Farewell
Commencement 2000

Were I an Olympian deity and able to determine human destiny I would be moved to decree that all of the class of 2000 should become teachers. And while such power is beyond mortals, I sincerely hope that many of you will consider a career in the classroom. Good teachers need to have good intellects, and that is certainly a characteristic of the class of 2000. But more than that, good teachers need to have an instinct for how others come to understanding, for how others may confront new ideas, for how uncertainty can be erased through well-chosen words. Those are instincts and skills you have been sharpening during your years at Exeter through your conversations around the Harkness table.

You already have a great head start on most of the classmates you will meet next fall in college in knowing how to teach others. You already know a great deal about teaching because you have been doing a lot of it for these years at Exeter. Great Harkness teachers look to duplicate themselves with every class. Good teachers morph and clone themselves into all their students. The Harkness experience is one in which you have been challenged to learn and you have been challenged to teach by presenting your thoughts to the testing minds who share the table. The Harkness table is a great incubator for teachers.

It is no mystery to me why graduates depart the ivy of academia for the cubicles of the dot-com world. The new technology is exciting and it pays well. Those are powerful arguments in considering a career.

But let me suggest that those who have lived their life in schools, some of whom join me on the stage this morning, find compensations of immeasurable value in those conversations around our tables. There is compensation in service to our culture by leading others to a fuller appreciation of its meaning. There is compensation in service to our fellow humans by nourishing curiosity about science and ecology and law and justice and truth.

Members of the class of 2000, your calling may well lead you far from the classroom and the traditional gardens of academia. In whatever paths you walk, I hope you will remember the spirit of non sibi and recognize the responsibility all adults bear to teach the young. And more than that, I hope many of you will consider teaching as a profession since you hold such promise and have been so richly exposed to excellent teaching here at Exeter.

As the class of 2000 graduates today, all of us on the faculty recognize the strength and the accomplishments of this class of Exonians. This class has achieved much during their careers at Exeter through hard work and diligent scholarship. The many awards presented during the most recent prize day and in prize days past, underscore this class's accomplishments.

The Class of 2000 leaves a great legacy: superb actors, incomparable musicians, a triumphant Concert Choir tour of California, and visual art which has enlivened our view and challenged our minds.

Under your class's leadership many venerable activities have gained new life. The Exonian has been transformed, student government has focused on achievable goals and had great success, and new expressions of non sibi have enriched our school.

And without exception this class has left a legacy of athletic success. New England championships, league titles, one national championship, and many personal bests have followed this class and enriched our lives.

The depth of this class has been revealed in your papers, RALs, and meditations. This class came to Exeter with unique stories and a rich history. In your contributions to this Academy, and in your leadership of the school as Seniors, you have left a part of that history with us and made us a part of you.

Members of the class of 2000, you have worked hard, learned much, and contributed greatly to the life of the school and the education of your peers. The hard work you have performed has opened the doors of opportunity for you. Your friends, families, and faculty wish you good fortune and Godspeed on your exciting journey.

High opportunity carries great responsibility, and thus as you step forth from this Academy to make your way through life I give you three charges which reflect the spirit of this school and the meaning of the lessons you learned here.

First, I charge you to use your generous hearts and talents to preserve the freedom and enhance the well-being of those less educated and less fortunate than you. Share the good fortune of your lessons at Phillips Exeter so that all of us on this small, fragile planet can live in peace.

Second, value truth. Your parents and your faculty have taught you to respect it. Pursue it in scholarship and in your work in the years to come. Demand it of yourself and others. In our country and in our world the truth needs your protection.

Finally, I charge you to remember that this group of individuals will never be assembled again on this earth. The memories of what you have learned together as a class are your unique trust and your unique debt to each other. Preserve those memories and revisit them often. They represent wisdom for today and many tomorrows. Rejoice in the love and support of your families, friends, and faculty. Protect each other and keep each other safe, so that for many years to come you may rejoin this class and recall this important chapter in your life now ending.