High atop a hill overlooking the sea, a beautiful lighthouse illuminates the night, showing the way. It was built by the residents of a small hamlet, concerned by the number of shipwrecks witnessed and wayfarers who had lost their way. It was a prodigious lighthouse. As time passed though, the lighthouse’s beauty faded and the light went dark. Successive generations of hamletfolk, losing sight of their ancestors’ original intentions, ignored the lighthouse’s upkeep, disregarded its importance, and in an effort to satisfy a more selfish need, eventually converted it to a clubhouse.
For institutions to be strong and vibrant they can never loose sight of their founding principles or true purpose. Institutions that do can easily become something far different than their founding intention. As Saint David’s passes the mid-point of its 60th anniversary year, we continue to illuminate and reflect upon our mission, critically evaluating its purpose and redefining its significance for today and for tomorrow.
The last phrase of our school’s mission synthesizes the essence of our enterprise. To help our sons aspire “to be good men” requires that we provide models and examples. It necessitates active, deliberate, and purposeful application. More often than not, it demands that we be counter-cultural, or more specifically “counter pop-cultural,” because the prevailing popular culture may not always celebrate, reflect, or imbue the values and behaviors generally associated with what’s “good.” Development of a strong sense of what’s right, fair, or good comes in part by learning it, and to learn it we must study it, see it, and do it.
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