a school comes into being

 

for Peter and Martha Klopfer

out of their love for each other,

parents can bring forth children into a world

that may not fit the needs of those children,

two parents I know looked at a world of segregation, of prejudice,

of schools set up on the paradigm of the assembly line,

set up for the convenience of ignoring the individual and the possible,

and settling for the tried and yet not true,

so these two parents found companions in the pursuit of a way forward

for a new school that in fits and starts found its way into being,

these parents sought to recreate a world

that could fit the needs of their own children

and thus they helped create a school that has helped

thousands of other students and families

come into the power that should be everyone's birthright,

all of us have a humanity not restricted by race, gender, economic class,

yet instead based on the realization that a love for learning,

and common sense, should dominate a school,

that each of us has that of God within us,

that each of us has a special gift that needs to be expressed,

that each of us has a need to serve others with our gifts,

and that everyone has a piece of the truth,

what a wondrous reality that the love of one's own children

can express a love for all children,

and a school comes into being: inclusive,

vibrantly built upon love for each, and love for all.

by Henry H. Walker

August 4, ‘25