KIT
Marcia Ruff
School Historian
THE ROEPER PHILOSOPHY: WHY STUDY IT?
“Emery (Pence) gave a Coffee Talk on the history, and he talked about the Roepers, both of whom he knew well,” Christine said, when asked recently about the origins of the classes. “I think he was deliberately letting the story seep into us, and we were all, how will we keep this going when the Roepers are gone? And he said, we should talk about that.” A group of interested parents started “talking about that” during the 2010/11 school year with Emery, whose position at the time was Alumni Director and Philosophy Dude, and with me, who had become the School Historian in 2008. At the time, historical materials were not readily available, and definitions of the Roeper Philosophy were more personal and less rooted in primary sources. At the same time, a number of factors had created uncertainty about the role of the philosophy at
the school. Two of the directors at the time were relatively new; the Head, Randall Dunn, was leaving after seven years for a headship elsewhere; and an Interim Head was coming in for the 2011/12 school year. In addition, Annemarie had become too frail to travel to the school as she had been doing over the years. The committee members wanted to develop a solid understanding of the Roeper Philosophy and a common language so that conversations about decisions and policies were rooted in a mutual agreement about the meaning of the Philosophy. By the end of the year, the committee, Emery, and I had developed a History and Philosophy class to be offered the next school year. It included a history of the people and ideas behind the development of our Philosophy; an exploration of the qualities that need to be present at the school for the Philosophy to thrive, such as respect, relationships, challenge, diversity, and empowerment; and scenarios of incidents that had occurred at the school that were discussed from the perspective of the Philosophy. Enthusiastic crusaders, we designed the first History and Philosophy class as a six-hour class, broken into two three-hour sessions. (The class has since been pared down to three hours total.)
DOUG ELBINGER
This fall was the ninth year of the Roeper History and Philosophy classes. The classes were initiated in 2010 by RPC members, who formed a committee that was chaired by parent Christine Lyon. Over the years, the classes have become a valuable way for parents, teachers and students to develop a deeper understanding of the Philosophy and, in turn, ensure that the Philosophy remains a core element of the school.
The Philosophy classes have become a valuable way for parents, teachers and students to develop a deeper understanding of the Philosophy and, in turn, ensure that the Philosophy remains a core element of the school. At the Philosophy in Practice class held on November 9, teachers Aaron Robinson, Susannah Nichols, and Michelle Lane talked about the ways the Philosophy guides their curriculum choices, their relationships with their students, and their own personal development as teachers and people.
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