Tom Farquhar, Head of Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC, is the featured speaker for Quaker Education Night at The Friends School of Atlanta. Mr. Farquhar will provide a brief overview of the origins of Quakerism in mid-17th Century England as well as the 320-year history of Quaker education in America. He will weave together the fundamental convictions of Quakers, from their earliest years, and the qualities that Friends School parents see and most appreciate about their schools: respect for the individual, listening to one another, searching for truth together unhindered by religious dogma, informality, warmth, caring, inclusion and a deep commitment to integrity, simplicity, peace, community, equality and environmental sustainability.
Mr. Farquhar, a Quaker himself, was educated in and has spent most of his career serving as an educator and administrator in Friends schools, which provide an education grounded in Quaker values. Mr. Farquhar’s most recent appointment is as Head of School for Sidwell Friends School, which was founded in 1883 and has provided a Quaker education to generations of students, including the children of US presidents and other world leaders. President Obama’s daughters are currently attending Sidwell Friends School.
