In my little over a year at Parker, MX has been a frequent topic of discussion. The (usually) 40-minute-long periods when staff and students gather to learn about each other and the school are received in many different ways. Certain MXs seem to be widely loved, while some are just ‘tolerable.’ Others still may leave many students wondering why they even needed to be at that MX.
One of my personal favorite MXs is the County Fair MX. It has the entire staff and student body wrapped in a sense of community and belonging. The making and watching of skits creates an atmosphere of joy and excitement at seeing your peers having fun. At the end, the singing of ‘Come to the Fair’ has students linking arms with their friends and swaying while loudly belting out the lyrics and laughing. This is part of the spirit of Parker, the sense of togetherness and support MXs should be about.
The County Fair MX is a great example of a beloved MX that is enjoyable for every grade. This is because everyone is involved from first grade to seniors. Even if some grades may not understand the humor of their peers, they can still have fun with each other.
Other MXs end with students not understanding the necessity of their presence in the auditorium. These are oftentimes MXs that are either going over things students already believe they know well, lengthy onstage interviews, or about topics that only cater to certain grades. For MXs that fall in the category of the later example, I suggest it would be beneficial to split grades between mandatory and optional presence.
The Elections MX, hosted by Upper School history teacher and department Co-Chair Andrew Bigelow and his Elections 2024 class was one example of an MX that could have used this split method. Taking place the week of September 30, this very informative and important MX did not seem to cater to students below freshman year. No, Lower and Middle School students will be able to vote in time for the next election. Due to this, the MX could have been optional for them. However, in saying optional, I don’t mean they should skip MX or the topic altogether. The topic of elections and civics itself is very important for people of all ages, but it is not necessary for fourth graders to learn about the same things as seniors or in the same way as seniors
If an MX itself is optional for those not in the Upper School, I suggest that those who decide they don’t want to go to the MX instead go to their advisories where they will partake in a discussion. This discussion would be led by questions made by the group presenting the MX. This way the entire school is still involved in a topic, but in a way that works and makes sense for everyone.
However, the grade separation is not the only potential solution for student engagement. Every MX presented on the Parker stage is important to the community. But there are different ways of presenting this importance. In other words, importance doesn’t always have to equal seriousness. MXs that use fun games, dances, or songs are often MXs that have students leaving the auditorium with not only knowledge but a good experience. It is due to this that I propose each group should have some part of their presentation involve a form of active audience involvement. Now, I know that for some MXs, like the Elections MX, it might not have made sense to have a choreographed dance or song for students to stand up and do. Instead, in the future, that class could make a trivia for the end or a fun video that summarizes information in a way that is entertaining. This way everyone stays engaged so they can participate in the trivia (and potentially win a prize if it is offered by the class). If trivia doesn’t work, then maybe the class could make a ‘madlib’ on the screen for a made-up story in which the main character participates in an election and students get to input what they just learned into the open spaces.
MXs that require active involvement that students can associate with ‘fun’ or ‘games’ are often ones that are remembered the most fondly. This way students enjoy the MX in the moment, and look forward to when it comes back around in the future.
Now, there are many other possible alternatives or ‘fixes’ to MXs that are not student favorites, but not all of these are feasible. No matter how much any Upper School student would like having the free time of only going to a certain number of MXs per semester, having students miss out on a topic entirely is likely not a possibility.
After all, the reason MXs occur in the first place is to bring the school together. It is because of this that they should be amended so their importance is felt by everyone.
