Because The New School seeks to nurture capable, respectful individuals, we take care of our community, developing the values it promotes and the lessons it teaches. We recognize that every person contributes to the spirit of our learning community. Because we recognize this deep sense of participation, we encourage everyone to take responsibility for their actions, knowing that individual contributions to community can be either positive or negative.
While we work to keep the rules governing our community to a minimum, we understand that common values are essential to the cooperative nature of a healthy community. Expressing those common beliefs is always a difficult undertaking, but one that is nevertheless important.
The key values that shape the spirit of The New School community are:
Mutual respect for every member of our community, no matter how different they are or what roles they fill.
Trust that each of us is trying our best to uphold the spirit of The New School’s learning community. The right to be trusted includes the right to have the opportunity to earn back that trust after we have lost it.
Willingness to engage in respectful dialogue with others, not just peers but those who are older or younger.
Acknowledgment of everyone’s rights and responsibilities, and a willingness to maintain an open mind even when the situation may foster an opposite reaction.
Celebration of our ability to express our individuality in speech, dress, and manner even as we respect the rights and sensitivities of others.
Belief that each of us should act in ways that benefit the growth and development of the community and its individual participants.
Commitment to act ethically when dealing with others. This ethical treatment applies not only to our friends but also to strangers and even our foes.
Agreement to respect and use The Stop Rule, as necessary, to maintain the Spirit of the Classroom and the Spirit of the Community.