At Friends School Haverford, kindness reigns because it is right and true and moral. Our commitment to seek out and to honor each other's undeniable humanity--the Light of God in everyone--it is not a matter of fashion nor the latest educational trend. It is, as ever, unwavering. From our nursery classroom to our middle school, we both nurture children's innate desire to be helpful and directly teach children how and why their words and actions matter every time, every day. Each day, our students offer one another a seat at the table, a helping hand, a comforting hug, an apology. Teachers and students model kindness for one another by holding the door, picking up trash we didn't drop, and expressing our gratitude at every turn. While it has been declared the "new" path to a successful and fulfilling life, FSH students and teachers have long known that kindness is a gesture that, when practiced over and over again, becomes a belief. And that belief is the basis for, and inseparable from, peace, integrity, equality, community, and stewardship. In many ways, the noblest goals of Quaker education are predicated on the simplest acts of kindness.
Near the end of their article in The Atlantic, the Grants suggest that "students who care about others ... tend to see their education as preparation for contributing to society." What all Friends School Haverford students bring to the broader world, regardless of their age, is a belief that the light within each of them truly matters. That light and its accompanying compassion do not merely shine. They effect change--on the playground, in the classroom, and around the world. Surely, Mr. Rogers must have crossed paths with a Quaker school graduate at some point.