Going to a Quaker School is a unique experience which often leaves other people confused. You meet very specific types of people, and it changes you for the rest of your life. Here's a list of things that you probably know to be true if you were one of those Friends School kids.
1. You called your teachers by their first names.
And because of this, you're still a little confused as to how you should be addressing people outside of your school. But it made you and your teachers super close and you loved it.
2. Your school had fewer students in your school than most graduating classes.
People in college are usually pretty shocked to learn that you had fewer than 80 people in your graduating class.
3. And because of that, you knew EVERYBODY'S name.
Including the names of everybody in the grades above and below you.
4. You're used to taking a moment of silence all the time.
When something is beginning (e.g. class, a meeting, a concert, etc.), during times of hardship, and pretty much whenever else it felt necessary.
5. Going to Meeting for Worship every week feels normal.
You grew to love it, even though it was really frustrating when you knew you should have been using that hour to study. You probably even feel a special connection to your meeting house.
6. You considered taking up sign language as a child for meeting for worship.
You hadn't quite learned to appreciate it yet.
7. It wasn't at all surprising to see a car with upwards of 20 bumper stickers in the parking lot.
We're just really passionate about things. Mostly social justice, but also chickens. (Lots of people had chickens.)
8. You frequently had to (and probably still do) explain that Quakers are not Amish.
I still don't understand why that's such a common question.
9. You also had to explain that there's no connection to Quaker Oats.
You might have even learned the history of how it got that title just to further the explanation.
10. You know the SPICES inside and out.
If you don't, you probably should. They're the six Quaker values- Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship.
11. Nobody has ever heard of your school unless they also went to a friends school.
Friends schools are honestly a pretty tight-knit community, considering the fact that they are each entirely separate schools. You probably know at least one person from each of the other Friends schools around you. But anyone outside of that never really knew what you were talking about.
12. You got into the habit of calling people "friends" or "folks", even outside of school.
And you usually don't feel like explaining it when people question you.
13. Your school was basically run by a series of committees, and you were a part of at least one of them.
There was probably a committee which made other committees.
14. When committees came to a decision, a Meeting for Business was held.
And you always knew who was gonna be that person and stand in the way for no real reason. They're also the reason the meeting ran through lunch.
15. You had some kind of hand signal that meant "I agree".
Otherwise known as "Quaker Hands". People are super confused when you do it outside of school. You knew the day would come when you had to go to college and break the habit, however, you're yet to accept it. It's too convenient to give up.
16. You have strange names for seemingly normal activities.
For example, Tug of War might have been called Tug of Conflict. You embraced it from a young age and learned to love it. Gotta maintain them spices.
17. There are people who started going to your school when they were literal babies.
They might also be a legacy.
18. Because of that, you use terminology such as "lifers" and "half-lifers".
Proud lifer here.
19. You never had locks on your lockers.
And there were rarely issues because of it. We're very trusting people.
20. Everyone knew your business.
Including the teachers. Hoping for privacy was just naive.
21. You actually want to be Facebook friends with your teachers after you graduate.
You love them (though of course there's one or two of whom you weren't the biggest fan). They taught you how to write and prepared you for life. You might have even babysat for them or had dinner at their house before.
22. There are school events which are really important to you because you've been doing them since you were little and ~nostalgia~, but in reality, they're super boring.
Looking at you, Winterfest/Arbor Day/Halloween Parade.
23. You're actually excited for Homecoming.
You'll probably stop going at some point, but you definitely miss your school.
24. You've considered going to Meeting for Worship in college.
You might have even attended a few already.
25. You met some of your best friends when you were really young and went to school with them until you graduated.
13 years is a really long time.
26. Your school is really old and probably has a cemetery.
It makes you get competitive about weird things, like the fact that your school was founded before America or how much nicer your graveyard is than your rival's.
27. You get really excited when you meet other people who went to Quaker schools.
It's a unique experience and seems really strange to others, but you loved it.
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