Quakerism and How It Affect Its Adherents

At left is the clock tower of the William Penn Charter School, founded in Philadelphia in 1689. Tomorrow I’ll be traveling back there for my 50th reunion.

Over the last 334 years, William Penn and the Quaker heritage has had a profound influence on each of the members of its student body, by means of an education built on principles of nonviolence, honesty, racial equality, brotherly love, and respect for the natural environment.

Some say that progressives’ brains are hard-wired to care about these ideals.  The old “nature vs. nurture” argument has been a part of science and Western philosophy for the last 2500+ years.

I can’t cast the deciding vote, but I can tell you that nurture, having been imbued with these values in my K – 12 years, has shaped me into a better person.