from Grill is a symptom of a larger dysfunction—the same dysfunction that gives rise to poor conduct at Abbot Casino or other events and to the badmouthing, tearing and crumpling of Mr. Rawson’s recent letter to the student body. I know these actions are not at all representative of the character of the vast majority of our school, but I implore everyone to ask: “would I have done that if my Exeter interviewer was watching?”
My point is that that we as a school should more actively focus and reflect on character and how we express it in our actions to unite goodness with knowledge. Let’s recommit ourselves to the principal goal of this school. Today, as throughout Exeter’s history, we struggle with what Dr. Amen described in 1903 as “the difficult task to steer our way safely between a proper degree of modern progressiveness and the Academy’s ancient traditions.” We are not alone in this task—we have our history and the leadership of great, thoughtful educators to guide us.
The whole Exeter community—administrators, instructors, parents, trustees and students—can learn much in leadership and character from our rich history. Don’t dismiss the lessons of our past because of the skin color and gender of people that made this school. Respect the love and energy, and in Principal Amen’s case, the life, that these men gave to build the school that we enjoy today. Be smart and brave enough to look to our past with an open mind. Educate yourselves. The history of this institution deserves to be known and the vast majority of it deserves to be respected. As Professor George L. Kitteridge of Harvard wrote in his 1903 article for the North American Review, “the past of the Phillips Exeter Academy is illustrious, and the future is bright with increasing promise.”