On Courage — The Browning School

“There is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” So concluded Amanda Gorman last week in closing her sublime inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb.” Gorman’s verse was a stirring call to her fellow citizens, a hopeful vision of national reconciliation and our collective capacity to triumph over catastrophe and disunity. And she ultimately hinged the realization of these ideals on the performance of civic bravery.

For Gorman, we cannot be the nation we intend to be without courage. The same could certainly be said for our school; indeed, among the goals our community sets for itself is the charge to foster “courageous men” in the name of leading meaningful lives. At Browning, courage is not synonymous with “fearless,” but instead denotes the quality of learning to understand and, when appropriate, act counter to one’s fears. Some boys may come to courage more naturally or readily than others, and yet we believe that through particular learning experiences, activities, and relationships, all Browning students can nurture this vital disposition.

Last Friday night brought a wonderful example to our community, as our Middle School hosted an online coffeehouse. While no coffee was available, there were some incredible musical performances on offer. One couldn’t help but marvel at both Mr. Harwood’s Spanish rendition of The Beatles’ “Mother Nature’s Son” and the stylings of Ms. Hickok, whose golden voice revealed why she was a touring professional musician in the years before Browning. And, of course, the Middle School boys themselves were wondrous on the piano, violin, and in voice, with songs from Mozart to ABBA and everything in between. But beyond the delighting in these performances—and I really can’t overstate how impressive they were—what I noted most was the “chat.”

Perhaps no developmental stage is as potentially frightening as adolescence, a time of changing bodies, shifting social expectations, evolving relationships and emotions, and so forth. It’s also not easy to give public performances, and perhaps it’s particularly difficult to do so under the regime of Zoom, with its silent, unseen judges. Imagine, then, bringing those things together: You’re in Middle School, you’re playing a difficult piece on your instrument, and you’re being quietly assessed from distant kitchens and living rooms. A seemingly harmless coffeehouse becomes a potential minefield of fear.

“Boys chose to be brave, and other boys chose to meet that bravery with encouragement (or “compassion,” in the words of our mission), which in turn inspires further bravery.”

— Head of School Dr. John Botti

And that’s where the chat—the Zoom function which allows participants to make written comments—comes in. As tremendous as Friday’s musicianship was, some of the most stirring moments of the evening came in the chatbox, as boys veritably rushed in to praise their peers for their artistry, support them in the case of minor missteps, and to generally warm the space with an unmistakable sense of mutual care and regard. The stereotype of the early teen is that of a sullen self-absorption, and to see the coffeehouse was to witness the explosion of this assumption. Boys were actively, eagerly, and openly caring for one another in unmistakable ways, and thus giving testimony as to the power of real community. For if we know that if it takes individual courage to perform in public—to act counter to one’s possible fears—we also understand that this bravery is made decidedly more possible under conditions of encouragement, where boys know they will be supported not only by their families and teachers, but also by those who are riding the same waves of adolescent development that they are.

The coffeehouse was, by any measure, an artistic triumph, and it was also a powerful statement of ethical meaning—a virtuous circle, if you will. Boys chose to be brave, and other boys chose to meet that bravery with encouragement (or “compassion,” in the words of our mission), which in turn inspires further bravery. Perhaps this is the way for our nation to realize the most important of its ideals; it certainly speaks to what Browning demonstrates when it is best realizing its purpose.