View from the Bridge

“Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” 

As a member of the Tabor Academy history department, I often ask my students to reflect on the importance of studying the events of the past. I begin my class letting them know that I understand the utility of math (we need to balance our checkbooks), English (we need to communicate clearly and effectively), and science (we need to make sense of the natural phenomena around us). But history? Why do we have a graduation requirement that all graduates—at minimum—study history for two years? 

This discussion often leads to the importance of identifying themes and patterns in how human beings interact with each other. Roman Imperial overstretch, followed by a similar overexpansion by the British? World War I as a precursor to World War II? Mao Zedong’s party structure taking elements of Confucian ideological influence? 

Ultimately, what I hope my students will take from the class is that the human experience is comprehensive and accumulating, with every generation building upon those who have come before them. While we are not captives of our past, we ignore the lessons learned to our detriment. 

This year’s Sesquicentennial has allowed us to do just the same with our own school—plan for the future as we learn about the decisions, and the people who made them, that have led to our school today. This has been both a fascinating and deeply enjoyable exercise for me. I have been assisted tremendously by Sophie Arnfield, our school archivist, in researching Tabor’s history, and that has helped me serve the school more fully. 

In this issue of Tabor Today, we have presented a host of ways to look at Tabor changing over time—school size, attire, mascots, and more. In these different ways of looking at our school, we see that Tabor has changed much over the past 150 years. When you read carefully, however, you will also note that some of the enduring values and characteristics of our school have remained the same, despite the dress code of the time. 

I invite you to dive into this edition and enjoy a look at our journey as a school, both in transition but also anchored in tradition. I think you will agree with me that history matters in the world, and it matters to our community! 

Tony Jaccaci,
Head of School