Browning Boys Take Charge
Tapping into the power of relationships, imagination, and curiosity.
August 2021
It is a truth universally acknowledged at Browning that a boy in possession of a passion and a sliver of free time can do great things. It may take the form of sticking with his Latin classes through the end of his senior year and hosting a Certamen tournament in those closing weeks, or it might be the growing tower of books on a boy’s nightstand that proves to be the impetus of a college major and a career in psychology or economics or film. It’s impossible to predict where the boys will go when given the agency to chart their own course.
Relational learning is at the heart of the Browning experience, and adults valuing boys for who they are gives boys room to discover their passions. As Dean of Upper School Sam Permutt notes, “At Browning, we celebrate boys for their authentic engagement, regardless of the topic or perspective. If it matters to them and they’re willing to share why it matters, then we want to hear about it. These moments provide windows for other boys to see some of their own possible future selves.”
Despite competing online this year, the Debate Team finished second in the state debate competition.
The Robotics Team won the regional competition in early 2020, and has performed exceptionally well in virtual tournaments this season.
Taking responsibility for one’s own learning is a skill that develops over time, and we give boys outlets for their voices to be heard by building student input into as much as we possibly can. In the Middle School, the boys run weekly Morning Meetings, team building exercises, and handling the announcements on their own. Similarly Upper School has become increasingly student-led, with the Upper School Student Government rewriting the division’s cell phone policy and creating the instantly beloved Browning casual dress code, which we have adopted as our full-time dress code for this wondrous year of hybrid learning.
The clubs program is our secret weapon in sparking this agency in our students. Recently unveiled in the Middle School, for years it has been a place in which our older students can discover new passions while fully exploring existing ones. The experiences they offer range from the traditional, like Model UN or our literary magazine, The Lit, to the newly formed podcast or the Sports Analytics Club or the Dungeons and Dragons Club. Many of these clubs are started by students looking to share an interest with their peers, and they are great ways to build friendships between boys across grade levels. Give a boy something meaningful to do—particularly if he has decided it’s worthwhile—and he will do it for as long as it takes. Our seniors almost literally glow when they talk about the long hours into the night they spent rehearsing for performances or building a robot. They choose to be here for those late hours, and such a choice is often a simple one for them.
Agency is seen in many ways, such as the A CaPanthers a cappella group, where the boys arrange and produce music themselves.
Another example of student agency is The Zoo podcast, where students release weekly episodes interviewing members of the Browning community throughout the pandemic.
Student-Created Teams Find Success
Our most successful clubs were started by students within the past few years. The Robotics and Debate Teams have been world-beaters of late, with both teams bringing home New York City championships last year, despite facing programs from other schools with more participants than we have students in our Upper School. Begun by Robert Nielsen ’18 and Ben Ellman ’18, and Austin Stapleton ’20, respectively, both clubs grew out of their individual interests and spread rapidly to encompass the dreams and aspirations of many more students; 13 boys worked on this year’s robot, earning runner-up for the Inspire Award in the NYC championships of the FIRST Tech Challenge, which qualified them for the World Championships (unfortunately cancelled this year again due to COVID). The award is given to teams that are both technically knowledgeable and able to display gracious professionalism by connecting and motivating other teams and the broader STEM community. These boys have spent the year planning, building, testing, and refining an autonomous robot under the watchful eyes of Aaron Grill and Dr. Melodie Ting, and also funding much of their efforts through workshops they offered to younger students here at Browning. Perhaps most impressively, they’ve created a portfolio of potential projects for those younger students to explore electronics and programming even after those workshops ended, essentially laying the groundwork for other boys’ learning and sharing their passion with those lucky younger Panthers.
We also saw the Debate Team repeat as city champions and place second in the New York State Championships this year, with two of those young men, Nathaniel M. ’22 and Luca G. ’22 heading o to participate in the Coolidge Cup, which brings together top debaters from every state around the country each summer. The 19 boys on the team compete in three divisions (Novice, Intermediate, and Open) and handle all of the research required to support their stances on the resolutions put before them.
They have been asked to engage on topics such as US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, the urbanization of West Africa, and the relative merits of the International Monetary Fund, among others. The boys who are the team leaders—this year Connor F. ’22, Ben S. ’22, Henry S. ’22, and Nathaniel M. ’22—teach the newer team members the finer points on how to ask good questions of an opponent, how to best listen to an opponent’s point of view (and discover their weaknesses), and how to solidify their own arguments as they move to the summary stage of the debate. “The boys simply learn more if they’re teaching each other,” says Dr. Ting. “The leaders have to see the strengths and weaknesses of their peers’ skills, and in turn it makes them reflect on their own abilities to do the same. It’s been a big key to our success.”
Green Team members continued to create school-wide challenges during the pandemic to reduce our environmental impact.
The Grytte editors adapted their newspaper online during the pandemic and coded it themselves.
We are developing our Certificates of Distinction program as yet another way for students to work hard on what they find meaningful. Boys with an abiding interest in and passion for engineering or the humanities will now be able to expand and direct their own learning in these areas and assemble a portfolio to evidence that learning. At the end of Grade 9, boys can choose one of a number of pathways that will lead to a Distinction in a desired eld. Through Grades 10 and 11, boys will master competencies that will lay out a pathway to the desired Distinction. By Grade 12, the boy will be called to plan a senior project around the idea of applying the learning of their Distinction to the good of the world beyond Browning, similar to a thesis presentation or a dissertation defense, evaluated by a panel of experts in the eld, and scholars from within the Browning community. We plan to add other areas of study in the future.
It’s precisely this kind of learning that a boy will be asked to do throughout the rest of his life, and it’s exactly this kind of learning that our boys have shown invigorates and excites them as they discover a sense of purpose in their lives. That sense of purpose is where their journey ends, or perhaps begins anew, as they then carry forth their learning to serve the greater good. And it all starts with a simple opportunity to explore something they care about, with guidance from adults who care deeply about them.
