Concord Academy’s mission statement reads, “...with common trust as our foundation”. But what does the concept of common trust really mean?
As a tour guide, I often find myself questioning what I say to prospective students as we make our way through the Main School Lobby. I talk about how we put our backpacks against the walls and on top of the pyramid, and how we call teachers by their first names. But do these examples truly demonstrate the ideals we hold as a community? Food goes missing from the fridges in the boarding houses. Students talk over their teachers. While the two examples of common trust tour guides are often asked to present remain true, the motives behind them—the common trust holding them up—are disproven time after time. Do these two examples, then, really say anything about what makes the CA community special? Is knowing that your bags will not be stolen not what we would expect from communities that practice basic respect for one another? What was perhaps true when CA’s mission statement was written is no longer true today.
Our behavior in the boarding houses highlight this lack of common trust within the boarding community, as well as the all school community, exemplified by students and faculty who live together 24/7. Personal toiletries are used by others without permission. Named items on the common room table are taken. Sanitary products are not properly disposed of. Students are late to house meetings. Dishes are strewn about the sinks, as each new addition somehow makes it someone else's responsibility. If we do not even respect ourselves enough to upkeep the environment we live in, how do we expect to practice common trust and give respect to others?
To fully understand the meaning of common trust, we must reach a collective definition of it, as indicated by the word “common” itself. We must communally uphold common trust, and it is unjust to blame any specific individual or group of people for the loss of common trust within the community. While we have all seen the all school emails of plates not being cleaned up in the Freshmen Pit, the same is true for the Senior Section. It is much easier to blame certain people or classes for these issues, but we must not avoid responsibility for flaws that exist in the entire community. If we maintain the mindset that the problem lies in other people, that it is other people’s responsibility, it will be impossible to achieve common trust if we are unwilling to do so as a community.
Whether they are teachers, students, or the various support staff that keep our community running, including the Stu-Fac, Student Life, and Operations Staff, each individual deserves to be respected as members of the community. Yet we cannot blindly trust that we will be given this respect, and each individual has the responsibility to uphold common trust. While much responsibility lies in students who are disrespectful towards teachers, as members of the community, teachers who enable their behaviors only perpetuate these issues.
We are a community capable of change. Focusing on each individual as a member of the community, we will be able to practice respect for ourselves, and the people and environment around us. We will once again be proud to call ourselves a community “with common trust as our foundation.”