(Recorded on May 5, 1994)
~ Introductory Text by John Sherin ~
Part One
THEY ARRIVED ON THIS MAY EVENING one at a time, in couples and in small groups of three or four. The sound of their exuberant exchanges accompanied them as they poured into the classroom from the hallway beyond the door. This was already proving to be a very different experience from the first session, when students from 1975 outnumbered those others from all other years. Tonight, there were representatives from all the years of the school's existence here, with one possible exception - 1984. Two staff members from that year, however, were present.
Part Two
It was a large group. There were parents, teachers (facilitators), volunteers, former students, someone’s daughter who had been with us as a child for eight of 10 years of the school's existence and was now a mature adult, and one little girl (a grandchild) of a former staff member. The ages of former students ranged from 27 to 35, and each had returned to reconnect, reminisce and bear witness to the ways in which their experience had positively and unalterably impacted their lives. Not everyone spoke. There were those present who had attended earlier sessions and had contributed their comments and questions on those occasions. Tonight, given pressures of time, they’d decided instead to defer to others this special opportunity to be heard and acknowledged.
Part Three
The experiential activity chosen for the evening was called “Having A Ball,” so named for the white ball of yarn passed from one person to the other which within minutes would tie each and every person in the room one to the other in a metaphoric web of multi-dimensional and universally inclusive network at once visually loose and taut within its multiple connections.
Part Four
Following a few simple instructions, the process began with the facilitator asking who among the group wished to be first to speak. The instructions went something like: “Here is a ball of yarn. When invited, please take it, looping the yarn around your little finger before passing it to the next person. You may then throw it, pass it, roll or hand it to another individual – whoever you choose – either one who indicates that they would like to be next or someone that you would like to hear from. You may also refuse the ball.
Acceptance of it carries with it the responsibility to reply to at least one of four questions (1) Give your name and year of attendance (2) What do you remember about your experience? (3) What has life been like for you since MT? (4) How would you describe your current life or career?
Part Five
As time ran out, instructions were modified: “You no longer have to wait for your turn to speak. If you’d like to say something – anything – to the group, simply reach out and loop your finger around the nearest stretch of yarn before speaking. When we’re finished or we run out of time, whichever comes first, we’ll all be connected by the web we have created. You may take the memory of the experience with you while leaving the yarn behind. Taking the yarn along would make driving difficult.” Process comments followed.
A facilitator from ‘84 closed by reading a modified version of a poem called Threads, observing that M-T had contributed a substantial number of firsts in its meteoric ascent.