Porches

May 3, 2024

 

Barnstormers,

Today was our last Coffee on the Porch of the academic year. Gathering for morning coffee on the first Friday of the month is a practice we started five years ago as Coffee on the Deck, taking its name from the communal space at the center our first campus, a humble stretch of trailers stitched together with a boardwalk. The practice now holds a special place in the life of our school community as it moves around our campus with the seasons – from the deck outside McPhetridge to Coleman in North Hall to The Barn to the Library to the great porch surrounding the Home Building. 

The practice also resonates with the porch culture of Bentonville. When I moved here in 2016, I quickly came to appreciate the easy sociability of its many porches that invite conversation with streetside strollers. I noticed that my new neighbors didn’t reach for their iPhones or look away when they saw me coming down the walk: rather, they looked up and slowed down for a “visit,” proof that deceleration is a productive force. While much of America rushes to be interesting, Bentonville takes time to be interested, perhaps the most admirable expression of its natural humility and intelligence. 

I will miss the porches of Thaden as spaces for community connection and quiet reflection – as spaces for gathering mind, body, and spirit as we move through the course of our days and lives. 

Together, we make time to visit.

Clayton K. Marsh

Founding Head of School