The 1960s saw social movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Liberation Movement, and the anti-Vietnam War protests shoot up into public consciousness, with the American youth taking on a significant role. The progressive environment within St. Paul’s certainly reflected the world beyond campus: students began to find fault in what they thought were outdated elements of their school life. Their frustrations during these times culminated in one of the most well-known documents from St. Paul’s history: the Form of 1968 Letter. With a harsh, critical tone, the letter criticized the status quo within the school and demanded relaxed regulations, a more dynamic and socially conscious curriculum, and openness to foreign exchange.
The students’ initial reactions to the letter were varied. Eighty-two of the 98 members of the Form of 1968 cosigned the letter. Then Sixth Form President Richard King, who we now know was a co-author of the letter, wrote in the first Pelican issue following the letter that “we are starting to move beyond past prejudices and hasty opinions to the constructive dialogues necessary to achieve concrete progress.” However, several students volunteered opposing opinions, questioning the accusations that the Letter made against the school administration. In a December 6, 1968 Pelican article titled “In Defense of Our School,” Sergio Uribe wrote, “In the six years that I have been at this school, I have not had any feeling of coercion, compulsion, depression, mistrust, destruction or repressive molding.” The controversial discussion continued as the school navigated the wake of the letter’s impact for the next few years.
Still, none can deny that the letter brought about foundational changes to life at St. Paul’s, many of which were positive. The letter resulted in immediate action on the part of the School’s administration. In response to the Letter’s demand for a revised curriculum, six St. Paul’s students—three from the graduating Form and three from the rising Sixth Form—were invited to participate in a recently formed Curriculum Study Group in a five-week summer session. Over the next several years, the Curriculum Study Group worked towards establishing the Independent Study Program (ISP), reworking the grading system, and honoring the students’ wishes for more freedom in their daily lives. In addition, the school addressed the Letter’s calls for “more frequent and broader exchanges with other schools” by implementing two new exchange programs over the next two years. In October 1968, St. Paul’s co-sponsored the “Schoolboys Abroad” program—now named School Year Abroad—in which a student could spend their Fifth Form year in either Spain or France. The next year, St. Paul’s joined Concord Academy, then an all-girls school, in leading a two-week exchange of thirty students. These early exchange programs set the foundations for coeducation and open exchanges at St. Paul’s School.
The goal of this article is not to glorify the contents of the letter. One must not overlook the fact that some of the letter’s demands, such as loosening the strict relationship between teachers and students or requiring fewer chapel services per week, may not have been noble causes but rather trivial complaints by teenagers serving their teenage interests. The language in which the letter addressed the school administration was regrettable, to say the least. But, if nothing else, the school spirit shown in the Letter is inspiring. The graduating Form of 1968, though they could have easily left the school behind and never thought much of it afterward, felt the need to voice their frustrations about the school and improve their successors’ experience. The Form of 1968 Letter is a reminder to some that St. Paul’s School belongs to its students just as much as it belongs to its teachers and administrators. We may not yet be as wise, educated, and well-trained as the adults who guide us, but we should always remember that our visions about where our community goes are as valued and important as any other.