Just before graduating high school in Quebec, Canada, my favorite teacher, Mr. Wells, handed me a 5×7” framed picture with a short quote originating from Apollo’s Temple at Delphi in ancient Greece. It has just two words:

“Know Thyself”

I kept the small frame with me through my college years, into adulthood, and even now the phrase continues to intrigue and engage me in new and evolving ways.

Our Burgundy Middle School students have a significant leg up on where I was as a Middle Schooler. While I began the deeper journey of introspection during my high school years, our Middle Schoolers have already done such incredible work and are grappling with issues of identity, values, beliefs, leadership, personal strengths, and areas of growth in ways that position them way beyond many of their non-Burgundy peers.

So much of it starts in the Lower School. In classes, they are offered choice and creative options to express themselves while still practicing academic and artistic skills. They are also given time to “just be,” and this unstructured time might be spent exploring the woods, tossing a football, or chasing leaves as they dart across campus to their next class. In those moments of unstructured time, students get a sense of what they like, what they don’t like, and the agency to know the difference.

Entering Middle School, students continue to “know thyself” through a series of intentional learning experiences designed to evoke personal exploration within the backdrop of a complex and diverse society. The three themes of our Middle School humanities program—6th grade Origins and Stories, 7th grade Ways of Seeing, and 8th grade Voices of Change—takes students on a journey that compels them to grapple with various points of view (often much different than their own) and then encourages them to make a positive difference in their own unique way.

This work culminates in 8th grade. For example, in the early fall, 8th graders write a This I Believe Essay on a value or belief that they hold true based on their own life experiences. This year’s student titles include: The Power of Laughter, A Goodbye Leads to Your Next Hello, The Art of Never Giving Up, and Sports Teaches Lessons for Your Life, to name just a few. In addition, they choose a current event that they deem important, track that event throughout the school year, and end with activism by finding a way to personally contribute to the cause. Climate change, immigration, and LGBTQ+ rights are examples of this year’s noble pursuits. And then after winter break in seminar class, students will pick a “passion project” and for nearly three months will explore their passion to develop greater expertise and ultimately serve the wider community. Through the process of exploring values, researching current events or interests, and taking on passion projects, students are forced to dig deep and get to know themselves in ways that go way beyond the superficial. They learn to leverage their strengths, to hone in on areas that need work, and put their efforts towards a greater good.

Combining the richness of the academic program with outside-of-class leadership opportunities truly rounds out the journey of self-exploration. For example, by the time students reach the 8th grade, they are the sole leaders of all-school and middle school community meetings. Leading a crowd of 300 classmates and teachers takes courage, and our students boldly step outside of their comfort zones and risk the unknown.

Then to cap off their Burgundy experience, 8th grade soon-to-be graduates are the designers and conductors of their own graduation ceremony! The group as a whole must explore their class identity, decide what they want to express to family and friends, help assign roles, and confidently present their reflections and appreciations in a final performance.

To do the work of meaningful introspection, one must have opportunities to reflect on identity, analyze one’s place in society, push past comfortable, and be willing to fail. Of course, none of that can happen if the environment doesn’t provide a safe space and a sense of belonging. And that is what makes Burgundy so special—Burgundy students get to know themselves because there are so many adults who know and instill confidence in them.

Self-exploration is a life-long journey and the Burgundy Journey is but one stop along the way. But just like a house, all higher levels must be built upon a strong foundation, and with so many opportunities to “know thyself” our students are steady and well-equipped to build upward.