A woman and the sea - The Taft School

L E T T E R S
Big Easy to the Big Red
By the start of October, three new students
from Louisiana had begun to
settle in to their new Taft routines. To
accommodate the increased enrollment
in an already full school, one of the common
rooms in Vogelstein Dormitory was
temporarily converted to a double.
Responses to the headmaster’s
letter* updating alumni and parents
about the school’s outreach efforts
were impressive. Some of them are
shared, briefly, here.
—Julie Reiff, editor
This is why I still love this place so much!
—John Gagne ’80
I am happy to see the two-part response.
First, try to help everyone,
and, second, help “one of our own.”
I would have been upset if Taft had
only made space for another privateschool
kid or two. I am not surprised
that you and the school reacted as you
did, just happy about it.
—John Merrow ’59
Great idea! One of the reasons I am
proud to be an alumnus of Taft.
—Tim Carew ’65
Taft will be well represented in the
relief effort: My three-year-old daughter
just packed her Taft rhino T-shirt
into one of the backpacks she and her
brothers have assembled for displaced
children with school supplies, small
toys, and notes to kids.
—Jessica Tausend Baccus ’83
What an appropriate and splendid commitment
for the school to make. Certainly
it is in the very best of the Taft tradition.
—Steve Henkel ’53
Letters
We welcome Letters to the Editor relating
to the content of the magazine.
Letters may be edited for length, clarity,
and content, and are published
at the editor’s discretion. Send correspondence
to:
Julie Reiff, editor
Taft Bulletin
110 Woodbury Road
Watertown, CT 06795-2100 USA
or to
ReiffJ@TaftSchool.org
It was heartening to read that the Taft
community has once again proven its collective
dedication to humanity, especially
to those in times of need. Thanks for sharing
the news and reminding me that, even
in the midst of a hectic life, there is always
a greater good to be served.
—Debbie Zawadzki ’80
Bravo! At a time like this, the Taft
motto is most important—not to be
served but to serve.
—Peter Buttenheim ’60
Compassion and empathy are treasures
of the heart. These have immeasurable
value as compared to treasures of the
storehouse or the body. The most
important accomplishment in life is
to reach out to someone in need and
make a real difference, turning poison
into medicine.
—Nicholas Bessmer ’77
Well done! I would have expected nothing
less of you and the Taft community,
but it is still good to know that you are all
responding as one would have hoped.
—Bridget Macaskill P’02,’05
I am touched by your e-mail as I have seldom
been. Besides the simple eloquence
of your expression, the superb values expressed
in the activities of the entire school
community are a terrific example of how
both individuals and a community can
ennoble and grace others. How wonderful
to have a motto that means something
and is actually lived…sed ut ministret.
—Jonathan Dill ’63
Having seen and been involved with a
very similar disaster in Haiti one year
ago, I can appreciate the hope your
letter offers. Taft’s caring response
makes me proud to be an alumnus.
—Bruce Johnson ’67
I am heartened by the school’s response
to Katrina. Reminds me of its response
to the Little Rock integration crisis
in 1958, when Taft made a place for a
“refugee” from Arkansas after term had
already started [see page 56]. I have
been profoundly grateful for the school’s
willingness to reach out and connect in
times of need and to remind all of us that
we can each be part of the solution.
—Jim Rule ’60
I’m sure others have pointed out a
parallel situation in 1958 when Taft
opened its doors to four or five students
from Little Rock who were affected
by the turmoil of the civil rights
confrontations in that city. I believe
that small band produced a starting
linebacker for Yale and a candidate
for U.S. Congress. In adversity there
may be significant opportunity.
—Henry Lanier ’61
It’s good to know that Taft has responded
rapidly and generously to the
worst natural disaster in our nation’s
history. I would have expected no less.
—Bob Murdock ’47
[Their] transition from the Big Easy
to the Big Red is clearly being conducted
with the same sense of community,
compassion, and high expectations
from all involved…. This is
Taft at its finest, its motto in action.
Horace would approve.
—Ev Anderson ’64
*Didn’t receive the headmaster’s September
e-mail? View the latest update online at
http://www.taftschool.org/katrina/.
A Numbers Game
The endnote essay in the summer
issue (“Boy of Summer, Father of
Fall”) brings to light a disturbing issue
regarding college admissions. The
myopic pursuit of admission to the
“best” colleges (to wit, Ivy League)
and the competition it fosters seems
misguided and unhealthy. Regrettable
are those businesses that promote
and encourage such competition for
a substantial fee and capitalize on
the specious argument that Harvard
equals success.
And it is sad, indeed, that there
are admissions personnel who revel in
this résumé-building charade. Isn’t a
more grounded approach to enriching
one’s personal development—intellectually
and spiritually, and thereby enriching
others—the formula for success
that should be nurtured? Isn’t that, after
all, the essence of a Taft education?
The college admission process is a
competition, undeniably, and it should
be pursued in earnest without the hubris
of elitism. The numbers game will
disqualify many good applicants to
Harvard and the like, but other schools
will benefit and so will we all.
—Roy Schonbrun ’68
In Sheep’s Clothing
I read in the summer issue that the
faculty had picked Farley Mowat’s
Never Cry Wolf as a book the entire
school would read over the summer
and discuss this fall as you “revisit the
key theme of our human relationship,
interaction, and participation in the
natural world.” Laudable as the goal
is, this book was a surprising choice,
and to my mind, a thoughtless one. I
only hope that the discussion that occurs
this fall can correct at least some
problems with the book and salvage
something of value from this exercise.
I have written a half dozen
scientific, legal, and ethical publications
regarding wolves, whales, and
other wildlife. I am currently a member
of the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature’s Canid
Specialist Group, a group of 100 scientists
from around the world that
monitors the conservation status and
biological knowledge of all 37 species
of canids—including wolves (www.
canids.org).
Also, I am a qualified fan of
Farley Mowat’s. My problem with
his nonautobiographical books is
that they play extremely loose with
the facts and the persons described.
Mowat’s story, presented as alleged
science, undercuts the credibility of
real scientists—reinforcing the public
misconception that researchers find
only what they want to find and misleading
people badly about the true
nature of wolves and our environmental
issues.
What saddens me is that there
are so many other, better books that
the Taft community could, and
should, have read. I recommend Barry
Lopez’s Of Wolves and Men, Aldo
Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, or
selected portions of Jared Diamond’s
Guns, Germs, and Steel or The Third
Chimpanzee—all excellent books that
are scientifically sound and sure to
elicit the sought-after debate.
The world is suffering a humancaused
environmental catastrophe that
is threatening most species, including
humans. Taft needs to lead the effort
toward scientific literacy, which is falling
to frightening levels, and awareness
of the environment. But Taft can only
do so if it adheres to the highest standards
of honesty and lets the scientific
process inform us, rather than illegitimately
presenting one’s own prejudices
as “science,” no matter how agreeable
those prejudices may seem.
—Jim Scarff ’66
Taft Bulletin Fall 2005