 Quotes by & about Kurt Hahn
...Hahn told the story of a distinguished American who, while
being shown around Salem School, asked Hahn's colleague, Prince Max von
Baden, what he was most proud of in the school. The Prince's reply was to
the effect that nothing was original and that they had borrowed from all
sorts of other educators and institutions. The American expressed the view
that surely all schools should aim at being original, to which Prince Max
quickly replied:
In education, as in medicine, you must harvest the wisdom of a thousand
years. If you ever come across a surgeon and he wants to extract your
appendix in the most original manner possible, I would strongly advise you
to go to another surgeon.
So it was with Hahn; he would rather use material that was already proven to
work rather than experiment with something new. However, the success of
projects lay in the selection and unique combination of the principles that
he decided to "borrow".
...As our society has become information rich, it has become action poor.
It has become poor in the necessity and possibility for struggle against the
environment. As affluence has increased, the young person's
environment has become impoverished for responsible and productive action,
or any action that tests and develops him.
...Expeditions can greatly contribute towards building strength of
character. Joseph Conrad in Lord Jim tells us that it is necessary for a
youth to experience events which 'reveal the inner worth of the man; the
edge of his temper; the fibre of his stuff; the quality of his resistance;
the secret truth of his pretences, not only to himself but others.
...I welcome this occasion to
register my indebtedness to Dr. Zimmerman to whom I owe the watchword
'training through the body, not training of the body.' He agreed with
Plato 'Let us build up physical fitness for the sake of the soul.' He
considered it less important to develop the innate strength in a boy than to
make him overcome his innate weakness. 'Your disability is your
opportunity' he used to say to a boy who thought that certain standards
were out of his reach. He was radiant when he succeeded in defeating a boy's
defeatism, but not more radiant than the boy himself who had learned a great
lesson.
...I was once present at a meeting presided over by Doctor
Carl Reinhardt. One schoolmaster made the remark, 'I have no faith in this
boy.' Dr. Reinhardt said to him, 'Then you have no right to educate him.'
...There are three ways of trying to win the young. There is
persuasion. There is compulsion and there is attraction. You can preach at
them; that is a hook without a worm. You can say "you must volunteer." That
is the devil. And you can tell them, "you are needed" that hardly ever
fails.
...I am referring to the published statistics on the rise of
juvenile crime. For one age group the crime rate has in one year risen by 56
percent. For this state of affairs people blame the lack of parental control
and leniency of the Law—the established educational system of the country is
hardly ever held responsible. But some of us educators feel that we ought to
say, nostra culpa, nostra maxima culpa, ours is the guilt, ours the
greatest guilt.
...I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure
the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable
spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above
all, compassion.
...Without self-discovery, a person may still have self
confidence, but it is a self confidence built on ignorance and it melts in
the face of heavy burdens. Self discovery is the end product of a great
challenge mastered, when the mind commands the body to do the seemingly
impossible, when courage and strength are summoned to extraordinary limits
for the sake of something outside the self--a principle, an onerous task,
another human life.
...Education must enable young people to effect what they have recognized to
be right, despite hardships, despite dangers, despite inner skepticism,
despite boredom, and despite mockery from the world.
...an eminent man challenged me to explain what sailing in
a schooner could do for international education. In reply, I said we had at
that moment the application before us for a future king of an Arab country
to enter Gordonstoun. I happened to have at the school some Jews...If the
Arab and one of these Jews were to go out sailing on our schooner. .
.perhaps in a Northeasterly gale, and if they were become thoroughly seasick
together, I would have done something for international education.
...The experience of helping a fellow man in danger, or even
of training in a realistic manner to be ready to give this help, tends to
change the balance of power in a youth's inner life with the result that
compassion can become the master motive.
...The passion of rescue reveals the highest dynamic of the
human soul.
...It is the sin of the soul to force young people into
opinions - indoctrination is of the devil - but it is culpable neglect not
to impel young people into experiences.
...Plus est en vous. [Pintar]. There is more in you than you
think. [commonly used by Hahn and motto for one of his schools]
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