We state frequently in our various
publications that character development
is at the center of all that we do at SKS.
It is the core of our educational philoso-
phy and manifests itself throughout our
curriculum and residential experience.
Despite being regarded by some as an
“
old fashioned” concept, the theme of
character development as a central orga-
nizing principle remains as true today as
it was throughout Storm King’s storied
146
year history. It speaks not only to
the persistence of purpose for our own
school, but the underlying purpose of
American boarding schools since their
founding.
Boarding schools have traditionally
focused upon preparing young people for
leadership roles in society, by teaching
the knowledge, skills, values and habits
of mind necessary to succeed in those
roles. In a previous piece for this publica-
tion, I wrote a bit about the compelling
article written for
The American Scholar
magazine some years ago by David
Hicks, the former rector (headmaster) of
St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire. At
the risk of redundancy, his basic premise
bears retelling. In the article Hicks traced
the roots of American boarding schools
and described their common mission as
“
educating an unselfish and virtuous elite
for positions of influence and leadership.”
Rev. Hicks’ article, “The Strange Fate of
the American Boarding School,” goes on
to trace the evolution of boarding schools
in the US, highlighting their founding
purpose to provide intellectual and moral
education to the over-indulged children
of the American aristocracy. What he
terms “corrective salutary deprivation”
was the common antidote to privilege
which became the thematic center of our
schools’ residential cultures. “One sent
his boy to Groton,” Hicks writes, “to save
him from the selfishness and softness of
his secure place.”
I was recently looking through a
1920–1921
Storm King School pro-
spectus — the equivalent of a modern
viewbook or website — and came upon
the following daily timetable (below),
proudly stating the rigors every student
would undergo each day.
and takes place through local youth
sports clubs. In Asia, afternoon study
programs fill the hours between school
time and evening homework for many
university-bound students. Relatively
few students participate in organized
sports of any kind unless they have
been identified as having high athletic
potential at an early age and have
been brought into the national sports
academy system. Here in America, of
course, virtually every high school fields
teams in a wide variety of interscholastic
sports. Athletic competition is so
ingrained in the American high school
experience that few question why it is
that we devote so much time to this
non-academic endeavor. Indeed, at U.S.
prep schools like Storm King, where
university matriculation is the ultimate
goal of every student, we even take it a
step further. Here athletic participation
is not reserved for the select few who can
“
make the team.” Rather, every student
is required to participate in sports and
recreational activities. Everyone plays,
and with our stated “college prep”
purpose, it is entirely reasonable to ask
why. And that “why” points straight to
character.
4:15-6:00
Classes
6:00-8:00
The evening is devoted to study, one
hour for the younger boys and two
hours for the older.
8:00-10:00
Bedtime varies, with the age of the
boy.
“
By this order, ample provision is
made for the exercise and sleep
necessary to good health at an
age with the demands upon
vitality are great.”
Left: According to the 1920-21 prospectus,
SKS was “a school of 100 boys, with a class size
of eight, so that each boys’problems can be
studied, with a view to supplying his particular
needs and increasing his individual efficiency.”
Center: Boys played hockey on the depression
occupied by tennis courts in summer and
flooded in winter in front of Old Main.
Right: A school room where boys studied under
supervision.
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