Quaker Values at the Heart of a Friends Education
Friends Council on Education writes,
"Friends schools hope to offer a community that cares deeply about what kind of persons its members, young and old, are becoming, what goals and motives are effective in their lives, what their response is to the high calling of being human. They hope to be communities of those who have, not only techniques and knowledge, but also a vivid relationship to reality, a hunger for worship, a passion for truth, and the experience of growth in the Light.
Quaker education does not seek to inculcate a particular set of beliefs or doctrines; it seeks to nurture a particular sort of personhood - a person who knows deep down that sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing are not all there are to life; a person who, in an age of rampant materialism, has first-hand experience of the reality and importance of the Spirit in life; a person rooted as much in the unseen as in the seen, as much in the spiritual as in the physical; a person who has a capacity for reverence, and who is as well equipped to experience the Spirit as to do work in the world.
This is a person who has learned that truth, beauty, goodness, and love are evidences of the transforming power of the Spirit and everywhere imbued with meaning; a person who is optimistic about the ability of love and good will to mend the affairs of humanity; a person who has begun to develop the courage to testify outwardly to what he or she knows inwardly; a person who has the courage to follow the inward argument where it leads.
Quaker education represents a unique combination of academic excellence and spiritual depth."
"Friends schools hope to offer a community that cares deeply about what kind of persons its members, young and old, are becoming, what goals and motives are effective in their lives, what their response is to the high calling of being human. They hope to be communities of those who have, not only techniques and knowledge, but also a vivid relationship to reality, a hunger for worship, a passion for truth, and the experience of growth in the Light.
Quaker education does not seek to inculcate a particular set of beliefs or doctrines; it seeks to nurture a particular sort of personhood - a person who knows deep down that sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing are not all there are to life; a person who, in an age of rampant materialism, has first-hand experience of the reality and importance of the Spirit in life; a person rooted as much in the unseen as in the seen, as much in the spiritual as in the physical; a person who has a capacity for reverence, and who is as well equipped to experience the Spirit as to do work in the world.
This is a person who has learned that truth, beauty, goodness, and love are evidences of the transforming power of the Spirit and everywhere imbued with meaning; a person who is optimistic about the ability of love and good will to mend the affairs of humanity; a person who has begun to develop the courage to testify outwardly to what he or she knows inwardly; a person who has the courage to follow the inward argument where it leads.
Quaker education represents a unique combination of academic excellence and spiritual depth."
Meeting for Worship
Meeting for Worship is a Quaker practice that involves the active use of group silence and stillness, as participants wait in anticipation for a "sense of the spirit." Spirit may be defined or felt in different ways, depending on an individual's family beliefs and practices.
At Friends School, we gather on Friday mornings for our Meeting for Worship. This is a period of quiet introspection, followed by morning greetings and group singing. Parents are invited and encouraged to participate, as students enter in silence, taking a seat on facing benches or on the floor. After a few minutes of settling in -- getting all the wiggles out -- we sit with stillness, in silence. After some time, the silence is broken by a designated person who greets the people around them with a handshake and the salutation, "good day." Once we have greeted one another with respectful care, we share birthday and other important announcements, followed by songs of freedom, peacemaking, and inclusion. The Meeting for Worship closes with a moment or two of silence before students walk quietly back to their classrooms.
For more information on Quaker practices and the Religious Society of Friends, please visit: https://www.fgcquaker.org/
Meeting for Worship is a Quaker practice that involves the active use of group silence and stillness, as participants wait in anticipation for a "sense of the spirit." Spirit may be defined or felt in different ways, depending on an individual's family beliefs and practices.
At Friends School, we gather on Friday mornings for our Meeting for Worship. This is a period of quiet introspection, followed by morning greetings and group singing. Parents are invited and encouraged to participate, as students enter in silence, taking a seat on facing benches or on the floor. After a few minutes of settling in -- getting all the wiggles out -- we sit with stillness, in silence. After some time, the silence is broken by a designated person who greets the people around them with a handshake and the salutation, "good day." Once we have greeted one another with respectful care, we share birthday and other important announcements, followed by songs of freedom, peacemaking, and inclusion. The Meeting for Worship closes with a moment or two of silence before students walk quietly back to their classrooms.
For more information on Quaker practices and the Religious Society of Friends, please visit: https://www.fgcquaker.org/
