Jane's Pocket Change: Returning

“You can never go back.” Or so the saying goes. This old saw touches on a common worry that many of us have — if we go back to a place or moment from our past, we might come to the determination that we not have made enough of ourselves in the intervening years and might, therefore, feel a sense of disappointment or even regret in who we have become.
 “You can never go back.” Or so the saying goes. This old saw touches on a common worry that many of us have — if we go back to a place or moment from our past, we might come to the determination that we not have made enough of ourselves in the intervening years and might, therefore, feel a sense of disappointment or even regret in who we have become.

At reunion this past weekend, I observed, instead, over 100 graduates who were confident and proud of the people that they have become since their time at CSW. I enjoyed watching the interactions among classmates and the ways in which younger grads speak with older ones. Here are just some of the things I heard people say over the weekend:
  • “We came together through productions, especially the musical.”
  • “White Farm was the very best dorm!”
  • “Dolph Cheek really cared and helped me find my way through very difficult times.”
  • “I learned to love poetry and writing when I was here and I became a poet after graduation.”
  • “Everyone here seems to learn how to argue a point really well and present themselves really well; it’s surprising we didn’t all become lawyers!”
  • “We truly cared for each other and the friends I made here have remained my friends.”
Last weekend, our graduates came back to CSW for any number of reasons — to check out the campus, to see if any of their former teachers were still around, to re-create the time they spent here, to rediscover the magic and, perhaps, some of the turmoil of their high school years. But, above all, they came to see each other.

At the end of my remarks at dinner on Saturday, I shared a quote from Headmaster John R. P. French (1930-1947) that Headmaster Marion Adolphus Cheek (1951-1968), was known to cite:

A “progressive community” is a term of praise. . . . progressive education contains a belief that we have not yet found all the answers and we dedicate ourselves to improvement – in order to develop better integrated individuals who would become better citizens in the world.

No matter their reasons for returning for reunion, it is clear that returning helps us all see improvement and progress, of the individual and of the community.

“In this light,” French went on to say, “I am all for it.”

Me too — I’m all for it, all the time. Thanks for coming back and, please, keep returning.


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Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.

The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.