Abraham Valdes’ Diploma Defense.

Yesterday was Abraham Valdes’ Diploma Defense. Many, if not most, Sudbury Diploma Defenses are small affairs where a panel of 3-4 Sudbury staff from other schools are brought in to give feedback and challenge to a prospective graduate after having read their reflection paper or “thesis.” I’ve been delighted to be part of several of these panels at various schools and believe there’s tremendous value in this tradition, this rite of passage, this opportunity to publicly express oneself.

At our school, we chose to have this process open to our wider community: students, parents, staff from our school and others, board members, and other community supporters, both in person and via zoom. I believe it’s so valuable for us to have this variety of perspectives for the students presenting themselves. It’s also, I believe, a wonderful way to give our larger community a unique window into our school model as one of our seasoned members is preparing to blast off and is reflecting on their experiences.

Consistent with our experience of him, Abraham wrote a 26 page reflection paper where likely a few pages would have been expected. He said during his defense that he wrote the paper in just a few days, but that doesn’t convey the full picture. He recounted to me memories of his early years at Sudbury and we jotted notes down together in February. He combed through 7 years of School Meeting minutes in our shared Google Drive to jog his memories. He went through past emails. He undoubtedly spent hours going through the poetry book his father wrote to decide on the poems he would include. He allowed his readers to look into his past and explore his perspective of that history.

Unbeknownst to him, Staff had brought a tableful of “artifacts” that we collected from around the school: Radio-controlled planes and an RC tank, our first 3D printer that he proposed and budgeted for, the guitar he beautifully refinished, the Tesla coil he made out of cardboard. Those were just the things still left at school - we didn’t even bring any of the computers he built from scratch. We were glad to see how what was displayed helped him remember the many ways he’s both pursued his own interests and enriched our community.

He added the “Capstone project” he’s been working on to the table after a brief explanation of what he’s done so far - 3D printing, soldering, programming - and the functionalities he expects it to have when he finishes. He used language the crowd could understand and only revealed some of the very specific engineering and programming jargon he also speaks during the Q&A portion. It was great to watch him light up using that lingo.

I’m thinking of all the many things I didn’t say when I introduced him and recounted some highlights from the past 7 years… I didn’t mention how he rewired the pedal for a pottery wheel that was donated to us. How I sent a photo of the aeronautical diagrams and calculations he had written (around age 14 or 15) on a whiteboard to an MIT graduate airplane engineer friend and received a reply that marveled at what he saw.

I also didn’t recount the perhaps countless conversations both in School Meetings and one-on-one where I watched Abraham feel the frustration of having his ideas challenged or rejected and how powerful it is for a person to even just tolerate that discomfort. I’ve watched him grow tremendously in character. I remember the day I realized he’d grown taller than me. I treasure the day he shared his vulnerable contemplation of wondering who he really is and what he really stands for. I watched him realize how much responsibility comes with the power of being a role model.

He’s for years now been someone who all ages at school look to both for fun and support. He will help you take out the trash. He will fix your laptop. He will play tag and Uno. He will build a Jenga tower to the ceiling and everyone will enjoy the creative way he will collapse it. He will engage fully in the discussion items at School Meeting, as much as he may also remind us all we need to move on for the sake of time. He cares about the clarity of the discussions and precision of the decisions.

At the Diploma Defense I think we all saw a remarkable young man who has enriched the life of our school community and who is full of ideas and potential he too easily dismisses but the rest of us recognize as brilliant.

Several people commented yesterday how impressed they were by Abraham’s ability to hold his own in front of a crowd. I wasn’t surprised at all - I’ve watched him hold his own in front of School Meeting, our Restorative Justice Committee, and even our Board of Directors meetings. Without considering it “practice,” he’s been practicing articulating his thoughts and thoughtfully responding to questions and challenges for the past 7 years. He hasn’t had a reason to fear a group of people at school - there’s not one right answer or grading rubric for him to measure up to. He’s had the time to learn public speaking by doing it over and over in a safe and authentic way.

I believe yesterday was a gift for us all. One woman who attended has been an outside supporter for years now and wrote me after the event that the friend she brought with her, a fellow educator, left feeling “hopeful and inspired,” and that she herself, “was brought to tears to be allowed to participate and to enjoy the sharing of the fruits of Abraham's journey.” Abraham’s remarkable father, as well as several others, were also clearly in tears of joy.

Abraham told me at one point that he was wary of writing a reflection paper that would potentially just be “propaganda” for the model - spoken like a true Sudbury student! The thing is, just reading about his growth, seeing some of his work, and watching him present himself feels like all the testimonial we need to value this model. We don’t need propaganda. We have remarkable human beings that evolve and grow. And that defends itself.