From the Headmaster by Kenneth H. LaRocque
Greetings,
A theme of this issue of The Avonian is the Renaissance man, which is an aspirational goal we hold for all of our students. In a world of increasing specialization in which young people are encouraged to determine their extracurricular focus early and to pursue it passionately and exclusively, honing their skills and exploring their potential in order to achieve excellence, the concept of a Renaissance man is almost an anachronism. Across the independent boarding school world, educators grapple with the issue of specialization. At Avon, we strive to help our students develop their talents and embrace their passions, but we also want them to explore their universe of choices fully and to discover the rewards of scholarship, service, creativity, competition, and brotherhood. We understand that our world of specialization makes the three-sport varsity athlete an endangered species and that our performing artists struggle under enormous pressure to choose early on between vocal and instrumental paths. Avon Old Farms remains a liberal arts-
based school that requires boys to look at the world through the lenses of an author, a historian, a mathematician, a scientist, an athlete, a community servant, a painter, an actor, and a variety of other perspectives in hopes of providing them with a broad foundation of knowledge and experience from which to continue to grow in college and beyond. In the coming years, schools like Avon will need to change with the times and adapt to the world of specialization by allowing our students to focus more within their scholarly, athletic, artistic, civic, and other pursuits. However, we must always encourage our young men to taste the richness of the world by discovering the joy present in the wonderfully diverse cornucopia of life. Our mission is to develop young men who honor wisdom, justice, service, inclusion, and the pursuit of truth. What has transpired at school over the past several months tells me that our school culture is mission-focused and encourages our students to explore their unique gifts while building a model of masculinity
“Our mission is to develop young men who honor wisdom, justice, service, inclusion, and the pursuit of truth.� -KENNETH H. LAROCQUE
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Spring 2014 The Avonian