Written in the center of the display is the question, “How can I become a voice for kindness and fairness when someone is being treated unfairly?” Around the edges of the poster are handprints, cut-outs from students’ and adults’ own hands with words or images responding to the question. One older student writes, “Recognize the humanity in everyone.” Another reads, “By being an upstander and protecting them.” A young “new” writer puts, “I help.” 

This is a collaborative art project we have been creating together as a community throughout January. Students, faculty, staff, board members, and parenting adults have been adding their own handprints, each one distinct, each one part of something larger.

When we notice someone, or whole groups of people, being treated differently or unfairly, the question is not what “side” we are on, but what we are willing to see clearly, and how we choose to respond with care and courage. This matters whether the harm is happening in a classroom, in a community, or across society, and whether it shows up through race, national origin, religion, socioeconomic status, gender identity, disability, or any other marker of difference.

For many of us, awareness of someone being treated cruelly can feel disorienting. We may read headlines that feel far from our day-to-day lives. We may feel confusion, grief, or numbness, especially when what we are learning through media does not match what we are seeing in our immediate circles. That disconnect is real, and it can lead to paralysis, avoidance, or a tendency to “wait for more information.”

Krishnamurti offers a simple and demanding starting point, “Whereas in awareness there is observation without condemnation, without denial or acceptance.” In a progressive school context, that kind of awareness asks us to slow down enough to notice what is happening in us (fear, rage, defensiveness, certainty, helplessness) and around us (patterns, exclusions, silences, power), without rushing to justify, explain away, or look away. Clear seeing is not the end of the work. It is the beginning of action.

From there, we can ask: What is ours to do, here, now? Sometimes the response is immediate protection and advocacy. Sometimes it is education, repair, or policy alignment. Often it is the daily work of building a community where students learn to notice harm, name it, and practice responding, not as ideology, but as lived responsibility. We do not have to carry the whole world alone, but we can refuse to be passive in the face of suffering, and we can choose a way of being together that is rooted in dignity, relationship, and justice.

– Jodi Grass, Head of School