What Is a Quaker School?

By

Daniel D. Test, Jr.

Daniel D. Test, Jr. is a graduate of Haverford College and Headmaster of Westtown School in Chester County, Pennsylvania. After completing his studies in England he taught at William Penn Charter School and at Williston Academy, and was personnel officer at the Atlantic Refining Company.

In 1659 Mary Dyer, Quakeress, along with two companions was condemned to be hanged on Boston Common. Offense: returning to Boston to preach the Quaker message in defiance of the orders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is hard for us in these days to account for such drastic treatment of one church member by the governing body of another. Today we think of the early Quakers and Puritans as coming to America essentially for the same reasons: a search for religious liberty and a desire to escape from the tyranny of England under the Stuarts. But actually, their ideas as to the fundamental nature of man were poles apart. Many Puritans believed that man was, from the beginning, damned; but the Quakers insisted, then as now, in the divine spark, the seed of goodness, in every individual. It follows, then, that for the Quaker the cultivation of the seed, which is, after all, education in its broadest sense, assumes major importance.

If every individual has within him the seeds of the Divine, the whole business of life for everyone, rich or poor, bond or free, becomes essentially that of nurturing the individual's growth and development. To some the salvation of the soul would seem to depend on the knowledge of right answers and categorical statements of belief, and religious teaching of necessity becomes rigid and formalized. But the Quaker concept, while it offers less security in terms of sure salvation, seeks to provide the spiritual atmosphere that will allow the seed to grow toward the light of God in its own way and in its own time. The aspiration of the individual, instead of being arbitrarily cut to fit a given pattern, may branch outward and upward in countless ways in the search for that light. Frequent use by Jesus of the symbolism of the seed and the sower, tree and fruit, gives validity to this concept. However, individual growth cannot be without the discipline of an ordered mind familiar with the accumulated wisdom of the race in art, literature, science, and history. To Quakers this growth and unfolding of life becomes particularly important to the individual. For within the Quaker church there is complete democracy of action. Women have from the beginning been given equal place with men. Each layman assumes equal responsibility within the church organization. This is true both in theory and in practice. Quakerism at its best should approximate democracy at its best. The Quaker believes in democracy with every fiber of his being. To him it is not a political concept only. To be successful, democracy must be infused with the life and conviction and dedication of the spirit. So it is that the very life of democracy, for a Quaker, depends for its existence on a broad and sound education.

Insofar as the American educational scene is concerned probably more mischief has been created by the desire for so-called "child-centered" schools than by any other concept over the past fifty years. To most parents, and indeed, to many teachers, this concept fundamentally means providing for "my" child, [that] which allows for, and indeed sometimes caters to, his individual whims. The child-centered school may create mischief for the same reason that a home that centers about an only child may create an unreal world for that child.

From the beginning, although the Quakers have placed great stress on individual freedom of thought and action, it must be remembered that they have always considered the group as the testing ground. In early days, and this is still true for the most part, when Quakers had concerns they did not feel free to proceed until they had the approval of the Meeting. Another way of putting this is that the individual felt the kind of freedom-which is essentially the only kind of freedom available to anyone-freedom to act within and for the group. Freedom of action that has the approval of the group and contributes to the welfare of the group will not harm any individual in the group. In the opinion of some, the essential contribution that Quakers have to make to education, and indeed to democracy, is the concept that the individual achieves freedom insofar as his actions promote the common good. This does not mean for a moment that individuals cannot have different ideas. It does not mean for a moment that any individual will find it impossible to develop any creative ability he has, whether it be through the arts or through religion or through scientific thought. But it does mean that the individual thinks of himself as a responsible member of the group. Psychologists, I think, would agree that satisfactions which exclude the group are short-lived satisfactions. The Quakers, therefore, tend to believe in the group-centered school as opposed to the child-centered school.

Not long ago a suburban trolley line in one of our metropolitan areas was discontinued in favor of a bus line. The next morning a little boy found himself riding with a bus driver who had been a motorman on one of the trolleys. In the course of the conversation the boy asked the bus driver: "Which would you rather drive-a trolley or a bus?" The bus driver replied: "I'd rather drive a bus." Questioned why, the former motorman replied: "Because I kind of like to steer!" The amazed boy said: "Isn't it harder work?" The answer was, 'Yes." "Don't you think that the chances are greater of running into telegraph poles and ruining more people?" The answer was again "Yes-but I like the freedom!" This puts in a simple but dramatic way the essential Quaker point of view toward freedom and toward education. If education is a matter of teaching a person how to achieve freedom within the group, then it follows that more work is involved and that the responsibility toward one's neighbors becomes greater.

From the beginning Quaker education has been characterized by these two factors. They have the belief that hard work is involved, and they believe that the responsibility to others is paramount. George Fox set the pattern when he urged the setting up of schools not only for boys, but for girls-"to instruct young lasses and maidens in whatsoever things were civil and useful in the creation." And he went on to say, "All must come to the spiritual school of Christ." This same pattern continued when the Quakers moved to Pennsylvania, and William Penn declared: "The prosperity and welfare of any people depends in a great measure upon the good Education of Youth, and their early instruccon in the principles of true religeon and vertue, and qualifying them to Serve their Country and themselves, by breeding them to reading, writing and learning of languages, usfull arts and Sciences, Suitable to their Sex, age and degree."

In general, wherever there was a congregation, or Monthly Meeting, as Friends call it, there was a schoolhouse attached. In many areas this schoolhouse was the only school, and in the early Colonial days the schoolteacher (Quakers had no parson) enjoyed a position of prestige and trust in the cornmunities of the settlers. If a democracy is to survive, there must be an artistocracy of mind and spirit. The thesis that democracy demands leveling down, which is another way of saying that it demands mediocrity, is not a sound thesis; and Quakers in the beginning put academic excellence second only to the development of spiritual values. With the settlement of a new country the practical aspects of education were often stressed more than the academic, but never was the attempt to nurture the Spirit neglected. The nineteenth century in America brought a revival of interest in the academic, and today most of the Quaker schools are college preparatory.

By and large, the Friends' schools, in common with the good church schools of every denomination, have contributed more than their fair share of excellent students who find their way to the colleges that maintain high academic standards. But though the business of schools is thought by many to be primarily directed toward book learning, Quakers think of their first purpose as that of training the spirit, and their philosophy of hard work finds many expressions in this area.

In the first place, no Quaker school is satisfied with its program, and groups of teachers and students are constantly searching for better ways of serving the community. In every Quaker school service projects of one kind or another are a regular part of the school; work camps are just one phase of this. Co-operation and activity in the community in which the school finds itself is another phase. It should be pointed out that the Friends' schools are not the only ones that are concerned in this kind of program, but it is true that there would be no excuse for a Quaker school without such a program. Quakers have also always felt that, although a religious life is worth nothing unless it finds its expression in service in the community, such action is short-lived and shallow unless it is backed up by that spiritual perception which comes only from cultivation of the life within. It is perhaps in this area, therefore, that Friends' schools have made, and ought to make in the future, their greatest contribution.

The way of silence is a distinctive contribution that the Quakers have made to the spiritual world. Other faiths have found meditation to be worthwhile for those who are so inclined. Quaker schools make a practice of a way of meditation for all. Silence for the Quaker is a matter of necessity, not a matter of luxury. All Quaker schools have Meetings for Worship; all Quaker schools provide time for quiet before meals, and after the daily reading of the Scripture or other religious writings. But why this stress on silence? Fundamentally it goes back to the individual's freedom and his place in the community. Freedom is an individual matter. Hands can be tied, the body chained, but freedom there can still be. Friends believe that true individual freedom must come from within. You will find Quakers expressing this belief in different ways. Some refer to the spirit of God; some refer to the seed of Christ; some refer to the power that comes from a higher source. The real Quaker is not much concerned about theology, but he is deeply concerned whether he as an individual has come to an awareness of the power of the Spirit. Although he thinks that music and art and the spoken and written words of religious leaders of any age can be of great assistance, he believes that the final source of freedom comes as a result of the inner search; hence the emphasis on time for quiet. From an entirely practical point of view, it can be pointed out that most of the really creative work of the world, of nature, and of man grows out of quiet. And so the practice of having a whole student body sit in quiet meeting for worship once or twice a week for a half hour or more becomes inherently a part of the program of the school. Even committee meetings in Friends' schools start or end with a period of silence.

At this point one may ask, "But why all the fuss, of what practical value is silence?" Well, in the experience of Friends, the times of quiet bring objectivity, bring an awareness of what the other fellow needs, of what the individual can do to help himself and to help others. It is sensitivity and the will to act that come out of the silence.

Because of the faith in the individual, Friends have a way of not moving forward in action until the whole group is well-nigh unanimous in being willing to go forward. No vote in Quaker committee meetings is taken, and this practice extends into much of the committee work of most Friends' schools. Thus one individual has veto power, but children do not have to be trained to recognize the difference between the insincere obstructionist and the sincere doubter.

There is much that could be said about the educational policies and ideas of Friends. Their schools educate several thousand each year, and members of other faiths patronize them liberally. Friends' schools seem to have made a place for themselves. If they can continue to stress the right approach and advance toward true freedom, their contribution to the future democratic life of America would seem to be important.