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Kurt Hahn
Kurt
Hahn (1886-1974) is increasingly mentioned as the foremost educator of the 20th
century. Deeply grounded in the classics at Heidelberg and Oxford, Hahn backed the
sons and daughters of Scottish crofters and fishermen, walked with kings, was imprisoned
by Hitler for his condemnation of Nazi atrocities in the streets of Beuthen in 1933
(Hahn was a Jew), and then extradited by the Prime Minister of Great Britain. He
served the Allied seamen in the Battle of the Atlantic in WWII (establishing the
Outward Bound School at Aberdovey, with Lawrence Holt of the Blue Funnel Line to
build up tenacity and self reliance among merchant marine seaman)
Hahn's contributions to world-wide education include: Establishment of Salem (Germany) and Gordonstoun (Scotland) Schools, the Atlantic Colleges; the Outward Bound Schools (28 in Europe and the British Isles, Africa, Asia, North America and Australia); the Duke of Edinburgh Award Schemes, conceiver of the Sail Training Association (Britain), and countless adaptive programs. It was Hahn's insight into the value of such experiential means as the project, the rescue, the expedition or craftsmanship which led him to urge that such endeavours release learning both for and through demanding practices. While a close friend of scholarship, he recognized the loss of vitality of youth in our so information-bound era and called for "a sterner exercise of the thinking faculty". "It is a sin of the soul to coerce the young into opinions," he said, "nonetheless I consider it culpable neglect not to impel every youth into life-giving experiences"
