M e ssag e from th e
HEADMASTER Our Unconditional Commitment Preparing Our Boys for Successful & Fulfilled Lives
“W
e should prepare our children for the road. We should not prepare the road for our children.” When I first encountered this quote,
I knew that a better and clearer perspective on what we do at Brunswick School could not be found. In our community — a community whose stated values are Courage, Honor, Truth — our obligation to prepare our boys and young men for the realities and expectations of the world around them is clear.
that showed up the most often in adults who were
seen as successful and fulfilled in their lives.
For our boys, that preparation, this year and
always, will mean trying different things, facing new challenges, and supporting and respecting others.
Those characteristics are:
It will also mean meeting with success as well as
• Caring and compassion
occasional disappointment, and learning equally
• Honesty and integrity
valuable lessons from both experiences.
• Sense of humor
• Openness and capacity for self-disclosure
The reality, as all adults know, is that those who
manage to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives do so
• Tolerance/acceptance of (empathy for) others
because they are equipped with a well-established
• Dedication and commitment
set of skills,
Our obligation to prepare our boys and young men for the realities and expectations of the world around them is clear.
• Adaptability and self-confidence
experience and, often, a healthy
As Brunswick’s Headmaster, I give you my
perspective
unconditional commitment, and the commitment
on their own
of each and every adult in our community, that we
strengths and
will offer our boys experiences and lessons in all
weaknesses.
these critical characteristics of human excellence.
As I often tell
parents of rising
In fact, we will do so again and again and again,
throughout each day of each week of each month
8th graders as their sons are about to enter the Upper
of every year.
School, Dr. Douglas Heath, former Chairman of
Haverford College’s Department of Philosophy, spent
boys for the road ahead.
We can think of no better way to prepare these
much of his adult life researching characteristics most often found in adults who were successful in their lives and professions. Ultimately, he came up with what he called seven
Thomas W. Philip
“Predictors of Human Excellence,” or characteristics
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