How to Teach Everything :: Foxcroft Magazine, Spring 2010

While I write most frequently about the environment, I tackle other topics as well. Here, I write about the myriad ways a small, all-girls boarding school — Foxcroft School, my high school alma mater — seeks to prepare high school students for the world beyond campus. Far from limiting themselves to mathematics and literature, Foxcroft’s teachers and faculty strive to teach their students everything. I count myself lucky to have spent two years there.

If you want to really understand Foxcroft, then you should stroll into Schoolhouse and stop by the Academic Office. It’s on the first floor, across from the stairs and right next to the Day Student Lounge. Don’t bother making an appointment. Don’t worry about opening the door. You won’t need to talk to a soul. Everything you need to know is written on the bronze plaque mounted about waist-height on the outside of the door:

In memory of Ann P. Leibrick

Scientist and Dean Extraordinaire

“Everything we do is curriculum”

1990 – 2000

The Academic Office is home to the Academic Dean, and this was Leibrick’s office for several years, until she retired in 2000. Although Ann Leibrick passed away in 2007, her influence is still felt in every classroom and helps guide the education of every student. Everything we do is curriculum is woven into the heart of the School, and is a part of every educator’s vocabulary. It would not be a stretch to say that Ann Leibrick’s legacy is Foxcroft’s future, these students’ futures. Leibrick’s old office is now occupied by Foxcroft’s current Academic Dean, Alexander O. Northrup. If you do knock on his door, he’ll gladly talk with you about the simple truths that can be defined by that engraved five-word message. What’s more, he’ll share with you his belief that this message is not the full story. It is only the beginning….

Download the full article: How to Teach Everything.