By Benjamin LaBadie, Head of Upper School
I had the opportunity to visit Northern California and the John Muir woods last summer. It was incredible to behold towering redwoods, generally three-hundred feet in height and ten to twenty feet in diameter. What is striking is that these redwoods come from the tiniest of seeds. And I learned that the roots don’t go deep as I initially expected, thinking they needed to be vertically deep for such a large tree. Rather, the roots are shallow and spread horizontally. Some root systems go a hundred feet beyond the original tree, and the roots intertwine with the roots of others. This stability allows the trees to withstand heavy winds and to reach their soaring heights.
I also learned that a coastal redwood grows from one inch to two to three feet per year depending on the amount of moisture it receives. Although it certainly gets moisture from rain, it turns out the secret ingredient is fog. Fog is a vital component. It protects the redwoods from the sun and heat while nourishing them with water. In fact, redwood tree needles have adapted to absorb and catch fog more easily. The fog will move down past the canopy and drip down, feeding even small creeks on the ground.
I cannot get this image out of my head: groves of redwoods immersed in fog. And I think that this is a fitting image of a liberal arts education. Professor Roosevelt Montas of Columbia describes the liberal arts as something that can only be understood by contagion, meaning, you have to experience it daily and over months and years to know its worth. The effects of liberal arts are subtle and constant, forming students into having more ways of understanding the world, not fewer. I think the image of redwoods and the fog is apt. When immersed in the fog, it may not seem like much is happening. But the growth is subtle and transformative: sometimes only an inch or a couple feet a year, but over time you see the amazing growth and you are filled with awe. Just speed up the time and you can see these beautiful trees surpassing three-hundred feet in height and ten to twenty feet in width.
Alumni often remark that they didn’t realize what they had at MacLaren until they graduated. One alum recently said “formative” is the operative word that describes a MacLaren education. It slowly works on you over time and shapes the ways you think and can conceptualize and understand the truth of the world. It shapes the kinds of people you want to be around. It gives you a posture of curiosity and wonder. Alumni understand that their growth does not come from being alone, but in pursuing truth with others. Like these redwoods’ root systems, the roots of their learning are intertwined with others which allows them to inquire and understand the world more deeply.
Orchestra is an audible demonstration of a liberal arts education in its redwoods-like formation. You as parents have heard your kids practicing. You hear fragments, notes, bow squeaking, and repetition. You just get bits and pieces of what they’re doing. And then you see your children perform, and you experience awe and wonder. The day-in and day-out practice has been building toward something greater, and it’s something to marvel at, like those towering redwoods which slowly and steadily absorb the fog and intertwine roots with others. May orchestra be a testament to the beauty and power of not only music, but a liberal arts education that Thomas MacLaren School humbly offers.