The Fall of Founder's Day
At Galloway, I have gained knowledge on many topics: polyatomic ions, world religions, the United States’s government and its operating institutions, and so on. Yet by far the most important thing I have learned in my thirteen years at The Galloway School is the importance of community and the ways to embody the traditions and beliefs of Elliott Galloway.
In his time as the school’s first headmaster, Mr. Galloway implemented many governing principles that can be seen scribed on the walls of our school, including “Behave yourself and try,” “You cannot say you cannot play,” and “Play the game of learning, not the game of school.” These quotes are not only deeply rooted in our school’s approach to education, as many teachers today implement them into their classroom cultures and policies, but they are also the basis for an annual event called Founder's Day.
Every year since I was in Kindergarten, grade levels PreK-12 joined together harmoniously in the gym on Mr. Galloway’s birthday to discuss the revolutionary ideals of Mr. Galloway, like the quotes throughout our school’s halls, and his impact on our community. After the school-wide ceremony, which usually included a special speech from Mr. Galloway’s son, Jeff Galloway, every member of the community walked a lap around Chastain Park and received an apple at the end to honor Mr. Galloway’s love of student participation and community throughout the grade levels.
This year, Upper Learning’s administration failed to coordinate the walk. Their decision not to arrange a Founder’s Day walk this year was a missed opportunity to bring together our community in such a stressful and unfamiliar time. It was impossible to sit still and silent in my classroom on November 29th, Elliot Galloway’s birthday, and watch the Upper Learning administration act as if it was any other day. We can make excuses for our recent lack of participation in historic Galloway traditions, like COVID-19 or miscommunication between learning levels, but a video on the hallway television – Upper Learning’s only contribution to Mr. Galloway’s birthday celebration – simply will not suffice to honor the founder of our school.
As the Class of 2022 – the last grade that knew Mr. Galloway before his death – prepares to leave this spring, I hope Mr. Galloway’s principles do not graduate as well. With few faculty left who knew Mr. Galloway personally, a new administration, and the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, we find ourselves at a particular crossroad: what our school used to be and what it is becoming. Galloway, like any institution, is changing, but this does not give the administration leeway to disregard our most precious and beautiful traditions without a passing glance. I say this to the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors: the continuation of historic Galloway traditions is up to you. You must encourage each other to embody Mr. Galloway’s doctrines so we do not collapse on the four remarkable and distinctive pillars on which our school was built: fearlessness, individuality, community, and mastery. I beg you: behave yourself and try.
By Maisie Pike