The Meaning of Commuity Studies

PERSPECTIVES • FALL 2011

Classes Without Borders: The Meaning of Community Studies Kevin Rea, Assistant Headmaster

The Meaning of Existence

spection of the reader.

Two things which strike me about this poem, apart from its hard hitting wit, are Murray’s respect for mystery and his skepticism about mankind’s need to think too much! In categorizing and rationalizing our universe we run the risk of losing sight of its beauty. Shakespeare understood this sense of wonder when in Twelfth Night he gave Sebastian the following lines at the very moment he realized that the noble Olivia was in love with him and that he, a simple sailor, was going to embrace the illogicality of the moment and “go with it”

Everything except language knows the meaning of existence.

Trees, planets, rivers, time know nothing else. They express it moment by moment as the universe.

Even this fool of a body lives it in part, and would have full dignity within it but for the ignorant freedom of my talking mind.

“This is the air, that is the glorious sun, This pearl she gave me, I do feel’t and see’t, And thought ‘tis wonder that enwraps me thus, Yet tis not madness…” (IV, ii, 1-4)

— Les Murray.

The award-winning poet Les Murray describes himself as a poet who engages with “the real Australia.” By this he means the rural heartland and the bush. His poem “The Meaning of Existence” contains his trademark wit and insight, this time directed at one of the oldest themes of literature, the potentially intimidating topic of “the meaning of life.” In the poem Les Murray explores the unified nature of the natural world. For him the trees, the planets, water, time and, by extension, other elements like fire and air, simply are, and it is in their being that the deepest meaning of life can be found. Les Murray includes our bodies in this awareness too; at least that part of our bodies which is separate from what he calls “the ignorant freedom of my talking mind.” Quite a pointed line that. How can freedom be ignorant? How can a mind be the location of darkness, particularly when it comes to something as fundamental as “the meaning of life?” Murray does not offer the reader any easy road maps or quick fixes. Like all great poets he pokes, prods and demands intro-

One of the obvious ways that independent schools like Hackley support students is by providing them with a rational set of academic subjects which prepare them for college. One of the curious things about schools, however, is how many people consider them to be unreal. Very often adults can be heard categorizing the life of the mind this way, as in the saying “Well, you will need to know how to write on demand when you get out there in the real world.” (In other words this is why you need to do that comp right now!) By this, an adult usually means when the students are older and working, earning a salary and supporting themselves. Experience teaches us all, however, that this is not entirely the case.

While it may make sense for us to believe that the world works exclusively through the efficient separating and demarcating of boundaries, reality demonstrates otherwise. Take Les Murray’s poem as a glaring example, a poem one would 2

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easily say that a student at Hackley should encounter in an English class. Isn’t that what English teachers do, introduce students to poetry? That’s not the job of a science teacher, for instance. Poems, however, often do not comply with our neat expectations. Given Murray’s observations about the natural world and the human body, one could also encounter this poem in an Ecology or a Biology class. With its preoccupation with philosophy, students should also not be surprised to see it pop up in a moral philosophy class. Its quasi-spiritual tone could also lend itself to a lesson about religion or faith. In short, it is interdisciplinary in nature and scope. Murray’s poem challenges us to check our impulse to categorize knowledge and rather to find meaning in the multiple, the overlapping. Moreover, he argues that this meaning is in our bodies. In a sense, “we” are the eponymous “meaning of existence.”

When I spoke to Hackley’s incoming freshmen about Hackley’s new Community Studies Department (a department which comprises Diversity, Sustainability, Global Education and Community Service) I asked them all to close their eyes and think about something which they can neither feel nor touch but that is really important all the same. I offered them the idea of the air. The air is all around us, in us, and it is essential for the continuance of our bodies and minds. By way of analogy, a student cannot look at his or her schedule and say that on Day 3, period 5 he or she will be in the class called “Global Education” or “Diversity Studies.” Yet a student may be in a History or an English class which is considering questions of race or social equity. A student may be in a French class which uses a dialogue about recycling to teach the subjunctive case. A student may lead a senior project in the spring with a service learning component based on the work he or she did this autumn in an economics class.

If one of the things Murray’s poem teaches us is continued on page 7 3

Those who have been close to Hackley for some time are familiar with Connections, the community newsletter produced by the Communications office since September 1997. We have been fond of it as a communications tool — with content that ranged from philosophical reflections to lively stories from our classrooms. Yet our tools and the options for sharing information have grown in the digital age, as has our commitment to sustainability, and we find ourselves revisiting the question “What is the role of print?”

We have talked with many of our readers, and your preferences are vast and varied.

Some encourage us to “go digital” entirely. Others appreciate the tactile pleasure of reading in the “hard copy.”

We believe the right answer is, actually, both — offered in thoughtful balance.

We are pleased now to offer you our “Hilltop Connections” enewsletter on a bi-monthly basis. It will contain the fun campus updates — from athletics to dramatic performances to creative classroom-based projects — complete with stories, photos and even videos.

We distributed the first edition of Hilltop Connections 2011-12 on September 29th — if you missed it you may find it on the new Publications tab on your division’s Hub on Hackley Online.

The thoughtful discussions on mission, program and values that are so much the heart of Hackley will come to you here, in Perspectives. We hope you will enjoy both, and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Perspectives is a publication of Hackley School. Copyright 2011 Hackley School. All rights reserved. For information, contact Suzy Akin, Director of Communications, at (914) 366-2663 or sakin@hackleyschool.org.