Articles From The Classical Teacher

House
Can competition and camaraderie coexist? They do in Highlands Latin School’s house system.

At first it may seem that competition and camaraderie are at odds, and sometimes they probably are. But in Highlands Latin School’s house system, they seem to go together quite well. A traditional fixture of many British schools, the “house” system has enabled Highlands to accomplish a number of goals that can be elusive for many schools.

The Origins of the “House” System
The house system is widely used in British schools and schools that model themselves after the British system in countries with past British colonial ties, such as Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, and Singapore. The system began in boarding schools, where students actually ate, drank, and slept in individual houses during school terms. The house system still operates this way in prestigious British boarding schools, such as Harrow, Eton, and Winchester College.

But, perhaps because of its obvious merits, the system is now used even in day schools, where the term ‘house’ refers simply to groupings of pupils, with no buildings involved. The houses are usually named after Christian saints or for famous persons historically connected with the school. In some schools, such as the British International School in Shanghai, China, houses are named after animals. Houses in the primary school are named dragons, pandas, monkeys, and tigers, and each house has a color unique to it. In its senior school, houses are named after the Celts, Danes, Normans, and Saxons.

Houses at the more prestigious British schools are named after geographical places or peculiar historical people or events. Elmfield, The Grove, The Headmasters, The Park, The Knoll, and West Acre are some of the names of houses in Harrow School’s system. Each house has its own character and customs that make it unique.
Although some schools use the system throughout grades K-12, most schools seem to confine it to their upper grades. Membership in a house is dictated either by appointment or by the choice of the student. In some cases, the siblings of an older student are automatically enrolled in the same house, while in others siblings can be members of different houses.

There are numerous benefits schools have traditionally seen in using the house system. According to its website, Harrow International School Bangkok, Thailand considers its house system the “heart of the Secondary School.” “It is designed to encourage and increase competition between students and to create a supportive environment for our students.” Some schools see it as a way to create a sense of belonging in students, a much more important consideration for boarding schools, where students may be away from home for the first time. But even in day schools, there are advantages to students.

The House System at Highlands Latin School
At Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky, the advantages of the house system have been manifold. The houses provide not only an increased sense of identity and belonging, they also provide students with a sense of tradition. Leadership opportunities also abound in the house system.

Highlands, which is an outgrowth of the work of Cheryl Lowe, founder of Memoria Press, has seen a marked change in the attitude of students as a result of the establishment of the houses. “Because of the competition and the identification of each student with a house,” says Martin Cothran, a Highlands instructor and a co-director of the school, “there are constant opportunities to cheer your fellow students on. The positive attitudes of students toward one another and toward the school have been quite amazing since we started our program.”

The sense of tradition is palpable too. The Highlands house system, which is only a year old, already has about it the sense of history. “We told our student leaders that years from now, their successors would look to them as examples in future years. We gave each of the house leaders a gavel, engraved with the name of the house and the year it was established. We told them not to worry if their gavels got a few nicks in them, because there would be stories associated with each mark that would be handed down over the years. They were really excited. Children don’t get many opportunities to be a part of traditions like that anymore.”

Highlands introduced its house system at a fall camp, a week into the school year, where students were divided into four groups. They were told how the system was going to work and that their first competition would be in how they accomplished four tasks: the choice of a name of a saint for their title, a missions statement, a crest that would visually exemplify what their house stood for, and a Latin motto that would say, in one brief phrase, the theme of each house. At the end of camp, each house gave a presentation. “They were really impressive,” said Cothran, “I think the school staff was really amazed at the quality of what the students had produced. We were proud of them, and they were proud of their houses.”

The positive attitudes that began at the camp continued throughout the year. “I have never heard so much cheering and applause from any group of people as I have heard from these kids,” said Cothran.
Another benefit of the house system to the Highlands community is the leadership opportunities available to students. Each house has six officers: Head of House, Assistant Head of House, House Parliamentarian, House Scribe, House Historian, and House Steward, each with their own responsibilities. Between the four houses, then, there are 24 positions in which students can serve their fellow students.

House Offices

Each house office is held accountable to unique responsibilities by the school staff:

• The Head of House is chosen by the faculty based on the level of maturity and responsibility each has displayed. He or she presides at house meetings and reports directly to the faculty.
• The Assistant Head of House presides at the meetings in the absence of the head of house and reports directly to him or her.
• The House Parliamentarian is responsible for being familiar with basic parliamentary procedures for the purpose of house meetings.
• The House Scribe performs the function of a secretary, keeping minutes of all house meetings.
• The House Historian is responsible for keeping a record of all the important activities of the house (for purposes of consultation by future house leaders) and works closely with the house scribe.
• The House Steward is responsible for the safekeeping of any house funds. He is also the keeper of any house “relics”: any items such as banners, crests, gavels, etc.

Competition in the House System
The feature of the houses most popular with students is the competitions. At Bingley Grammar School in West Yorkshire, England, houses compete on the basis of academics, attendance, and sports. Sports competition includes cross country, netball, rugby, and table tennis. At Highlands, students compete in academics, community service, and sports, including dodgeball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, kickball, and volleyball. They also compete in chess and Latin Scrabble.

Academic competition is based on GPA. Houses are given points on the basis of how house teams perform in academic quick recall competitions. Community service points might be given on the basis of which house turned out the most members to sing at a rest home.

Although the question has never arisen at Highlands, some schools could get questions from parents about whether the system is based on the Harry Potter books. But the system has been around a lot longer than Harry Potter. The Harry Potter books include it because they are cast in the context of a British boarding school, and that is how those schools operate. “We didn’t start our system because of the Harry Potter books,” said Cothran. “And while we’re not going to let what happens in the Harry Potter books dictate anything we do, neither are we going to let it paralyze us. We did this because we thought it would accomplish some positive goals we have for our school. It has done that—and more.”