On the <strong>Milton</strong> culture,Bridget and Sarah say:Then and now, the <strong>Milton</strong> experience isessentially built on relationships.• Faculty care enormously about individuals.They reach out to make <strong>Milton</strong> workfor each student.• They are very interested in what schoollife is like for students, not just insidetheir classrooms. Students then look tofaculty as one of the main connectionsbetween them and the School.• Faculty are eager to work outside of classto help anyone experiencing difficulty orconfusion.Then and now, at <strong>Milton</strong> the culture feedson an expectation of energy, passion andinvolvement. The students we enroll, thefaculty we hire—they don’t sit and watchthe grass grow.We focus on defining community here.That means students’ experience oftenruns counter to the self-centeredness oftoday’s culture.• Living in one house for all your <strong>Milton</strong>years, with a surrogate “family” that youknow very well, helps you learn aboutaffection, respect and responsibility.• You experience your house as homebase. You can’t walk away from yourmistakes—you learn from them—andyour support net surrounds you.• We communicate in many ways what itmeans to be a leader, helping the olderstudents (who usually do a very goodjob) understand how to lead the youngerby example.• We work hard at making sure the environmentis continually positive in buildingattributes and skills.Discipline practices at <strong>Milton</strong> are deliberateand thoughtful. They reinforce ideasabout how a person lives in a community,and they show how much we value eachteaching moment.• We see discipline as a responsibility thatis difficult for all parents, and is coretraining for adulthood.• Because discipline at <strong>Milton</strong> is a process,it allows teenagers to be reflective,to consider what led them to make anincorrect choice, to review other optionsthey might have had, and to consider theimpact of a mistake—on themselves andon others.• Because it’s a process, it has a beginning,a middle and an end. Teenagerslearn that a mistake is a mistake: they“pay their dues” and resume a role in thecommunity, wiser and better preparedfor their future.Positive risk-taking has always been a keyelement of a <strong>Milton</strong> education.• Opportunities to try activities are almostendless.• You know you’ll have support if youtry something for the first time; bothstudents and faculty urge people to trythings that are new to them.6 <strong>Milton</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>
Other cultural critics weigh in<strong>Milton</strong>’s house heads speak.*The assetsAdults are always accessible. “My advisormeetings are never short. Students arein my home frequently.”Students see us as people. “We’re teachersand we live with them as well. Manyteenagers have never interacted withadults in this way; they learn to know uswell and to trust us.”The brotherhood and sisterhood bondsare so strong. “This week [graduationweek], they were both so excited and sosaddened to leave the dorm. They can’treally describe the experience and theirfeelings about it.”Bonds between our students are muchstronger because they stay in one dormfor all their <strong>Milton</strong> years. “The consistency,and having older and youngerstudents living with them, makes thisexperience different from other schools.”This is a four-year conversation—an education,really—about what a communityis. “It’s a process. It’s a learning curve.They ultimately develop an understandingof what a community is, how to takeresponsibility, and what will happenwhen they don’t.”Students know that the adults in thedorms are choosing to live there, yearafter year, with teenagers. “That’s astrong commentary on how we feelabout what we’re doing. There’s such aconsistency that students are likely tointeract with the same adults for fouryears.”<strong>Milton</strong> students love the traditions of thehouses. “I’m always amazed at how theyactively participate in creating and sustainingtraditions and rituals.”Upperclassmen help lowerclassmen.“The cross-class connection is huge, andit works. The opportunities in this settingto learn about official and unofficialleadership are unparalleled.”Among the dorms, there is consistencyabout standards. “A ‘no’ is a ‘no’ acrossthe board. Perhaps this is easier thanparenting, in that this consistency is possiblehere.”The social challengesTechnology: video games absorb boysmore than girls; social networkinginvolves girls somewhat more thanboys. “Adults are excluded from theseactivities.”Cell phones: at first glance, they’re agreat way for parents to keep in touch.“Connecting with parents three and fourtimes a day ironically leads to much lessindependence and ownership of dailydecisions.”Digital communications: emails andtexts often put a spin on a situation thatisn’t right. “Students have to untanglesomething they never intended. Keepingface-to-face communications alive takeslots of time, but it can thrive in a house,and we work to sustain it.”Contemporary culture and mores: themessages seem to be getting steadilyworse. “For girls, regarding body imagein particular, the onslaught is relentless.”Intensity of the college process: it’s morecompetitive than ever. “Society asksstudents to juggle so much. Everythingis denser and faster. We work hard onkeeping that fast pace at bay, and helpingstudents find a balance between thestress that causes anxiety and the stressthat stimulates your creativity and keepsyou on your toes.”Parents: coaching parents is a big part ofour work. “Parents are trying to navigatenew frontiers in raising their teenagers,many without helpful experience. Weearn their trust in this process, ultimately,and many express tremendous appreciationfor what they’ve learned.”* House heads in the conversation: BradMoriarty (Millet House, formerly CentreHouse), Chris and Michele Hales(Forbes House), Ned Bean (GoodwinHouse), Heather Sugrue (HallowellHouse), Lisa Baker and Tarim Chung(Hathaway House), Karin Roethke-Kahn(Hathaway’s new house head in 2008),Steve Darling (Norris House), Ricky andJohn Banderob (Robbins House), WellsHansen (Wolcott House)<strong>Milton</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> 7