The Power of the Unintended Lessons: Anne Gardiner Named 2025 Baccalaureate Speaker

Anne Gardiner has seen it all. In her 25 years at Tabor, she has served as a history teacher, a duty dean, chair of the academic honor committee, dorm parent, and learning specialist for writing, reading, and research. In that time, she has also been a department chair, tri-chaired the strategic plan committee, and spearheaded the annual school service day. She rounds out her 360-degree view of Tabor alongside her family— husband and fellow Tabor faculty JJ Reydel and son Jackson, graduate of the class of 2019—as the 2025 Baccalaureate speaker.

Gardiner has taught at Tabor since 2000. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University, a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, a Master of Education from Harvard University, and is a recipient of the Rudolph W. Driscoll Chair in History, awarded for exemplary teaching. 

When considering her roles and responsibilities in the classroom, she notes that while there are general and practical skills she hopes her students leave with, she chooses to highlight the "power of the unintended lesson." A “history polymath,” she can frequently be found outside of the classroom chatting about everything including world history, religious studies, ethics, art, architecture, syncretism, pirates, whaling, gardening, and all things time management. 

Gardiner explains, "I have been at Tabor long enough to have past students tell me how heuristics I no longer use, and unguarded comments made after class make a tremendous difference for them. [Former faculty member] Bruce Cobbold often remarked about the power of the unintended lesson. If I learned anything from my students, it was to work really hard for accuracy in those intended and unintended lessons."

Gardiner has long been one of the hands responsible for the behind-the-scenes work of organizing Tabor's Chapel program. For about twenty years, selecting readings, editing the program, and supporting speakers fell under her purview. Having been intimately involved in the planning process and finding herself at the front delivering talks "more times than I can count," she now finds herself reflecting on past speeches as she prepares for Baccalaureate.

"I have thought about the program's messages, perhaps more than I should have. Tabor's mission calls us to 'connect, serve, and lead.' This is a realm of school life in which I can do that. I am thankful for the opportunity, and a little daunted by my own expectations.

"Delivering talks made me publicly accountable for how well, and to what, I paid attention. I am thankful that I have a chance to write, some excellent collaborative partners, and the challenge of speaking to a varied audience during a significant rite of passage. Still, I am under no illusion that I will 'sum it all up,'" she notes.

As the Tabor community gathers to celebrate the closing of another academic year and the Class of 2025, we look forward to the perspectives, inspiration, and encouragement Gardiner will most certainly deliver. 

Asked about her expected speech, she only hints, saying, "Mad-Eye Moody might say 'constant vigilance.' Zhuangzi might say 'freedom.'"