Curriculum Committee
Joseph Milnor, Headmaster 1961-1973
In the spring of 1970, at the height of student disaffection with “the system,” Headmaster Joseph Milnor had appointed a Curriculum Committee and given it the mandate to “determine the kind of curriculum that will best prepare students to live in the decades ahead.” After exhaustive research and study, the committee issued an unequivocal recommendation to the faculty: “If Pomfret is to prepare students properly for their future, it must become a school organized for learning rather than for teaching.” Mr. Milnor attempted to explain this dramatic shift to the alumni in his “From the Headmaster’s Desk” column that appeared in the bulletin:
“In light of the fact that most schools have traditionally been organized around teaching and the teacher, to shift the focus to learning and the learner will require an effort and commitment on the part of both students and teachers far beyond anything as yet required of both. A curriculum whose focus is on learning will be open-ended and flexible, stressing education as a process rather than as a product. It will require both students and teachers to recognize that technological, cultural, and social change will continue to occur at a rapid rate, and that, therefore, they must develop skills and aptitudes for lifelong learning. Finally, it will require students to take an active role in planning, executing, and evaluating their educational experience.”
