Reflections on the Strength of the Greenhill Community

“In time we will be given the opportunity to contract around the old version of ourselves and our world – insular, self-interested and tribalistic – or understand the connectedness and commonality of all humans, everywhere. In isolation, we will be presented with our essence – of what we are personally and what we are as a society. We will be asked to decide what we want to preserve about our world and ourselves, and what we want to discard.” - Nick Cave from The Red Hand Files.Greenhill Families,I read this quote from the musician Nick Cave a few weeks ago, and it keeps returning to me. While his words apply to each of us individually, they are particularly meaningful to me when I think about the Greenhill community and what lies ahead for our school.Teachers teach because they enjoy being around young people – their energy, their creativity, the sense of possibility they inspire. Lately, none of us has been “around” anybody, and if you’re at all like me, you’re craving some non-family (love you, Hark family!) human contact. Yesterday, an Amazon driver dropped off a package, and as he scurried back to his truck, I plaintively called after him, “Do you have to go so soon?I don’t like being sequestered. My need for human connection is palpable. I was thinking about this last weekend as I pruned canceled events from my calendar – the fire drills, the lunch meetings, the discussions to review and revise policies. I’m pining for normalcy, for the events and rhythms of workaday school life that once seemed mundane but now fill me with nostalgia. I’m yearning for our community.I heard last week from a parent whose son told her, “Honestly, I’d do anything to just get another homework assignment from my teacher, in person, with my classmates. I even miss walking past everyone in the hallway. I will never complain about getting up in the morning for school after this.” I feel the same way.As each day passes, it is hard not to feel a sense of mourning. With each postponement, cancellation, or extension, the events and celebrations and recognitions that cap the year become less likely or transmogrified into something hard to recognize. How did people “virtually” celebrate Passover this week? And how will we celebrate Easter and Ramadan in the days and weeks to come? And yet, we have and we will. We are resilient. As we always do, we will find a way.As the coronavirus makes its inexorable march from the periphery of our community to the inside, my thoughts also turn to the vulnerabilities in our society that its upheaval has exposed: Those who need special protection from the virus and who rely on all of us to behave as we have been asked to. Those for whom this crisis has been financially devastating. Those who rely on the daily operation of the School for some basic necessities most of us take for granted.I am especially concerned about our Asian-American and Asian Pacific Islander parents, students, and faculty. They are experiencing this crisis differently than the rest of us, and, in one particular way, they bear an additional burden given the racism and xenophobia that are imbedded in the national rhetoric about the coronavirus. Not only are these families forced to see such things posted on social media, but they deal with it directly in the limited interactions they have out in the world as well. It must feel particularly hard, fraught, and painful for them, and my reassurances that Greenhill does not tolerate this behavior must ring hollow when a stranger encounters one of our Asian students at Target, exclaims in anger and fear, and turns and walks in the other direction.We can’t stop such things from happening, but we can name these incidents what they are, and we can remind all Greenhill community members that they are seen and valued -- that they belong here, fully and completely. That we “understand the connectedness and commonality of all humans, everywhere.” That we stand firm on our core principles of honor, respect, and compassion for all.As Nick Cave reminds us, We will be asked to decide what we want to preserve about our world and ourselves, and what we want to discard.Despite these challenges, and the yearning we have to be together, as ever I am buoyed by the strength of our community and our continued attempts to reinforce it, even from a distance. Our Preschool and Lower School students are seeing each other in class daily. Middle and Upper School students are coming together in class and to work on group projects. Our families are supporting each other’s businesses. The Parents' Association has plans in the works to bring our parents together virtually. Last week we held a virtual happy hour for our West Coast alumni.And even better, our community is joining forces to serve those more vulnerable members of our society who need the support. Faculty members are making face masks. Students are sending letters to health care workers. Many of our families are on the front lines in hospitals, healing those that are suffering during this pandemic.This important part of the Greenhill identity -- this selfless sense that even as individuals we are all part of something bigger -- has been central to the Greenhill community since our founding, and I'm confident that it will continue to be so as we look to the future.In most of my interactions with members of our community in the wake of this crisis, my goal has been to make people feel heard and seen and valued. This has always been an important part of what makes our school unique, but it feels especially necessary now.What is happening to us now is perspective altering. It must be. Either we contract around the old version of ourselves and our world, or we can forge something new, and better.There is much that’s uncertain in what lies ahead, but I am incredibly proud of the steps that we are taking as a community to support each other. Our core remains the same, and I’m confident it will continue for years to come. Thank you to you, to our dedicated students, and to our hardworking faculty who are making sure that we remain #GreenhillTogether.Enjoy the long weekend.Lee J. Hark
Head of School