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= =  //"People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."//  //- President Bill Clinton; speech to the Democratic National Convention - August 2008// = = =The Pensieve =

//"I sometimes find, and I am sure you must know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed in my mind. At these times, I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form." - Prof. Dumbledore (//__Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire__ by J. K. Rowling, //p597 )//

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//Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon.// //Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted,// //And human love will be seen at its height.// //Live in fragments no longer.// //Only connect...// --E.M. Forster, //Howards End


 * Community Connections Program Description:**

The Junior Community Connections program at Francis Parker School provides opportunities for exploring the relationship between the individual student’s experience of social responsibility and broad understanding of social history and culture in America. Through an experiential learning program based in the U.S. History and American Literature courses, Community Connections seeks to carry out our school’s mission to help students “to develop the self-discipline, independence of mind and collaborative spirit necessary to apply their values, skills, knowledge and ideas to think and act as vigorous participants in the life of our democracy.” This interdisciplinary program examines the dynamics of connections and disconnection in America, and creates activities that encourage students to explore ways they and others can repair and rebuild healthy connections. We seek to understand what undermines healthy connections, and what Americans might need to do in order to secure those connections for those who have been excluded or denied. As we investigate the political dimensions of connection and disconnection, we also raise questions about how dominant structures of power and wealth have operated, and how they impact media and rhetoric in American society. Finally, we also explore means of connecting to our own power as citizens in a democracy, and, through research and experience, developing expertise in designing effective and meaningful responses to overwhelming social issues.//