Protecting What We Love

March 1, 2024

Barnstormers,

Eight years ago this month, I joined our architectural team in Bentonville City Hall to present our plans for the design and construction of our campus. The City Council had many questions about the new school that was taking shape in our imagination and on paper – our programs, our people, our place in the life of Bentonville. At that time, the land upon which we proposed to build our school was enclosed with an iron fence, but Thaden, I assured the Council, would be an open and inviting platform for community engagement, true to the site’s history as home of the Benton County fair for more than 80 years.

On Wednesday evening, I walked into Bentonville City Hall for the first time in many years, this time to watch a group of students in Mr. Slaton’s Urban Planning elective receive an award from the Arkansas Planning Association – an award typically bestowed on college students – for their efforts to make the once treacherous, unsightly intersection at Eighth and Main safer, calmer, and more beautiful. The City Council members, including Mayor Orman, were visibly impressed as they learned more about this civic initiative that required collaboration with more than ten community nonprofits and businesses. In the words of Mr. Slaton, “relationships build capacity.” 

As I took in the moment, I could not have been prouder of Thaden and its Community Based Learning (CBL) program. The words of Jacques-Yves Cousteau on the nature of environmental education gained new meaning in this civic context: “We only protect what we love, we only love what we understand, and we only understand what we are taught.” Through our CBL program and the dedication of inspiring teachers, our students come to understand and, thereby, love their home region; most importantly, they learn how to protect it. May we always protect CBL as an essential part of a Thaden education that prepares students for lives of active citizenship and community engagement.

Together, we understand, love, and protect our communities.

Clayton K. Marsh

Founding Head of School