Dana - 2007: Circumspice

Circumspice

By Dana Edwards

There is an article about Cate School on the Wikipedia website. Among the many compliments it allots Cate School is a brief description of this newspaper, “…El Batidor, is a lively and original twenty-four page publication.”  This is, in my opinion, entirely true. It is indeed creative. However, occasionally there is difficulty in putting together the paper, particularly in finding a wide variety of concepts and themes to feature. As the members of the El Bat staff were thinking up ideas for this current issue of the newspaper, there became apparent a certain lack of substance. Among the prospective articles were various romantic Valentine’s Day-themed pieces, including summaries of the blind dates that took place between unsuspecting students, love horoscopes, updates on the relative success or failure of numerous Cate athletic teams, and a promising new addition, “Pimp My Room”. All amusing, informative pieces, containing the typical “Cate humor”, a blend of spunkiness, light sarcasm and sheer weirdness, however lacking a certain significance that should be present in the publications of a high school as prestigious as ours. There is a place for humor and entertainment, however Cate students, despite their insightful perspective, tend to sometimes forget that there is also a place for issues of greater importance: in writing, in conversation, and in the general consciousness. This is my attempt at an article of substance.

A school should provoke thought and debate. It should challenge students to look beyond their boundaries, to question the world that surrounds them. This atmosphere of interest and awareness has always been deeply rooted in Cate School. Above the entrance to Schoolhouse there is a plaque that reads, “si monumentum requiris, circumspice” (if you should seek my monument, look around). Mr. Cate would have been quoted saying this often; it captures one of the original messages of the school. Still today, it represents, for the most part, the attitude of Cate’s inhabitants, or at least one of the underlying themes of the school. The last word, “circumspice”, has become the catchphrase for our Historical Society. Often in assembly, the society’s members, under the guidance of the eccentric enthusiast, David Harbison, stand up to utter the word, followed by little-known facts, subtle nuances about our school, for the edification of students and faculty alike. Cate School should continue evoking intellectual curiosity, for it is the responsibility of a distinguished educational institution.

It is in the spirit of circumspice that I decided to take a look around.  I examined my circumstances, particularly Cate School, where I attend and devote the majority of my time. Questions arose in my mind. What was this place like when it was founded nearly a century ago? How much has this remarkable school changed since its early days? The answer is: quite a lot. The school, as it was in 1910, would be hardly recognizable and quite foreign to us today. There would be neither hot water nor electricity. The campus would be home to twelve boys, a stable full of horses, and Curtis Cate, the founder, and at that time, only teacher at the school. The boys’ daily lives would be drastically different from ours. In the morning, they would wake up to a cold shower, spend the day studying, riding, hiking and vigorously playing, and gather at night to be read aloud to by their teacher and mentor, Curtis. Today, there is a radically different arrangement of buildings and grounds. Instead of horses, the barns now contain a ceramics classroom, Mr. Connolly, and a day care center that is home to a plethora of preschool-aged faculty children. Where there was once nothing but a vast expanse of chaparral, there now lie our four athletic fields and full-length track. While there was once only one dormitory, there are now eight, four girls’ and four boys’. 

However, there are other forms of changes to the school that I would like to examine, ones that perhaps hold a deeper significance than mere alterations in aesthetics. Changes concerning neither the exterior looks of the school nor the trivial (in the grand scheme of things) adjustments in students’ lifestyles. These are changes regarding the motives, the greater goal, the sole purpose, of the school.

In establishing Cate School, Mr. Cate wanted, as our website puts it, “to start a boarding school that combined the academic excellence of the best East Coast schools with the can-do, adventurous spirit of the West”. Now, I think it is fair to say that he accomplished this when founding it. Cate School’s early graduates were intelligent, literary, studious, creative, athletic, rugged outdoor characters, a combination of traits that was relatively unique to Cate. They were well rounded in the highest sense of the phrase; the school had nurtured the intellectual, moral, and outdoorsy sides of the gentlemen. Now, although I have never had a conversation with Mr. Cate, I can hazard a guess as to what the greater goal of the school was ‘back in the day’. I assume it was to provide a place where boys can grow in to men, where they can develop character, learn to appreciate the great outdoors, and become studious intellectuals with fervor for learning. Despite the perhaps corny sound of this, I believe, from my research and consideration, that this was the aim of Cate School at its beginning. Ninety-seven years later, the academic excellence of the school certainly remains. However, what of this “can-do, adventurous spirit”? I think that some of this spirit may have diminished over the years. Moreover, I think that the objectives of Cate School have changed, or at the least, reordered themselves.

 Nature, and rigorous activities involving the natural world, were indisputably an overlying presence in the lives of Cate students during the school’s early years. Today, this isn’t as much the case. Yes, we still have Fall Outings’ Week, involving no doubt outdoorsy expeditions, but it seems as if the various class-divided trips have become more procedures than true adventures. It is not the trips themselves that have diminished, but rather the attitude of the students who go on them. I am not seeing the type of enthusiasm for the great outdoors that I believe Mr. Cate would have expected of his students. Furthermore, you wouldn’t believe the complaints I’ve heard about the trips. Some students whine and moan about having to hike and sleep in the cold; I’ve heard some say that they would prefer if Cate School did not have our wilderness introductions to the school year. 

Cate School still offers occasional weekend outdoor trips, which really are great, mostly because of the calm, friendly manner and local outdoor knowledge of the leader, Ned Bowler. However, very few students participate in those trips. I’ve been on most of the excursions, but have been accompanied by only a few other students. I’d say that around five or six kids go on each trip. We are a school of two hundred eighty students, a school that was founded on the ideals of outdoor explorations, and now less than a tenth of the student body cares to take advantage of the great nature expeditions offered here. Of course, there is a limit to how many students can go on each trip, but I think that if there were more interest, more opportunities would be provided. There is little interest. At the very least, the trips are a break from the academic week, a welcome alternative to spending the weekend going in to Carp, aimlessly walking around the campus or studying. Today’s Cate students do not realize this.

I am not accusing Cate School. I simply pose the question, would Mr. Cate have admitted the student body that today inhabits our school? Students who complain endlessly about having to participate in an outdoor spring week trip? Who would rather take a bus in to State Street and spend the day shopping than spend it exploring the backcountry? 

I believe that the fundamental changes that Cate School has undergone are due largely to the students admitted. Of course, the faculty members play a large part in the atmosphere of a school, but it is the students who truly dictate the feel of an institution. They are the true essence; they are the young, spirited adolescents, developing young adults, and it is their values and personalities that are instilled into a school. 

 Therefore, this leads me to believe that Cate School must have made some changes in admissions policies. The qualities the school now looks for in prospective students are different from those Mr. Cate would have. And, lack of outdoor enthusiasm is not the only change I have noticed. In general, it seems that Cate School is now admitting students who primarily excel in academics. Other qualities, such as athleticism and individualism, are not necessarily disregarded, but most likely assigned less importance when deciding whether to admit a prospective Cate student. Let me remind you, I come to these conclusions based solely upon my observations. I don’t participate in the admissions committee; in fact I have never spoken to a faculty member on this subject. This is an opinion piece, based upon certain observations of course, but I do not claim to be correct. But, I have noticed that students recently admitted to the school are more focused on receiving good grades than anything else. Why is it that it appears as if today’s Cate students have the capacity to receive a perfect transcript, but not the curiosity to create a truly stimulating intellectual environment, nor the appreciation of the outdoors, both of which were vital aspects of the well-rounded students Mr. Cate would have been proud of? I think I know why.

To be honest, I think the reason for these changes in students’ characteristics is the emphasis on college admissions. In my opinion, Cate School today is much too concerned with college. It seems as if Cate students do things now not out of personal curiosity, nor for their educational benefit, but so they can write them down on their college applications. I simply do not see this as a sincere or pure motive. There is further evidence of the school’s emphasis on college. Cate School is now officially regarded and recognized as a college preparatory school. That says a lot in itself.  It suggests that getting its students into college is the main purpose of Cate School. Otherwise it would not be included in the name of our school. Misnomers are rare when dealing with something so important as an official title. 

However, I do not believe Cate School is necessarily to blame. I think that our school’s apparent emphasis on college is largely a symptom of recent changes in our society. Higher numbers of students applying to college, coupled with the modern reality of the western career world, where most decent jobs require a college degree, along with other cultural changes, have produced more competition for college acceptance. Cate is not alone in its conforming to this recent societal trend; I imagine many other schools, private ones especially, are acting likewise. However, perhaps Cate School does not have to sacrifice its essence in pursuit of college acceptance. Perhaps it can retain its original values and still prepare its students well for college. Perhaps not. Personally, I think it is unrealistic that our school will deemphasize college acceptance, given our society’s current focuses. Either way, I do not agree with these focuses.

I am not a philosopher. I do not claim to hold any divine wisdom. However I have seen and experienced enough to know that I do not want my adolescence to revolve around getting into college, as do the lives of many of my peers. I simply think that western society in the United States is too focused on careers and money. It appears to me that the lives our society encourages us to live are devoid of meaning. It seems that everything prepares you for something else, all with the greater goal of becoming rich. High school prepares you for college, and college prepares you for grad school, which prepares you for your career, which prepares you for a family, which prepares you for retirement. Retirement prepares you for death. Perhaps there is more to life than this.

It is my hope that, whatever direction Cate School takes, wherever this school may be going, that its students continue to question.  I believe that a school should not be measured in SAT scores, rather in its ability to provoke thought in its students. Thinking is how we progress as human beings, how we become wiser. It is all about curiosity. When we stop questioning, we stop functioning as rational, constantly-learning beings. We shouldn’t accept anything without consideration. Faith is the antithesis of intellectuality. Perhaps a little skepticism is healthy. Keep thinking, keep questioning. Circumspice.