The Vision of John

Corlette

What’s Next?
“This presentation could be
far better organized”
Agreed. Do you want to assist?

27 April 2010

There might be a genteel and “proper” way to

introduce you to this subject... but I don’t
know how other than to say, “Would you like to
hear a story?"...

The more subtle way of introducing the topic of

“let’s help Will start his school” would be to:

a) send you two CDs with Corlette’s school

meditations
b) invite you to participate in one of Will’s
workshops about “the Seven Principles” of the
John Corlette system. (he talks over Skype:
willsutherland is his account)
c) send you youtube.com links to some
stories that Will tells
d) send you short mp3 files to listen to in your
car...
e) send you DVDs with quotes from school
reformers Tom vander Ark and Dennis Littky

and then you would be warmed up to the idea

that “something really needs to be done to
set an example for public schools.”

however, there just isn’t time.

Will has the opportunity to buy a pair of boats.

The cost: $800,000 and he has raise about
$100,000 so far.

He needs at least $400,000 in the next seven

or eight days, before May 5.

One of the boats need to get a small part

replaced, which delays the final “sea trial”,
after which the funds need to be transferred to
ensure that the sale goes ahead. Tick tick tick
tick...

If you would like to join this adventure, contact

Will. ws@QBEglobal.net
If insufficient funds are raised, the money will
be returned... then perhaps he can proceed
with one boat. Or he can start the school in a
small building. But with two boats, his full
vision (explained in the document that
accompanies this email) could take place and
move ahead.

TIMING and WHY IS IT SO URGENT?

Some alumni have pointed out that most
projects line up the money before the
purchase is made.

Will has been planning a school for more than

a decade and he was in the process of slowly
gradually raising pledges when these two
boats came on the market EARLIER than
anticipated. He’ll tell you the full story, but the
bottom line is this:

7 days x 10 working hours = 70 hours or

4200 minutes to collect $400,000. That’s
about $100 a minute.

One of the alumni wondered aloud, “Hey, if

500 alumni each put up $800, you’d have
$400,000.”

So Will created a “membership” with $800

each.

If you feel better about sending him $40, great.

20 alumni banding together for one
“membership” will make $800. The bank
transfer fee for $40 will eat up your
contribution, so why not band together? If
you pledge that you’ll send me $40 in the next
30 days, I’ll go ahead and front the $40 for
you. If you are inspired to send $80, great. If
you want the full $800, you can put it on your
credit card at Will’s paypal account that is
linked to the website.

IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE with $40 or

$80:
Send me an email message before May 2 and
I’ll include your pledge....

My postal address is

Steve Conger
2314 Desota Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Make the check to “Steve McCrea”

If I get 100 alumni pledging $20 each, that’s

$2000 and I’ll send Will the money.
If another 50 pledge $40 each, that’s another
$2000
if another 25 pledge $80 each, that’s another
$2000
Then I’ll pray that I get 175 envelopes before
May 31.

==============================

Again, I feel uncomfortable about approaching

you with this information, but at least you get a
chance to read the materials that are on Will’s
site (Qualif iedbyExperience.com) and the
myCorlette’s school.com site --- all in one
email message. It’s a long message, but at
least it’s all there. If you have a hard time
looking at it, let me know and I’ll send you the
web link to the scribd.com document. you
can download it as a PDF file.
The very least? Send Will a “good luck”
message ... even if you choose not to send
$40 or pledge $40 or $80 or whatever, you can
buoy his spirits.

So, either you’re annoyed that you received

this cumbersome and long email message
or you appreciate it that someone took the
time to put more than 25 pages into a
single document. At least you are up to
speed with what a former member of staff
at JC’s school is planning to do to keep
JC’s vision growing.

=================
The Vision of John
Corlette
What’s Next?

Assembled by S. Conger
I went to a school founded by John Corlette.
Between 1950 and 1960, perhaps 25 students
graduated per year (about 250 over ten years).
Between 1960 and 2010, roughly 50 to 100
students graduated from the school (2500 to
5000 students over 50 years). Over the first
60 years of the school, at least 9,000 students
passed through the school.
This document is assembled for you, the
alumni of John Corlette’s school. The
materials came from over a dozen online
locations, so this may be the first time that
some of you have seen all of these words in
one document.

You have an opportunity to participate in the

spread and continuation of the Corlette vision.

============

A short description of the layout of this book:

Often a project is described by a mission
statement, spreadsheets, rates of return on
investment and lists of planned initiatives that
the project will use to meet its mission or
goals. In reality, the core of the project is in
feelings which are best described by stories.

In his book A Whole New Mind, Dan Pink

points out hte power of “story” in capturing the
left and right brain. Left-brain dominance
focuses on numbers, the big picture needs the
right brain, which leads to the importance of
telling stories to convey meaning that profit-
loss projections fail to deliver.

Howard Gardner points out that there are

many ways of learning and taking information
-- so this document needs to be available in a
audio format, too. Photos would be helpful,
so it is also available on a website with lots of
photos and video links. Go
to www.VisualandActive.com and click on “The
Vision of John Corlette.” You can find this
document with photos and links to videos
mentioned in this document.

If you want more photos and pictures, you can

go to various websites and facebook groups,
including:

The facebook group that is administered by

Rana Sahni
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?
gid=2204660527&ref=ts

Sites.google.com/site/myCorlette’s
school/Home and scroll down to the listings
for individuals associated with the school, such
as
http://sites.google.com/site/myCorlette’s
school/Home/stories

http://gordondykeartprize.blogspot.com/ (this
effort needs some fundraising... the aim is to
raise 4000 francs and we have 1000 CHF
pledged so far)
In the next pages, I aim to cover the following
topics:

Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Who was John Corlette?

Chapter 2
What was his vision for his school.

Chapter 3
What was the “ethos” of his school?

Chapter 4
How has the vision spread?
(Cofradiaschool.com)

Chapter 5
The Need for A New Way

Chapter 6
What is the Essence of John Corlette’s School?

Chapter 7
The Sailing School

Chapter 8
What’s Next?

Chapter 9
Some Concerns

More Links

Appendices

The Last Word

==================
Chapter 1
Who was John Corlette?
John C. Corlette was born John Hubert Christian
Corlette on 21 June 1911[1], and died 9 December 1977.
Corlette was an English architect who, in 1949, founded the
private English-style boarding school in Switzerland. The
school is registered as a not-for-profit charitable institution,
with an international student intake. Corlette was a former
pupil ("Stoic") of Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, and a
former teacher at Gordonstoun, a private school inScotland -
he included some of the latter school's educational ideas in
the formation of his school in Switzerland.
Corlette's death in 1977 came after an extended illness. His
legacy is the school that he founded.
Early Years
Corlette was the son of an architect.[2]
As a teenager, he attended Stowe School, in
Buckinghamshire, England. Because of ill health (he had
contracted pneumonia five times), he was advised to find a
healthier environment, and it was recommended that he
attend a school in Switzerland where the high altitude and
drier air might assist his recovery - the same reasons that
Switzerland was at that time renowned for its sanatoriums for
people recovering from pulmonary infections and diseases.
This is how he came to go to school in Chesières.
[edit]
University Life and his First Decade of Employment
Corlette attended ??? university to study ???, and after
graduation he commenced working as an architect. He later
commenced teaching at Gordonstoun but decided to return to
university after working at Gordonstoun for xx years,
whereupon he graduated with a degree in education.

In 1949 Corlette opened his school in Chesières, the same

village where he had gone to school as a teenager.
Like his mentor Kurt Hahn, John Corlette wrote no books to
guide future generations in the creation of a curriculum. His
speeches, like those of Kurt Hahn’s, are peppered with
phrases that can guide the reader away from a focus on
curriculum and textbooks and toward the use of philosophy
and environment to improve the behavior of “the whole man.”

Links to Round Square

When Corlette met Dr. Kurt Hahn (of the Round
Square organisation) at Gordonstoun, the two became friends.
Dr. Hahn was convinced that it was crucial for students to
prepare for life by having them confront it, to develop courage,
generosity, imagination, principle and resolution. He felt that
this would result in young people becoming better equipped,
developing the skills and abilities to become the leaders and
guardians of the future.
When John Corlette’s school subsequently became a
member school of the Round Square association, it was seen
to be following these same precepts, giving the school an
additional respect and regard in the educational community.
The Round Square web site notes that:
Unlike all the other twentieth century educational innovators,
Hahn wrote no books. His testimony and legacy rest in his
schools and other programmes he initiated.
Like Kurt Hahn, John Corlette left behind a school that he had
started.

A tribute to Corlette by Jocelin Winthrop Young:

John Corlette of John Corlette’s school...was our most
powerful personality and he was the only one to own his own
school. He was urging expansion and development long
before I felt we were ready for it. He insisted that there must
be an association journal but it was not until 1982 that the
enthusiasm and driving energy of Margaret Sittler got “Echo”
going. John was an original and this showed itself in his
creation John Corlette’s school and its most characteristic
custom: the morning Meditation. He collected art and had a
weakness for Jaguars (petrol driven). He was a master of
publicity and used this much to the benefit of his school.
During the first American conference at Athenian in
1972, John Corlette’s school gave a reception in San
Francisco and a very fine film of the school was shown with a
commentary by the best of the B.B.C. announcers. It began
with the camera swinging through the arc of mountains
between Aiguille Verte and the Dent du Midi. Then it swept
down into the Rhone valley and one saw the distant road
zigzagging up towards Villars. A small object driving up the
road grew into a familiar streamline shape and the voice of the
B.B.C. chimed in: “John Corlette had a dream”. There was a
chortle of joy from the assembled Heads, which John took in
good part.
The above is an extract from The Muscles of Friendship - a valedictory speech by
Jocelin Winthrop Young, Founding Director of Round Square, on the occasion of his
retirement, October 1992 (made at Bishop’s College School, Lennoxville, Quebec,
Canada).

Corlette's death in 1977 came after an extended illness. His

legacy is the school that he founded.

Reference: www.JohnCorlette.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Corlette

KNOL created by Iain Barraclough, http://knol.google.com/k/slartibartfarst-

anon/john-c-corlette/3twzpmiarr7la/12#
Chapter 2
What was Corlette’s vision for
his school?
The following extracts from a speech given by Corlette at his
school’s end-of-term ceremony in July 1973 help illustrate his
vision for the school. At the time of delivering this address, the
school had expanded to nearly 300 students and had
introduced co-education. However, the precepts that guided
the early years of the school were still present 25 years after
its foundation in 1949.[3]
Education should be more than academics. We believe that
the goal of education is, or should be, the development of
the spiritual man, that is of that part of each one of us
which, with development and training, is capable of a
vision or direct apprehension of the purpose of life, of the
true nature of ourselves, of the world in which we live and
of such other worlds or states of being as may exist
besides.
Standards of behavior should be set by the school.
Another of our basic principles is that we believe that it is the
business of those who direct the school, first to set the
standards which they believe the students should be
aiming at, and state them in no equivocal fashion, and
secondly that they should provide a method of grading for
each aspect which will enable the student to know what
progress the school authorities think he is making. This
grading should, if necessary and where possible, be
accompanied by explanations which will help the student
to understand his assessment and plan his future
progress.
In other words, “tolerance of the beliefs of others” does not
mean that there is a relativistic “any standards will do”
approach to teaching. Multiculturalism does not connote a
 lack of universal standards.
Education requires teachers to look beyond academics, even
if the judgments might be regarded as “subjective.” This is
no reason for teachers to avoid the responsibility of
judging their pupils' work and progress, moreover this is
precisely how promotion is accorded to us in real life
outside school.
A rank system or similar structure that rewards good behavior
is central to the school’s method. It charts the course of
the development of the boy or girl as regards his
character, sense of responsibility, maturity and general
development in relation to the basic standards of conduct
and morality which we lay down and which are derived,
as far as we are able to understand them, from the
teachings of Jesus Christ and other great teachers. This
assessment has come to be known here as the Rank
System, and is absolutely basic to the idea of education
at John Corlette’s school. Note: Corlette did not like the
word “rank” as it held unintended military overtones.
A system of rewarding merit outside the classroom is needed.
We get promoted in our business or occupation and our salary
increased precisely as we are able to convince our
superiors in the hierarchy of our merits with reference to
their requirements. The exception to this is of course if we
are members of a trade union, in which case, as things
are today, our salaries are increased, not according to our
merit, but according to the seriousness of the threats with
which we are able to menace our employers. There have
been attempts by students in some schools to follow this
example by threatening the school authorities in various
ways if they do not give them what they want. This could
not happen at John Corlette’s school for the very simple
reason that we would rather close the school than
abandon our principles.
Education includes developing appreciation for and a
relationship with our environment. Intimate contact with
nature, too, is important, and a realisation of our living
 relationship with it. Hence our adventure training
programme.
Learning to live with others and maintaining good relations
with people is part of an education. Absolutely essential
too is a positive and loving relationship with all other
people regardless of their origin, background or beliefs,
and a positive and loving relationship with everything in
the world and in the universe around us.
The education which we offer is designed to go far beyond
[passing your exams or getting a better job. It aims] to
develop the whole of you and not just a part, to help you
to become truly and intensely alive, to help you to a
knowledge of and understanding of that part of you which
I call the spiritual part, by attention whose dictates you
can attain to much more than success in examinations
and a good job, that is to lasting happiness. Note: This
theory of education goes further than a typical school’s
mission.

On the school’s website, the following seven

principles also appear:
ducation at Corlette’s school is based on the seven key principles laid down by
its founder, John Corlette, at a time when most schools saw education as
nothing more than classroom lessons:

That education requires the balanced development of

the whole person; that is, its task is to encourage
an integrated development of human potential
across a range of different dimensions, including
the spiritual, academic, moral, aesthetic,
emotional, social and physical.
That this education must care for the individual so
that their potential is progressively developed
 within the context of the school community. This
is encouraged by valuing and rewarding
progress towards the fulfilment of this potential.
That this education has a responsibility to encourage
a process of dialogue whereby all are inspired to
set personal developmental goals and to pursue
them with self discipline.
That the life of the College and its values are based
on the teachings of Christ and other great
teachers. This commitment should be seen in
the quality of daily life, our relationships with
others and in our recognition of a common
humanity which transcends divisions of wealth,
culture, religion and ethnic identity.
That the qualities of humility and selflessness must
characterise leadership at all levels in the
College. Leadership should be expressed
through encouragement, example and service to
others.
That, within a framework of expectations relevant to
all members of the community, opportunities for
personal initiative and self-discipline must exist.
Greater personal freedoms are permitted as
individuals display responsibility and maturity.
That a healthy lifestyle is integral to the balanced
development of the whole person. Unhealthy
lifestyles can limit potential and hinder progress
in all dimensions.

Corlette’s speech from July 1973

www.JohnCorlette.com, then click on
“Writings” --

Some of you probably without thinking too much about it, will have
assumed that the goal of education is the acquisition of a body of
knowledge which will enable you to pass the examinations set by
universities, technical colleges or other such bodies. You believe that
success in these examinations may enable you to earn a better living
and make more money so that you can more effectively satisfy your
physical needs and desires and such other needs and desires as can
be satisfied by these means.

Whilst we agree that the ability to earn a good living is a necessary

and important accomplishment we do not regard this as the goal of
education but as a by-product of it.

We believe that the goal of education is, or should be, the

development of the spiritual man, that is of that part of each one of us
which, with development and training, is capable of a vision or direct
apprehension of the purpose of life, of the true nature of ourselves, of
the world in which we live and of such other worlds or states of being
as may exist besides.

If we are able to achieve such illumination, the business of everyday

life and its problems will be taken care of as a by-product, and such
physical wealth as we may need for our passage through this life will
follow the spiritual wealth which we have worked to achieve.

Hence, although we can and do and should work to equip ourselves

as efficiently as possible with the tools necessary for earning our
living, we shall do this with the more success, and at the same time
achieve for ourselves lasting happiness and peace of mind, if we set
as our primary goal the acquisition of spiritual wealth or the
development of the spiritual man.

The organisation and practice of any educational establishment

should therefore be such as to recognise this as the goal, and such as
to contribute towards its achievement.

Now, man's nature is complex, but for the sake of simplicity and to
provide a practical basis for action it can be divided into four main
aspects, each of which influences and reacts to all the others. They
are the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual.

Each of these four main aspects, if well nourished and well exercised,
can help us to develop our spiritual side, help us to perceive truth
which, as we approach it more nearly, will bring us closer to perfection
or closer to the Eternal One, to identity with cosmic intelligence,
cosmic energy, creative principle or Ultimate God according as you
like to describe it. This is the ultimate destiny of us all and the reason
and purpose of our lives here on earth.

It follows that any education which helps to prepare man to fulf ill the
purpose of his life on earth, must nourish and exercise all four aspects
of his nature and regard them of equal importance in the development
of the whole man and in the satisfaction of his profoundest
aspirations. The joy and happiness which all men seek can be
attained only in this way. This is the path to self-realisation and
through this to god-realisation which is our ultimate goal.

So, how, in practice, and in a school, and with the material, human
and otherwise at our disposal, do we set about this task?

Nothing, or very little, we do at Aiglon is

haphazard, or done because other people do it
or somebody has said it ought to be done that
way. Everything we do has been carefully
thought out with reference to our basic aim and
developed from first principles, and whenever
new problems or questions arise, we seek their
solution within the same context. We ask
ourselves, "Is the solution proposed consistent
with our basic aim and principles?"
we have our different grading systems concerning the activities which
are designed to help in the development of the four aspects of man's
nature. First we set standards
for the students to aim at, then by grading, we let them know how we
think they are doing. The object of grading is not to stimulate
Competition with others but to let the student know what progress he
is making.

Hence we have a grading system for studies, academic and artistic

and practical, another for sports, games and the adventure training
programs or expeditions, and a third for "the whole man." This last is
of course the key one and combines all the others in its assessment.

It charts the course of the development of the boy or girl as regards

his character, sense of responsibility, maturity and general
development in relation to the basic standards of conduct and morality
which we lay down and which are derived, as far as we are able to
understand them, from the teachings of Jesus Christ and other great
teachers.

This assessment has come to be known here as the Rank System,

and is absolutely basic to the idea of education at Aiglon.

The term is, I think, unfortunate and misleading, with its military
overtones, and perhaps someone can think of a more felicitous way of
describing it.

It may be objected that an assessment of this kind must necessarily

be subjective and therefore unfair. Of course it is subjective, but so
are
all our judgements, except possibly in the case of mathematics where
it can be argued that two will make four regardless of what anybody
thinks about it.

However, this is no reason for teachers to avoid the responsibility of

judging their pupils' work and progress, moreover this is precisely how
promotion is accorded to us in real life outside school.

We get promoted in our business or

occupation and our salary increased precisely as we are able to
convince our superiors in the hierarchy of our merits with reference to
their requirements. The exception to this is of course if we are
members of a trade union, in which case, as things are today, our
salaries are increased, not according to our merit, but according to the
seriousness of the threats with which we are able to menace our
employers. There have been attempts by students in some schools to
follow this example by threatening the school authorities in various
This could
ways if they do not give them what they want.
not happen at Aiglon for the very simple
reason that we would rather close the
school than abandon our principles.
==============
Chapter 3
What was the “ethos” of his
school?
Here are some stories that I’ve heard.

When I arrived at Aiglon as a 4th former, Groupie was my academic

advisor. He told me I have to choose between physics and biology. I
asked him what the difference is -- yours truly, this 14 year-old from
Japan was clueless. Groupie intoned, "Physics is for boys. And
biology is for girls." So I ended up taking physics for the next four
years in classes almost all boys. ..... In retrospect, perhaps, I
misunderstood what Groupie was telling me. Was he saying, take
biology and hang out with the girls?
Masaru Tamamoto (class of 1975)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Groupie filled the gym with his personality. Even though his days as a
British officer were well behind him, he still carried himself with military
bearing. Yet he was accessible. He was a great listener who seemed
genuinely interested in the pubescent ramblings of an adolescent
boy. He always had a bemused look on his face; as if he was
laughing at the absurdity of the world at large, and you were in on
joke. His style of talking was short and to the point. He editorialized
through expression; a raised eyebrow or a crooked smile. It was only
later that I came to appreciate what he and his generation
accomplished in World War Two.

Of course, all of these observations have been run through the fond
memory filter.

Cheers,
-George Hartogensis Class of 1976

==========================================

Memories of Groupie (Roy Watts)

by Norman Perryman (Head of Art 1966-73).

I remember Roy firstly as Housemaster of Alpina. The Art Room was then a tiny
space in the dungeon and I roomed in Alpina, so we saw quite a lot of each
other. I was a conscientious objector to all things military and he was a former
Battle of Britain fighter pilot. Nevertheless, we both had tremendous respect for
each other and often spent time together on Long Cultural Expeditions. In Paris
we all went to see the newly released film The Battle of Britain and I sat next to
Groupie, watching him out of the corner of my eye for his reactions. It was all
pretty dramatic stuff, but he didn’t bat an eyelid. His comment afterwards was:
“Hrrumph: very good, very good indeed (he tended to gruffly repeat a phrase);
just like it was, rather too many flamers though – we didn’t always go down in
flames”.

His nervous clearing of the throat before making a statement became legendary,
combined with the jangling of his keys in his pocket. His determination to
maintain discipline could give the impression of a strict, rather formal man. In
fact he was very shy, kind, with great understanding of our human predicaments.
He and Elizabeth were extremely kind and helpful to me when my marriage fell
apart in 1972. I was a wreck and they took me into their home for a few weeks
until I could get my bearings again. I shall never forget this gesture. They also
acquired several of my paintings and commissioned me to paint their daughter.
Later I visited them in returement in their charming English cottage, to paint the
portrait of Groupie that now hangs in Forbes House. Again, their hospitality was
memorable, but it wasn’t easy to get him to relax for the sitting. My challenge
was to portray those piercing blue eyes with the hint of kindness, and the man
whose mannerisms still conveyed a touch of the youthful flair of his early years.
He thought a portrait was a bit over the top, but I finally got him to hold me in his
thoughtful gaze. We seem to be appraising each other. I remember seeing a
photo in their chalet of the youthful, muscular Roy on the beach, holding up
Elizabeth above his head on one hand! She was pretty cute then too!

-----------------
Here is a memory from our early days at Alpina.
One of the boys had to be punished for misbehavior, so Roy sent him off on a
run to the top of a small mountain which rose up behind our chalet. We could
see the route he would take from our kitchen window.
Roy and I watched as the lonely figure made his way upwards until he reached
the top. He then started his descent homewards stopping from time to time to
pick wild alpine flowers. Roy and I watched him come safely down like parents
proudly watching their child take his first steps, He arrived back to greet us with
a large bunch of flowers which he had gathered on the way down and then
presented them to me with a big smile.
We had forgotten he had been on a punishment run and like parents were
delighted to welcome him back with a hug from me for my lovely flowers and a
well done and a pat on the back from Roy.

---------------------------------------------------------

ROY WATTS REMEMBERED

When I came to Aiglon in September 1965 to be live-in house tutor in Alpina,

Roy and Elizabeth Watts had been houseparents there for a year. I took the
place of Bill Cobbett, who was the art teacher. I had come straight from working
in the chemical industry in England, and had never taught before or had much to
do with children or young people.

The school was more of a ‘frontier’ place in those days, certainly quite rough
around the edges, and we had in the house our share of difficult, interesting and
unusual characters. But happily I was able to learn quickly and take most things
in my stride – due in no small way to Roy’s leadership and guidance.
Houseparents always had a full day off each week, with no teaching or duties,
and very early on in my first term the Watts ‘took off’ on Tuesdays and went
out for the day – leaving me in full charge of a house of 45 boys aged from 13 to
18. It was a tremendous vote of confidence in me, and of course it boosted my
own confidence.

After they had returned and when my evening duties had been completed with
‘lights out’, they would usually invite me into their flat and we’d discuss how the
day had gone, any problems there had been, and just generally ‘chew the fat’.
This didn’t happen only on their days off; later in the evening on many occasions
I’d go and have a chat, join them for a game of Scrabble, which they greatly
enjoyed, and I always remember the invitation on many occasions to ‘Have a
little brandy, Patrick.’

Roy cared deeply about the boys in his charge, and their progress. At that time
the rank system was in operation, and some boys might be surprised to know
how carefully, before council meetings, we discussed who should, or should not,
be promoted, and why. If there had been misdemeanours, we considered
appropriate punishments or sanctions; we spent a long time before each term
talking about who would room with whom, and who should have which house
job; and at the start of a year, which juniors it might be good to try to acquire
from Belvedere. Nothing concerning the boys was too much trouble.

‘Groupie’ liked to run a fairly tight ship and good discipline was important to him,
but it was never applied mindlessly or without careful consideration. Dealing with
people was one of his great strengths and he was always fair and consistent. He
also knew when it might be best to temper discipline with compassion and
understanding; and, of course, like all good leaders, he knew when to give
praise. I always remember the occasion, after the first girls had arrived in the
school, when a dance was held in Alpina, with music to be provided by a home-
grown band. Bill Schaeffer – hardly the easiest of pupils – was an important part
of the band, but owing to an accumulation of his frequent transgressions had
been ‘gated’ and not allowed to attend.

Some way through the event it became obvious that guitar music was being
played, but apparently by some invisible person. Investigation revealed
Schaeffer ensconced out of sight behind the piano! Roy had to laugh and
decided to acknowledge Bill’s initiative and inventiveness by allowing him to
continue to play, but now in full sight. It was a typically generous gesture.

------
I’m sure there are many other anecdotes, if I could but remember them. The four
years I spent with Roy in Alpina were, I think, the happiest of all my time at
Aiglon; when I later wrote to him after he retired and expressed that view, he
agreed that they were probably his happiest, too. The only other thing I will say,
in conclusion, is that of some seven or eight housemasters/mistresses I worked
with, Roy Watts was quite simply the best. Only one of the others came
anywhere near him, in my opinion (but did not equal him) – and I’m not saying
who that was!

Patrick Roberts, April

2009
Iain Barraclough’s stories are so extensive that
his stories appear in an appendix.

==============

Chapter 4
How has the vision spread?
(Cofradiaschool.com)

Have you heard of a little school in Honduras?

Ben Udy is the only alumnus who started a
school.
We are a nonprofit bilingual school and have been serving the
community of Cofradia since 1997. Cofradia (or
 "brotherhood") is both a small town and a reasonably large
general area just west of San Pedro Sula in Honduras. CBS
actively seeks disadvantaged children in the area and provides
them with a quality bilingual education, hence a much brighter
future. This year, 2010, we have almost 140 students enrolled
and over 1/4 of them are receiving scholarship assistance based
on need.
Our "Volunteer" teachers, recruited from all over the world, get
a chance to live the adventure of a real immersion experience
in Central American life and culture while providing a quality
Global Education to the students at the school and a culturally
broadening experience to the rest of the local community. The
international make-up of the team means we always maintain a
real multi-cultural perspective in everything we do.

Mission
Our mission is to give students a good
command of the English language as
well as a better foundation in academic
subjects than is available in the
Honduran public school system. For
many this can be a real path out of
poverty. Good English skills guarantee
anyone in Honduras much better paying
jobs. In addition a solid academic
education, the practical life skills
covered in some of our vocational
workshops and agricultural programs
will open many more doors for these
young people as they continue with
 their life after school.
It is our vision to educate the most
disadvantaged students along with
those who have more money and would
traditionally have very little interaction
with the needy in their community. We
strive to teach tolerance, understanding
and true community spirit. We believe
this to be the best possible way to
promote real community development
and thereby help all young Hondurans
determine their own future together.
Aims
Cofradia's Bilingual School strives to
open borders and minds: We introduce
our children to global possibilities
through the presence of foreign
teachers.
Cofradia's Bilingual School strives to
give the gift of language: We are
creating a bilingual curriculum that
incorporates Honduran educational
requirements with innovative
approaches to educating children.
Cofradia's Bilingual School strives to
instill a love of learning: In a country
where education is not required beyond
sixth grade, we are committed to
instilling a lasting appreciation of
education's importance and enjoyment
of the process.
The School
Construction of our current facility
began during the first week of July
(2001). Our international volunteer's
worked side by side with our Honduran
crew. Cement was mixed while
friendships were forged and an 80X30
foot basic school structure was
completed only several hours before the
children arrived for their very first day
in a brand new school. We have had an
ongoing construction project every
summer and added at least two
classrooms each year since. We have
also worked hard to retain as many of
the Mango trees as possible.

The school consists of 9 classrooms, a

computer lab, and a library. There is an
open courtyard for Physical Education
and the area is often used as small
soccer field. There is a paved and
sheltered area with a basketball court.
On the campus is a kitchen where many
students buy a small meal at morning
breakfast and a full lunch in the
afternoon. Teachers are permitted to eat
small meals at these times free of
charge.
Cofradia Bilingual School educates
children from kindergarten through 6th
grade. The number of students per class
varies. Classes have been as large as 30
and as small as 10. Larger classes will
sometimes have two teachers to help
with the large volume of students and
to ensure everyone is receiving
individual attention. There are also a
handful of local Honduras teachers who
are responsible for teaching music,
Spanish, and Social Studies.

The day usually starts to the chorus of

chickens around 6:00am. After a quick
group breakfast, the volunteers walk 20
minutes to school for the 7:00 am bell.
It is often possible to hitch a ride with a
student or hop in the bed of a pickup
truck a courteous passerby. The school
day consists of about 8 class periods
with a recess in the morning and lunch
in the afternoon. We have Spanish
teachers who teach 2 periods of the day,
then the rest of the day is divided
between Science, English, Math, Art,
Physical Education, and Computation
which are all taught in English.
After school there are occasionally
extra lessons which can be taught at the
 student homes. This is an unforgettable
way to become culturally immersed.
Families will often have volunteers
over for dinner. This is an incredibly
kind gesture as some of the homes have
only 3 rooms with 14 residents (not
including the cats and dogs) Other
times after school volunteers will head
to the internet cafe or take a swim at
"The Rocks".

So... why not bring the “ethos” of the school

that JC started to more people?
=============

Chapter 5
The Need for A New Way

There is no “one set of knowledge.”

In 2000, former U.S. Secretary of Labor
Robert Reich wrote an article for the New York
Times called “One Education Does Not Fit All.”
In it, he railed against the use of standardized
tests and courses as inconsistent with the new
economy. I literally jumped out of my seat with
joy when I read this part:
Yes, people need to be able to read, write and
speak clearly. And they have to know how to
add, subtract, multiply and divide. But given
the widening array of possibilities, there ‘s no
reason that every child must master the
sciences, algebra, geometry, biology or any of
the rest of the standard high school curriculum
that has barely changed in half a
century. (Robert Reich)
There’s no reason to put education in
standardized packages when our kids don’t
come in those packages. Who wants a
standardized kid, anyway? As a society, we
embrace individualism and yet we seem to be
OK with our schools becoming more and more
standardized (Littky, pages 34-35).

Free Agent Nation by Dan Pink

See Daniel Pink’s discussion of changes in education in his book, Free Agent Nation, chapter 15:
Whenever I walk into a public school, I'm nearly toppled by a wave of
nostalgia. Most schools I've visited in the 21st century look and feel exactly
like the public schools I attended in the 1970s. The classrooms are the
same size. The desks stand in those same rows. Bulletin boards preview
the next national holiday. The hallways even smell the same. Sure, some
classrooms might have a computer or two. But in most respects, the
schools American children attend today seem indistinguishable from the
ones their parents and grandparents attended.
(Pink asks, “How many other places look and feel exactly as they did 40
years ago?” He goes on to discuss the history of mass education. He ends
with the following points.)
In the future, expect teens and their families to force an end to high school
as we know it. Look for some of these changes to replace and augment
traditional high schools with free-agent-style learning -- and to unschool
the American teenager: * A renaissance of apprenticeships. Traditional
high schools tend to separate learning and doing. For centuries, young
people learned a craft or profession under the guidance of an experienced
master. This method will revive and expand to include skills like computer
programming and graphic design. Imagine a 14-year-old taking two or
three academic courses each week, and spending the rest of her time
apprenticing as a commercial artist. * Teenage entrepreneurship. Most
teens have the two crucial traits of a successful entrepreneur: a fresh way
of looking at the world and a passionate intensity for what they do. In San
Diego County, 8 percent of high school students already run their own
online business. * A greater diversity of academic courses. Only 16
states offer basic economics in high school. Expect a surge of new kinds of
"home economics" courses that teach accounting and basic business
skills. Most politicians think the answer to the problems of high schools is
to exert more control. But the real answer is less control. In the future, our
teens will learn by less schooling and more doing. (Dan Pink, Free Agent Nation.)

Reference:
TheStudentIsTheClass.com

Dr. Abraham Fischler delivers a critique about

how time is a “rigid” or fixed part of the
curriculum. Why not use time as a variable?

Time Must Be A Variable For Student Success

Nowhere in my readings have I found encouragement and

funds to reward systems that are trying to build an educational
environment based on students’ mastery and making time a
variable. As long as time is fixed, then student progress is what
is variable within the fixed time frame. Thus, 30% of the
student population is punished through failures.

If we moved in core areas - mainly English and Math - to

Computer Based Learning ("CBL" or Computer Assisted
Instruction “CAI”), the student becomes the class and each
student is given time to master the materials. Further, what is
learned becomes a tool for future learning. In science and
social studies, projects that are meaningful to students can be
agreed and assigned. Small groups then may use technology
for research purposes as well as to make powerpoint
presentations to fellow students. This transformation cannot
be done without the community, without curriculum design
and without teachers who are trained to utilize the
environment correctly.

Student management also is important so that the teacher, the

student and the parent see the progress of each student. This
type of system provides accessibility to all partners, including
the principal and state, as well as a vehicle to help determine
the effectiveness of the learning environment in the
classroom.

If you know of locations where the above model is being used,

please let me know. Overall, appreciate your thoughts on
transforming our educational system to treat each student as
the class.
P OSTE D BY DR . AB RAH AM (AB E ) S. FI SC HL ER

--------

Beyond Memorization: Give 21st Century Students Time to

Understand

We can all agree that it is important for students to graduate

from high school. However, what happens when “graduating”
from high school does not necessarily represent an
understanding of the basic skills needed in college and the
workplace? According to the Sun-Sentinel, more than half of
the students entering public colleges and universities in
Florida need remedial classes in math, reading, and writing
prior to starting their college classes. The problem is NOT the
amount of money we are putting into our public schools;
rather, the structure and curriculum of public education needs
reform. Memorizing information for the FCAT or College
Placement Test is not going to equip students with the skills
needed for the 21st century.
Students need to learn to analyze, understand, and explain
rather than memorize, recite, and regurgitate facts and
information. A student cannot be expected to master division
if he or she does not know what dividing numbers
truly means. Subjects—particularly reading and math—need to
be taught on a student’s individual timeframe. Learning
should be measured against each student’s past markers of
progress. We must enable students to learn at varying rates so
they come to understand and analyze information in a way
that is useful and accessible both to them personally and for
the 21st century.
We must change our expectations about time and make
conceptual understanding (not wrote repetition) our first
priority.

-------------------
Read some of these books:
A Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation by Dan Pink
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and anything
on snopes.com, Studio Art by Lois Hetland, The Minds of Boys by Michael Gurian, Ready or
Not by Mel Levine, The Big Picture by Dennis Littky.

Visit these sites:

The StudentistheClass.com by Abe Fischler
Bigpicture.org metcenter.org for Dennis Littky’s work
WhatDoYaKnow.com by Dennis Yuzenas
pz.harvard.edu Project Zero’s site at Harvard university for continuing education, click on
“products and services” and join the mailing list. Ask your child’s teachers and principal to
subscribe to learn what’s new and effective.

Search on Youtube:
“Yuzenas visual” “Littky Small” “Abe Fischler”

========
The New Three Rs
(Beyond Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic)

By Steve McCrea, Tutor and Mentor

I’m a tutor for middle school students, so I

often get asked: “What should my child be
studying?” “Can you recommend a good web
site to help him get ahead?” “My child has
difficulty reading—can you tutor him?” Parents
could present other questions to a teacher:
“What should parents be learning?” I would
answer, “Did you catch that important
speech given by Bill Gates?”
In February 2005, Bill Gates gave a landmark
speech at a conference of governors praising
small schools. I missed it, and chances are
that you did, too, because the speech was
overwhelmed by the media’s focus on the
Michael Jackson trial and Terri Schiavo. Here’s
the essence of what Gates said:
“Successful schools are built on principles that
can be applied anywhere. These are the new
three Rs, the basic building blocks of better
high schools: The first R is Rigor – making
sure all students are given a challenging
curriculum that prepares them for college or
work. The second R is Relevance – making
sure kids have courses and projects that
clearly relate to their lives and their goals. The
third R is Relationships – making sure kids
have a number of adults who know them, look
out for them, and push them to achieve.”
The three Rs are almost always easier to
promote in smaller schools. The smaller size
gives teachers and staff the chance to create
an environment where students achieve at a
higher level and rarely fall through the cracks.
Students in smaller schools are more
motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel
safer, and graduate and attend college in
higher numbers.”
Bill Gates February 26, 2005National Education
Summit on High Schools
Bill and Melinda Gates appeared on Oprah
Winfrey’s talk show in April 2006. Oprah called for
a “National Emergency” to treat the problems with
schools.
Imagine that it’s now April 2016. Oprah Winfrey
might have a show, ten years later, with Bill and
Melinda Gates. Imagine that you are watching the
show on TV at home with a child in the room. The
child sitting next to you looks up at you and asks,
“Where were you ten years ago when Oprah
declared an emergency in the schools?” The
question is: What did you do to improve
schools?

==========
Chapter 6
What is the Essence of John
Corlette’s School?

These are some of the points.

The DNA of Corlette’s school can be boiled down to three

things:

First, growth through forcing you to confront and

overcome your fears and/or sense of limitations in a physical
environment. At Corlette’s school of course this was
Expeditions. To this day I remember doing my first abseil and
thinking as I edged toward that cliff edge that, despite all the
ropes and buckles linking me to safety, that what I was about
to do would definitely kill me, then making my way down and,
at the bottom, feeling on top of the world. I also know that that
I would not be where I am today had I not had that experience.
So many alumni have told me the same thing.

Second, mentoring. I came to Corlette’s school after years in

a boarding school, where the staff treated their charges as
lower life forms, not human beings. At Corlette’s school, the
staff were your partners--they knew you better than you knew
yourself and wanted to work with you to help--make--you fullfill
your potential. The staff were all more than teachers to me,
which is why 30+ years later we're still in touch.

The third one is what I call the Inner Life, by which I mean
the habit--and I stress the word habit--of reflection, of looking
into yourself and thinking something over, whether it be an
experience you've just had or an issue or problem you're
trying to get your arms around. I probably remember two
Meditations out of the hundreds I heard in my six years. It
doesn't matter. I got something bigger out of the practice of
morning Meditation. I'm not suggesting you institute
meditations in your program but I do think you need to build in
something that trains the kids to look inward. That habit is so
lacking everywhere nowadays and it's essential. If you don't
do your own thinking you don't figure out who you are
and you're hostage to groupthink, which is a really
dangerous place to be....”

I’ve asked members of staff to summarize

what they think is the essence of Corlette’s
school. What made the school work in the
1970s?

“I don’t know if you can find people who are

able to be as focused as Fritz Koch or Tony
Hyde or Duncan Maxwell or JX or DB. There
was something that allowed all of them to be
extremely intent on the development of
students, all students, not just the students in
their classes.

I don’t know if you can have an intertwined

community the way we did. We had such an
inward looking micro-community.

We students could have done more

community service.

We can’t imagine what it must be like with

instant connection with home via iPhone,
mobile phone, smart phone, facebook and
email. Receiving a phone call was rare and
often meant “something was wrong.” Some of
us went two months without speaking to our
parents.

Here’s what some of us said:

-- Delayed gratif ication

-- Planned hardships
-- A quiet time every day
-- Staff people who "know students, look out
for them and push them to achieve”**
-- Dinner and Lunch with an adult
-- No tolerance of bullying
-- A focus on the individual, not on “the
academic reputation of the school.”

WE NEED MORE STORIES...

Here are stories that Will Sutherland tells...
EXPLANATORY STORIES AND EXAMPLES -

Here's a tale about the student teaching the teacher: When I

arrived at Aiglon College I could not ski. In fact learning to
ski was my motivation for applying for the job out there. I
arrived on the 2nd Jan. the school was coming back on about
the 10th Jan and DB, Head of Expeditions, had me down to
take my first ski expedition two days later. Needless to say it
was a pretty steep learning curve, but I was determined to ski.
After falling around all over the place for about three weeks, I
caught a certain Junior Ski Racer committing an offence,
breaking one of the fundamental ski rules by skiing alone
without a group. He pleaded with me not to take him off
skiing so I did a deal with him. He carried on skiing but he had
to give me a ski lessons for a month. He had to agree to meet
me every day after his training and ski me back to school.
Sure enough he did and I learnt to ski. I learnt so much from
him in the first three days that I was able to follow him down
the “Populaire”, the 3 Km run to school, without falling once.
This was a first for me. My colleagues thought I was nuts, and
that allowing a student to teach me was lowering myself to
their level and undermining my own position as a member of
staff and my ability to keep discipline. I was lectured by a
number of them in the Staff room and apparently I was letting
their side down and should pay for lessons if I need them, or
get another member of staff to teach me. Secretly I knew
there was not a member of staff who could ski as well as the
Junior. If I knew one thing from my sports master training, it
was how to assess sporting ability! So I stuck to my guns and
the youngster did a fine job, and I joined the Villars École
Suisse de Ski as an instructor at the beginning of my
3rd season. This is a demonstration of experience power! It
confirmed my theories on being qualified by experience. By
the way I was 25 at the time and he was half my age, just 12
years old and we did a number of great expedition together
and often raced down to school after lessons.

As for the cold showers – I was at St Luke’s Exeter where I

did my teacher training (Although I have always felt my Mother
taught me more about education than I learnt at college) and
during my holidays I worked as an instructor at the local
Outward Bound School. In those days, after the war, there
was much talk about character building through hardship and
experience. (I have a problem with some people’s definition of
experience – The give the test before the lesson!) One of the
things the Outward Bound students had to do was to get up at
06.00 and run across a field, wade the river Dart (usually up to
your waist, sometimes neck), which was a freezing cold
torrent we used as a white water canoe course, run across the
next field and then run back through the river again and to the
school. I used to do it and found it a loathsome experience.
Until one day an 18 year old student collapsed and, despite all
attempts to resusitate him, died. One of our anatomy,
physiology, and kinesiology lecturers at St Lukes was a Dr
Travers who was working very closely with Dr Griffiths-Pew on
a study for the British Olympic Team on the effects of exersion
at altitude and different temparatures, pre the Mexico
Olympics. When he heard of the death he remarked that he
was not surprised and that he was surprised there were not
more. His study showed that early in the morning was when
the body’s metabolism is at its lowest ebb and it was the worst
time to be exercising, and certainly cold conditions would
exasibate the situation. The extra pressure put on the heart
and body survival systems which are trying to control body
heat was inviting failure along the line somewhere. Certainly
anyone with a slightly weak heart or who was not used to
exercise and hence out of condition was at the greatest risk.
Needless to say the cold showers and run in the morning were
dropped by the Outward Bound school on the Coroners
instructions.

I do not think what we were putting the Aiglon Students

through when I was there was harming them in any way.
Running through a tepid shower is very different to being
totally imersed in a solid body of freezing water. I ensured the
Prefects understood that it was a wake up exercise not an
opportunity for them to be machocistic towards the students.
So roll call was outside unless it was really freezing outside
and in the dining room on these occaisions. The Prefect on
duty had to be outside with the rest of the house and did the
same exercises himself.
Incidently, since then I have had all this reiterated by the head
Doctor of the research team at HMS Dolphine – the Royal
Navy’s submariner and divers college. I attended a course on
“Cold Shock” and its effects on sea survival and rescue, as
part of my training for the Round the World Race.

I was only thinking of you the other day when I was listening to
the radio and a most out of touch bunch of teachers theorising
over how was the best way to motivate students in the
classroom. Education in this country is very depressing.
Exams are dumbed down to meet governement targets, and
teachers spend so much time writing up lesson notes, then
reports on how each lesson went, then interim reports and end
of term reports, so they have no time left for all the other
things you and I see necessary for the development of the
“whole man”. Mainly because we have 5% of our teachers
who are in the wrong job and have to be tested to prove to
them they are not doing very well, and even then they are
rarely moved on. If you are going to make a case you have to
have written evidence, so everybody has to write reports and
be tested. The government is wasting so much time money
and effort on this, it is hard ot belive and I honestly think we
are no better of than we were when I started teaching back in
1969. If instead, the money and time was spent on the
students and helping the teachers with equipment and
teaching materials, the world would be a far better place.
More love and commitment needs to come to the fore.
Everyone needs to know someone cares!

I am putting together a project at the moment which is going to

develop into an opportunity for youngsters to use some
initative and imagination to do research and do what they are
interested in. I am basing this project on a historic design Pilot
Cutter sailing boat as it is less expensive to do this than buy
property and it will enable us to develop all the individual life
skills and take on voyages of discovery.

My vision is an Aiglon on the Coast and to use the sea in the

same way as JC used the mountains.

I am very impressed with Dennis Littky's school projects. I

need to study them a bit more and and then would appreciate
some discussion on the finer points of his operations. The
problem we have here is that everything is committee driven,
nobody is allowed to lead and invariably you set out to design
a horse and you end up with the proverbial camel. So there
really is a need for finding a way round these problems and
giving good teachers the opportunity to teach and use a bit of
flair, charisma and initative to allow their students to study
things they are interested in. It is clear to me that unless
something is done human progress and understanding will be
slowed. I think to provide the sort of environment we are
talking about will be difficult but it will be worth trying.
Chapter 7
The Sailing School
Here’s a description of Will Sutherland’s plan
for a school.
=============
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE QBE EDUCATION "AIGLON
SATELITTE AT SEA PROJECT"

“We are all qualified by our experience…”

At Aiglon we used the mountains in the summer for walking,

climbing, camping, and learning to look after ourselves in a
rugged environment. In the winter the Aiglon students all
donned their skis and took their expertise to the highest
standards in all the skiing disciplines, including ski
mountaineering.

The sea can offer comparable opportunities. Whether we are

sailing small dinghies of larger boats we never go out without
learning something new about the sea, seamanship, nature or
the weather. More importantly we learn about ourselves and
our relationships with our fellow seafarers or team members.

I HEAR AND I FORGET, I SEE AND I REMEMBER, I DO

AND I UNDERSTAND – Confucius.
Small Beginnings: At the outset, in the absence of buildings,
we aim to use sailing boats as floating learning centres,
accommodation and transport, which will visit ports of call
relevant to the projects the student crew members are
studying. The possibilities are numerous. For example the
Eden Project in Cornwall for Bio-diversity, Océanopolis in
Brest for ocean studies, the Barrage of the Rance for
sustainable energy projects, and cities like London, Dublin,
Edinburgh, Rouen, Lisbon, Rome, Marseille, and even across
the Atlantic to New York and the eastern cities of America.
They are all, each and every one of them, centres of research
rich with expertise and culture, offering our students, tangible,
educationally rich, experience opportunities.

Modern technology makes all this possible. By supplying the

students with the latest electronic communications equipment
they need never be out of contact with their teachers and
tutors. Projects and assignments can be chosen to fit interests
and to cover relevant parts of exam syllabi. Assessment can
be made by presentation and demonstration of new
knowledge and skills. Most important is that the students learn
how to learn and are encouraged to assist each other to
achieve high standards and to be motivated to succeed.

Our students will be qualified by experience.

The 3Rs project at sea: Going to sea even for short periods
of time will take our students into a new environment and all
pre-conceived ideas, prejudices, and misconceptions fall
away, as everyone realises they are new players on a level
playing field. They will start with a clean slate, and all learn to
work together, get to know each other, and to play their part in
a working team. Sound friendships will be forged, but most
important of all are the life skills lessons we can learn at sea.
Every voyage requires tolerance, caring, sharing, tenacity,
self-confidence, and self-worth, planning, organisation,
leadership, camaraderie, and above all, regard/love for our
neighbours.

Courses: One week to twelve week courses are possible over

the spring and autumn terms enabling students to live aboard,
and study their academic school work and projects through
links on the internet and their laptops. The benefit of
interaction with experts in the ports of call will be invaluable to
their learning process and will motivate them to complete
projects. The routes will be designed to take the students on a
tour of destinations relevant to the projects they are studying.

Summer holiday, 7 day courses will be used to take

youngsters for taster motivational voyages, and to
demonstrate to other educators how our 3Rs system works.

Transferable Skills: Our new school foundation will work with

the students on their return to help them identify and adapt the
skills they have learned at sea to beneficial use at school or
college and at home.

I DO, I UNDERSTAND, I NEVER FORGET … – W.S.

Young Teachers: We are coaching and mentoring young

teachers/skippers in ways to teach students how to learn by
giving the student the responsibility of going to sea, and
leading an expedition with set destinations and well defined,
tangible goals. Sailing with the right mindset can bring out the
best in people, and on reflection, most realise many of the
foundation values and skills learnt are transferable to real life
ashore.

Two identical Pilot Cutters: In talking to our young skippers

in the UK and France it was generally agreed, for a multitude
of reasons, pilot cutters are the boats most suitable to start the
project. Apart from all the other pluses they are renowned for
their seaworthiness, they will make a very steady and
predictable teaching platform, and they have lots of bits of
rope to pull, are very beautiful, and have historic links with the
founders of the project in Dartmouth UK in the West Country
and in Saint-Malo.

The key to the development of the concepts and spreading of

the ethos is providing a living demonstration and using it to
coach other Teachers, Mentors, and Lecturers and
encouraging them to adopt this concept as one of their
teaching methods.

The Pilot Cutter Project is just a beginning. As with all projects,

when it is successful it will have many fathers, exponents, and
supporters. We know that one size does not fit all but for many
there is enough flexibility in our methods for most students to
benefit greatly from the programme.

Key to the delivery is non segregation. Finding a mix of

cultures, ideas, points of view, upbringing, and basic
education, will enrich the experience for all and foster the
maximum benefit from the 3 Rs.

One of the areas in education we wish to address is the

dropout rate. So many talented young students are leaving
school or college before they have passed their exams
because they are bored and see no relevance to what is being
taught. There are a multitude of reasons these students find
themselves in these circumstances, but they all could be
avoided. We can motivate and set high standards which our
students want to achieve. We have done it before and we can
do it again.

See also APPENDIX 8 for some answers to

pointed questions...
====
Chapter 8
What’s Next?

Hmmm. What is the next step?

Option 1: The next school could start in a

rented building.

Option 2: The school could start in a

purchased building.

Option 3: The school could start in a rented

boat.

Option 4: The school could start in two

purchased boats.

Option 4 is the choice that Will Sutherland has

selected.
Chapter 9
Some Concerns
1. Where is the business plan?

2. What is the likelihood that a teacher can

administer a new school?

3. What if the British Government doesn’t

certify the school?

4. Wouldn’t it make more sense to get

confirmed contracts with parents and THEN go
to the banks and investors to request money
for the purchase of the boats?
QUESTION: It seems to me that if you really want to draw
substantial financial support from the Corlette’s school crowd, you
should have a more detailed program that demonstrates how this
business will offer the experiences and values that we all took from
the school.

The first: by use of the boats for voyages of different

duration to different destinations. Sea expeditions,
where the students are driving the boat, doing the
navigation, taking watches day and night, cooking to
feed themselves, working as a team and living
onboard to work the boat, sailing in all weathers,
getting wet, as well as soaking up the wind and sun. It
is going to be a privilege for these students to
participate in the project within safe cruising grounds
with such a huge mixture of important and interesting
destinations.
The second: by choosing the right
staff/trainers/teachers and training them in the ways
we want the courses delivered and the ETHOS behind
our courses and the whole programme. It is important
that the staff are people people, by which I mean they
are able to relate to and communicate with young
people. Each student will have to complete a short
CV/Life story questionnaire before participating in
their course in order to give the teacher the
information need to start discussions and mentoring.
The third: is more difficult but can be done. There
will be nothing to stop us starting the day with a
meditation type meeting on deck, a thought for the
day, and having discussions on the mediation topics at
the end of the day. I feel this is the MOST IMPORTANT
part of the programme. Teaching the students how to
think for themselves and “learning how to learn.”
I often thought it would have been good at Corlette’s
school if we had finished the day with a short
reflection on the day’s morning meditation.I WILL
HAVE TO TRAIN THE STAFF with the aid of a number
of Alumni to get the results we are looking for in this
exercise.

QUESTION: What courses will be offered?

For the Corlette’s school Ethos effect to be appreciated
fully the students need to be immersed in the
programme for the maximum amount of time
possible. This is why I have structured the programme
to provide study/travel terms/semesters at sea.
The first type of course I refer to as Course 1 in the
budget - refers to the 3 month term/semester afloat
course for senior school and college students -
studying whilst sailing to their chosen destinations.
Planning the route and ports of call will all be part of
the pre-course exercise.
Ports of call must allow access to people, experts,
experiences, and encounters which are relevant to
their studies. This will take place in March, April, and
May each year.
The second 3 month term/semester afloat course,
Course 2 - is the same format as Course 1 - but will
take place in September, October, and November
each year.
N.B. We already have 4 enquiries for bookings on
these courses in September 2010 and March 2011,
and 15 expressions of interest.
Summer Season /courses - refers to short, 1 week
or 2 week courses, run in June, July, and August. I
envisage using these as training courses for teachers
from other schools, colleges, and universities as well
as for students.
Some of these courses will be shorter voyages for
youngsters aimed at introducing them to our
education system whilst they have a holiday afloat
and learn a bit about sailing and navigation. It is
intended to use these trips to motivate more students
into signing up for the “Term Afloat” courses.

QUESTION: Who will lead them?

At the outset I will lead them and to train the staff.
The requirements are demanding but we will have the
right people leading.

QUESTION: Will you (Will) be the skipper/mentor or just the

managing director?
I expect to be very hands on – this is an opportunity
for me to do what I am good at. If we are going to
build it into something that propagates
the Corlette’s school Ethos we have to train teachers
and franchise out the methodology.

QUESTION: Who else will be involved at the sharp end -- ie with

the kids?
I have a number of qualified Yachtmasters in mind,
some of whom have been to Corlette’s school, and the
others think very much in the same way, who can
assist, guide/mentor the teachers and skippers. There
are a number of Corlette’s school Alumni who could
mentor the staff and ensure the message gets
through. For example there is Jeremy McWilliam who
was a professional charter skipper on large yachts,
and Amanda who has crossed oceans, and Simon
Rogers who is an excellent skipper and yacht
designer, to name but a few.
I see young skippers in the role you had as the House
Captain or Prefect, looking after and guiding the
younger members of the house and running the
everyday activities and systems required.

QUESTION: Where will the students come from?

“Get the boats Will and I will join the Foundation
and send my child,” is the statement made by a
large number of the Alumni that I have spoken to.
There is definitely a market there as you suggest
below. Facebook has already demonstrated we will get
the word out on the internet and we have already had
an astonishing response from Alumni that want to be
connected and know about the project.
I was closely associated with about 4,000 Corlette’s
school Students.
Although we will target the children of Alumni at the
outset, the doors are open to offer courses to other
schools and colleges.
When the word gets out to the other Round Square
Schools we will have combined projects set up and
major marketing opportunities around the world.
There are also opportunities to franchise the concept
and set similar projects up in other parts of the world.

QUESTION: How does it fit into their regular academic program

-- is it just a summer program or will you work with schools to
provide a "semester at sea" for children enrolled in other schools?
The idea is that students will have a “semester at sea”
but will continue their college/school work or projects.
More and more curriculum work is project and
research based. With connections to the internet,
video conferencing and websites it is now possible for
these students to be in daily contact with teachers,
lecturers, and professors back at base in their schools,
colleges, or universities.

QUESTION: Lots of those questions need some form of answer.

The concept for this project was first formed back in
August 2009. Since then I have been researching the
market and education systems to ascertain whether
the project was sound and adjusting different aspects
to improve the fit with the demand we were being
asked to meet.

QUESTION: Another thing you might want to explore is offering

sailing courses/programs to ex-Corlette’s school alumni and their
children. I expect there would be a fair number of people who would
enjoy getting together to sail around Ireland or wherever with old
friends from Corlette’s school and their families.
This is another income stream that is certainly worth
exploring as I have several conversations where
Alumni have asked if they can come on a
course/cruise with their families. This is another
product for us to sell and fit into the programme.

QUESTION: My university alumni groups offer lots of trips

around the world for groups of alumni, and these are heavily
subscribed by people who want to spend time with others with
whom they have something important in common. The Corlette’s
school alumni are fewer in number but would probably be interested
in a similar program.
I am sure you are right and this is another possible
revenue stream.
Other ideas we have for a continuing income stream
include the participants becoming Friends of the
Foundation, and paying a club type subscription, to
participate in the after course programme of
meetings, seminars, and the occasional voyage.
I hope this answers your questions and gives you
more confidence in the project.

Will Sutherland
More Links
My John Corlette’s school.com carries some
of the stories that appear in this document.

Meditations by Corlette are on

the Youtube.com/my John Corlette’s
school channel.

Recollections from the 60th Reunion appear

on youtube.com/my John Corlette’s
school channel.

There are two audio CDs currently

circulating....
“Dr. Tae talks about Skateboard Physics”
“Will Sutherland talks” (about Poland and a
former gangster who sells sweets in soccer
stadiums)

The following additional materials are

available.
The School of the Future DVD is a collection
of videos from youtube.
Also available:
Interview with Dennis Littky is an audio CD
from a broadcast from National Public Radio in
2005.
You can go to NPR and find the link to listen to
it over the Internet. If you would prefer to have
the CD mailed to you, send an email message
to SteveCongerAlpina@gmail.com.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
storyId=4618720&sourceCode=RSS
It's hard to imagine a school with no tests, no grades and no
classes. But those familiar elements of education are missing
at two dozen Big Picture schools in six states, each with no
more than 120 students.
They emphasize work in the real world, portfolios, oral
presentations and intense relationships between students and
advisers. Margot Adler visits one of the schools, called The
Met, the 10-year-old model for the schools, in Providence, R.I.
Students are encouraged to discover their passions, interning
two days a week with mentors in the community who relate
those passions to the real world. The student might work at a
hospital, a bakery, or an architectural firm. School projects are
designed by the mentor, the adviser and the student together
-- and are presented orally, along with a portfolio, every nine
weeks.
Vimar Rodriguez, an 11th grader interested in medicine, has a
neighborhood pediatrician as a mentor. Dr. Hector Cordero
says she knew little when she started interning at his office.
"I think she's learning a lot," Cordero says. "I think it is
motivating her to go to medical school, which is the most
important thing."
Rodriguez contrasts her own life with those of her friends at
other schools. "They don't know [what college they are going
to], if they are going to get financial aid, and here I can look at
different opportunities and different choices."
The school measures its success in many ways --
standardized achievement scores are higher than those at the
three largest Providence high schools -- but parents are most
excited by these statistics: Almost every senior gets into
college, 80 percent go to college, and five years later, most of
those students are still in college or have graduated.

----------------------------
Appendices
Appendix 1
Many Ways of Learning, Many Ways of
Testing
This piece comes from Howard Gardner’s
book “Intelligence Reframed”

Howard Gardner
Alternative Methods of Assessment
Key quotes from Gardner
Multiple Intelligences is most usefully invoked in the service of two
educational goals. The first is to help students achieve certain
valued adult roles or end-states. If one wants everyone to be able to
engage in artistic activities, it makes sense to develop linguistic
intelligence for the poet, spatial intelligence for the graphic artist
and sculptor, movement intelligence for the dancer and musical
intelligence for the composer. If we want everyone to be civil, then it
is important to develop the personal intelligences.

The second goal is to help students master certain curricular

materials. Students might be encouraged to take a course in biology
so as to better understand the development of the living world. If
individuals indeed have different kinds of minds, with varied
strengths, interests and strategies, then it is worth considering
whether pivotal curricular materials like biology could be
taught AND ASSESSED in a variety of ways.
Intelligence Reframed, p. 167

Performances of Understanding
When it comes to probing a student’s understanding of evolution, the
shrewd pedagogue looks beyond the mastery of dictionary
definitions or the recitation of textbook examples. A student
demonstrates or “performs” his understanding when he can examine
a range of species found in different ecological niches and speculate
about the reasons for their particular ensemble of traits. A student
performs her understanding of the Holocaust when she can compare
events in a Nazi concentration camp to such contemporary genocidal
events as those in Bosnia, Kosovo or Rwanda in the 1990s.

“Measures of understanding” may seem demanding, particularly in

contract to current, often superficial, efforts to measure what
students know and are able to do. And, indeed, recourse to
performing one’s understanding is likely to stress students, teachers,
and parents, who have grown accustomed to traditional ways of
doing (or NOT doing) things. Nonetheless, a performance approach
to understanding is justified. Instead of mastering content, one
thinks about the reason why a particular content is being taught and
how best to display one’s comprehension of this content in a publicly
accessible way. When students realize they will have to apply
knowledge and demonstrate insights in a public form, they assume a
more active stance to the material, seeking to exercise their
“performance muscles” whenever possible.

=========
Other pieces...
Trust. Truth. No Put-downs.
Active Listening. Personal Best.
Seen at New City School in St. Louis, Mo.

-----------------------------
Appendix 2
The Five Pillars of the Met Center
Dennis Littky’s method
This essay was composed after a visit to Dennis Littky’s
school in Providence, Rhode Island.

Five pillars of Big Picture Schools

(as interpreted by a math teacher who visited The Met in
Providence, RI, part of the Big Picture schools association)
Multi-year relationships -- The teacher stays with the same
students for three or four years. The teacher teaches
more than one subject. In the case of the Met, a high
school in Providence, RI, the teacher stays with the
students for all four years of high school.
The teacher is a facilitator. Teacher = Advisor = “how can I
help you?”The teacher coaches the student to choose
activities to cover skill areas (language skills, quantitative
reasoning, etc.) rather than special subjects, like
trigonometry, algebra or chemistry. One of the teacher’s
prime activities is finding suitable mentors for the
students.
Tests are by exhibition. A “stand up” demonstration of
understanding is valued above a written test. The
students take the state’s standardized tests and other
written tests, but the school focuses on the exhibition,
which is the product of at least nine weeks of work.
Learning through interests – the internships (set up with the
teacher) are selected by the student. Academic learning is
filtered through the student’s interests.
“I’m more than a letter in the alphabet.” Evaluations are
made by narratives, not by a letter grade. The teacher
can afford time to write two pages of narrative about each
student during the grading period because the teacher
has only 15 to 20 students to meet with over a nine-week
period. (I observed an “advisor” who met with students
 throughout the class day, asking for updates on on-going
projects. This sort of focus can come from a narrow focus
of one adult on a small group of students.)
The Met Center’s web site lists the following items:
a student-teacher ratio of 15:1,
high standards, and
strong family engagement.
Its hallmarks include
internships,
individual learning plans,
advisory, and
a breakthrough college transition program.
Metcenter.org

----------------------------
Appendix 3
The 1000th Man
One man in a thousand, Solomon says,
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it's worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other.
Nine nundred and ninety-nine depend
On what the world sees in you,
But the Thousandth man will stand your friend
With the whole round world agin you.

'Tis neither promise nor prayer nor show

Will settle the finding for 'ee.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em go
By your looks, or your acts, or your glory.
But if he finds you and you find him.
The rest of the world don't matter;
For the Thousandth Man will sink or swim
With you in any water.

You can use his purse with no more talk

Than he uses yours for his spendings,
And laugh and meet in your daily walk
As though there had been no lendings.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em call
For silver and gold in their dealings;
But the Thousandth Man h's worth 'em all,
Because you can show him your feelings.

His wrong's your wrong, and his right's your right,

In season or out of season.
Stand up and back it in all men's sight --
With that for your only reason!
Nine hundred and ninety-nine can't bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot -- and after!

R. Kipling

http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/Th
e_Thousandth_.htm

----------------------------
Appendix 4
Meditation

What meditation made a difference to you?

Here are some of my favorites

Arranged alphabetically by the last name of the staff person.

JC More writings at JohnCorlette.com

Our Lives are What We Make Of Them
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/jcwritings
Youtube: I'm waiting for someone like Chris Reynolds or Erik Friedl to read this one,
someone who remembers JC's cadence.

Black Sheep
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/jcwritings/jcwriting2
Youtube:

The Price of Folly

Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/jcwritings/jcwritings3
Youtube:

God's Body
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/jcwritings/jcwritings4
Youtube:

Fear
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/jcwritings/jcwritings5
Youtube:

GD
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation/gordon
Youtube:

CRH
"The Flying Horse of Kansu"
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation/crh
Youtube: Jessica says she will ask you to make a recording.

AFH
Written: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/current
Youtube: who knows? (AFH, please get a camera and make a recording)

Joan Mackie
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation/jm
Youtube:

DKM "The Game of Life"

Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation/duncan
Youtube:

DMcW "Death"
Youtube: Read by Jeremy

Norman Perryman "Our Hands"

Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation/perryman
Youtube:

DR
"Remembering John Corlette"
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation/dr

ES
Dngerous Weapon
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation/esenn
Youtube:

TS
"Whitsunday" YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6mmsSBeuk

"Language" Part 1
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0J_MRhTmp4
"Language" Part 2
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywMUmy9lKak

"God Is Dead" Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL62Y8XU8GY

PT
Photo: http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation/pt

Group Captain Watts

http://sites.google.com/site/aiglonreunion/Home/meditation

Volume 1
Dennis McWilliam read by his son 8 mins.
"Death"

Eliz Senn read by S. Conger 6 minutes

"Dangerous Weapon"

T Senn read by S. Conger

"Whitsunday" 5 minutes
"Language part 1" Language part 2 8 minutes
"God is Dead" 7 minutes

Clive Hartwell (read by Clive) 8 minutes(?)

"The Flying Horse"

Christopher Reynolds 3 minutes

"The Silent World"

"Speak Fitly" 2:17 minutes

TCF Stunt.... (and Nancy's meditation??) 7 minutes

Karen Just reading RF Watts (3 minutes?)

"Whatsoever Things Are True"

JC Meditation read by C. Reynolds 5 min

"We Make Our Own Lives"

total 63 minutes (so far)

The first volume of an audio CD called "Aiglon Meditation Volume 1" will
have about 60 minutes of meditations.

===========
A meditation from Mr. Hyde

Meditation 19th January 2007.

The Paradoxes of Our Time

When the Beatles, in the ‘60s of the last century, talked about “getting older and being
64 many years from now" it seemed to them, as it did to me then, so far into the future
that it really was all but impossible to visualise how the world would then be. Even the
film Space Odyssey 2001 from the early ‘70s, in terms of the technology it portrayed,
was not considered to be completely unrealistic since man was still cavorting about on
the moon. However, in the intervening years, much has happened that has had more
to do with humanity, and its tendency to act in a completely inhumane manner, than
the effect that technological advances have had on improving our material lot.

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers.

We have wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less.
We buy more, but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses, but smaller families.
We have more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgement; more
experts, but less expertise; more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too
fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too
much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, hate too often.
We can contact people anywhere on this planet and even those in the emptiness of
space, but have lost the art of communication.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
We've added years to life, but not life to years.
We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted our minds.
We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudices.
We write more, but learn less.
We plan more, but accomplish less.
We can get things done quickly, but lack patience.
We can travel fast, but do not to know when to wait.

We scream out for our various rights, in an egotistical manner, at the tops of our
voices, but remain conveniently silent, and hardly give a damn, about our
responsibilities to others and society.
We rush through life, but, instead of taking “Time out”, we drop out.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big people and small character.
An interesting set of paradoxes about our time in history and us, but what about time
itself?

On the second RSIS project in the Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh, in

1982, I remember being invited into this hill villager’s humble dwelling for a cup of
chai. His house was beautifully situated looking out over the terraces carved into the
Himalayan hillside by the villagers over hundreds of years and, on the horizon to the
north, the white capped ramparts of the Himalayan giants could clearly be seen. A
really idyllic setting. I had noticed a pile of stone outside his house – some was
dressed but there remained a large amount still waiting to be dressed (that is to be cut
and shaped into a brick-like form). Over tea I eventually asked him for what was the
pile of stone. “My new house” was his reply. The building in which we were sitting
was just a plain mud brick and thatch affair that did not really stand up too well against
what the monsoon rains could throw at it and often did.
“How long does it take to cut a stone in the shape of a brick?” I asked.
“It depends – a few hours, sometimes a few days for it depends on the size.
Sometimes, especially during planting and harvest times, weeks can go by without me
cutting any stone” came back the reply.
Ever inquisitive I asked him how many bricks would he need,
“Two to three thousand, depending on the size”.
I did a quick calculation in my head and reckoned that it would be taking him quite a
considerable amount of time before he had anywhere near enough bricks for his
house. So I then had the audacity to point out him that it would take him a very long
time before he had enough bricks in order to start building his new home.
“Ah, sahib. That is what time is for!” What a lesson in wisdom and philosophy from
that humble hill villager!

Time is a precious gift so use it in a way to help you live your life rather than have
time actually drive the way you live.

=========

Reconstructed Meditations

Meditation about Hiroshima

The image is seared in my brain. Chris Reynolds stood up in Belvedere on this
beautiful morning and spoke quietly about a package floating toward the Earth,
dropped from high above Hiroshima, almost hovering, with people walking
below and suddenly there was an ending.

It was the most disturbing image I had ever heard and it shook me to my core. i
remember the shiver that went up my spine ... and then suddenly Reynolds
stopped talking. I can't remember the words, but I will always remember the
feeling. It was the best &$#!@%$&^# meditation I've ever heard.

Reconstructed by E. Friedl
Typed by S. Conger

===========================

Reunions

Lydia and I decided to return to Aiglon to celebrate its 60 years. Why

have so many taken a decision to break their journey into the future by
stopping over at a point in their past? A nostalgia for a time held dear
but maybe filtered kindly through a sunset lens? To meet up with friends
and share the chat; or see again the ones forgot; or clinically observe the
chemistry time’s changes worked? Or, just might as well as not. What
complex motives drive us all!

I left the mountains of Aiglon in 1976 to live here on the Isle of Skye in
this chain of islands off the west coast of Scotland called theHebrides.
Nice name. At 20, I had seen them from a warship of a navy training
squadron, amazed at their clean beauty, and that they were part of our
own British Isles. Later, sea-faring adventures round the world behind
me, I came back up here in university vacations to help pay my way
reading English at Cambridge. For this I dived beneath the surface of
these waters to fish for clams. Like flying in dreams to pass into this
other world of crackling barnacles, green swirling mysteries and things
that make you jump. Like walking on the moon up there in space
perhaps. From outwards round the world to down and
deep within. Maybe a metaphor for all our lives. We
travel outwards in expectation till time suggests we look within.

And part of looking in, is looking back. Awareness of our

roots and acceptance of all that made us what we are.
Hence perhaps our fascination with reunions.

Last year I travelled south to Dartmouth, where 50 years before, with 90

other term-mates, we’d joined the Royal Navy with eager willing hearts.
Most of us were there. Cocktails thawed the frost of age and warmed the
gammy legs, a recognition of the same young men we were when we were
iron-bound in common cause and challenge, the flaming forge of
shared experience. A long week-end of sharing tales and laughter, more now
at ourselves than others, agreeing on perspectives, discovering the interesting paths
since taken. And at the chapel service at the end we thought, as we used to, of those in
peril on the sea, and gave thanks now for friends departed, and for each and all around
us, re-joined, and glad that we were there.

And so, I’m sure, with Aiglon. Forgive me if the teacher in me does not
recognise the woman before me as the sharp young miss in the 3 rd form
who wrote the amazing sonnet to the clustered diamonds left untouched
in crisp Alpine morning snow; or realise that this imposing man, father
now of four and clearly most successful banker, is the same joker who
ran the late-night high-stake poker sessions whilst his housemaster slept.
And I thank those kind enough, these intervening years, to write or visit:
more than rewards enough for one who simply shared a love of subject
with younger fellow travellers.

My former Head of House in Alpina asked me a few days back what

makes a good school. Well, I don’t have time to write a novel, not today,
but in short, if pushed, I’d say a place to put down strong roots
and grow in self-belief and love of others, a place to go
back to with a happy heart.
Believe me, it will be a joy to see you all.

And all in all, and at the last, the last re-union, let us all believe it will be
joyful to meet up again, a union with the oneness, however you conceive
it to be.

See you there!

Clive Hartwell 03 June 2009

===================

Meditation about Birthdays

Two Meditations (read on Youtube)

Concept by TCF Stunt

What would happen to our society if we gave gifts on our birthday instead
of receiving them?

First, we would be getting presents throughout the year. The poor fellow
who was born on or near Christmas often gets only one "really good" gift
a year. Anyone under this new regime of giving on one's birthday would
discover that we'd be receiving gifts throughout the year.

Second, I'm sure we would see the day in a different way. Our birthday
would be a day of Thanksgiving, of reflection, more preparation would be
required. What thought does it take to simply receive presents? However,
if we are entrusted with the celebration of the day ourselves, we will have
to put a lot of thought into each gift that we would give to our loved ones.
The day would in fact turn into a way of interacting and strengthening the
relationships that we particularly value.

In the moments that follow and throughout the day, let's think about this
simple proposal:

What would happen to our society if we gave gifts on our birthday instead
of receiving them?
Reconstructed by Conger
In the hope that TCFS will either re-record the meditation (he keeps them in a binder in
Danbury, CT) or make a photocopy and mail it to 2314 Desota Drive, Fort Lauderdale
FL 33301
or call me and read the meditation over the phone... 954 646 8246

======================

Meditation about Milgram

In 1984 I was studying psychology in college and the name "Stanley Milgram" came
up. This guy had done a horrible thing, subjecting people to a psychological test
without their awareness. I realized that I had heard of this character. TCF Stunt had
spoken about the Milgram experiment in 1975 or thereabouts. here's what I recall him
saying (or at least the gist):

A scientist in a white coat asks you to help him in a teaching experiment.

There is an electric wire running from a box on a table and you are asked
to twist a knob to apply an electric charge that runs through that wire to
the ankles of a subject. The "learner" is being trained in learning a
language and the idea is to shock the student whenever there is an
incorrect response. The scientist is there to observe and guide you and
you are told that you are helping to test the equipment and the procedure.
The student makes an error and the scientist asks you to turn the dial to
"1" and press the button once briefly. The student jerks and then gives
the correct response.

The student continues to make some errors and after each error the
scientist asks you to administer slightly stronger shocks until, to your
surprise, the guy in the lab coat asks you to dial in "9" which is labeled
"Dangerous". There is a higher spot on the dial "10" which is labeled "do
not exceed this level."

What would you do? Remember, the student is screaming by now, since
you just applied the '8" level of pain. The scientist urges you to press "9"
because it is essential that the student learn this information. What would
you do?

Well, it turns out the wires were not connected to an electric current and
the student was an actor. You were the test subject. The procedure in
the experiment has been banned because the "assistant" (you) was so
distraught that they had applied a high level of pain in pursuit of
"education" that they underwent some psychological counseling. It
turned out that perfectly upright citizens will often press that button if
asked to by a guy in a lab coat.

Is it so hard to put ourselves in the shoes of many Germans during the

1930s? Would we have pressed against cultural and peer pressure to
stand up for oppressed peoples in the German Republic?

I wonder...

The idea for this Meditation came from TCF Stunt

Reconstructed by Conger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiuEJ4mLgpQ

================

Links to Youtube

YOUTUBE GUIDE
Youtube.com/AiglonReunion for meditations
Youtube.com/myAiglon for "sweet memories" and Oral History
Youtube.com/AiglonOralHistory for uploads that you want to eventually have
posted on myAiglon.com (we need to check the quality of the recording, so we have a
"temporary storage place" on AiglonOralHistory)
Elizabeth Senn believes that her meditations were too "old fashioned" and not worth
the time to record them. Please contact her and persuade her to let one of us read
the meditation (if she chooses not to).

----------------------------
Appendix 5
Extracts from Dennis Littky’s First Chapter
of Big Picture: Education is Everybody’s
Business
Chapter 1. The Real Goals of Education
“Education is not preparation for life; education is life
itself.” ~ John Dewey

When I watch kids walk into the building on their first day of
school, I think about what I want them to be like when they
walk out on their last day. I also think about what I want them
to be like on the day I bump into them in the supermarket 10
or 20 years later. Over the course of three decades watching
kids walk into my schools, I have decided that I want them to
be lifelong learners
be passionate
be ready to take risks
be able to problem-solve and think critically
be able to look at things differently
be able to work independently and with others
be creative
care and want to give back to their community
persevere
have integrity and self-respect
have moral courage
be able to use the world around them well
speak well, write well, read well, and work well with numbers
truly enjoy their life and their work.
To me, these are the real goals of education.
I want students to learn to use the resources around them. I
want them to read something or see something they are
interested in and follow up on it. I want them to have an idea
and then get on the phone and call people they can talk to
about it, or pick up a book and read more about it, or sit down
and write about it. When I imagine one of my students as an
adult, I imagine a person who is a thinker and a doer, and who
follows his or her passions. I see an adult who is strong
enough to stand up and speak for what he or she wants and
believes, and who cares about himself or herself and the
world. Someone who understands himself or herself and
understands learning. Creativity, passion, courage, and
perseverance are the personal qualities I want to see in my
graduates. I want them to come upon things they've seen
every day and look at them in a whole new way. I want them
to feel good about themselves and be good, honest people in
the way they live their lives. And, catchphrase or not, I want
my students to score high on the “tests of emotional IQ” that
life will inevitably throw at them over and over again.1
Finally, I want my students to get along with and respect
others. Someone once asked me, “What is the most important
thing a school does?” I replied that everything I believe about
the real goals of education is not possible if the kids in the
school do not care about and cannot get along with each other
or with the people they meet outside of school. I believe that
this is at the heart of what we mean when we talk about
celebrating and respecting diversity, and it is at the heart of
what makes a school and a society work.
When a kid leaves my school, I want her to have the basic life
skills that will help her get along in the adult world—like
knowing how to act in a meeting or how to keep her life and
work organized. Basic stuff that too many schools forget about
in their rush to cram in three sciences, three social studies,
four maths, and so on. But I also want her to be the kind of
person who will keep building on what she got in my school,
who will keep developing skills, keep learning, keep growing.
Each of us, if we live to be just 70 years old, spends only 9
percent of our lives in school. Considering that the other 91
percent is spent “out there,” then the only really substantial
thing education can do is help us to become continuous,
lifelong learners. Learners who learn without textbooks and
tests, without certif ied teachers and standardized curricula.
Learners who love to learn. To me, this is the ultimate goal of
education. W. B. Yeats said it this way: “Education is not the
filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.”

++++++++++++++++++++++

Ernest L. Boyer, the renowned education expert and then-

president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching, once gave a speech entitled “Making the
Connections.” In it, he said (beautifully),
I know how idealistic it may sound, but it is my urgent hope
that in the century ahead students in the nation's schools will
be judged not by their performance on a single test, but by the
quality of their lives. It's my hope that students in the
classrooms of tomorrow will be encouraged to be creative, not
conforming, and learn to cooperate rather than compete.2
Boyer said this in 1993. He died two years later, after a long
battle with cancer. Boyer knew that schools were headed in
the wrong direction and he made that clear by saying that his
hope was “idealistic.” It is so sad to me that if he were here
today, he would not only see how idealistic this hope still is,
but how far we have gone since then in the exact opposite
direction.

============

Today, tests as meaningless as that test of poster making are

determining the goals of education. Tests are dictating what
we as a society hold valuable in our young people. Our
addiction to testing is blinding us to what we believe in
our hearts are the important lessons our children should
learn.
If we worked backward, and thought first about the kind of
adult we admire, we would not name characteristics that could
be measured on a multiple-choice test. No single
measurement or tool can get at what's really important in any
area of learning. And the current push for one test that every
kid has to pass in order to move to the next grade or graduate
makes the whole situation even sadder.

What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge, and

not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
~ George Bernard Shaw
With their focus on end results, too many schools and
education policymakers forget how much
the process influences how a kid takes in knowledge and then
uses it. Too many forget how intrinsic motivation and
desire are to learning. So much of our entire approach to
education in the United States cheats kids out of the chance to
become lifelong learners.
I want students to be able to find the information they need, to
be able to go through the process of finding learning. And
the key is that they are motivated to do it. I care more that a
student is excited to go deeper in her exploration of the history
of women in her native country than I do about that student's
ability to answer every question on a standardized U.S. history
test. I care way more about helping kids learn to apply
knowledge than I do about presenting them with knowledge
and finding out if they have memorized enough of the facts to
spit them back at me. Most schools just give out the
knowledge and then test it. They explain photosynthesis and
then ask the kid to spit back photosynthesis. In between, no
photosynthesis-like process happened inside that kid! He
didn't take in that knowledge and then go to the library to find
more books about photosynthesis, call a local greenhouse to
go see how it works, or speak to a scientist who studies
plants. And he certainly didn't grow at all in between receiving
the knowledge and being tested on it. He took it in and spit it
right back out—the information and himself, unchanged.

-----------

show people what learning really is is a segment of a

videotape on math and science learning called A Private
Universe.4 The video was produced by the Harvard-
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and shows all these
quick interviews with Harvard students, faculty, and alumni on
graduation day. Most of them look so “educated” in their caps
and gowns and flowing academic robes. And then the
interviewer asks them one of two questions: “What causes the
seasons?” or “What causes the phases of the moon?”
Twenty-one of the 23 randomly selected Harvard folks give the
wrong answer. What's more, their wrong answers reveal the
same misconceptions about these things that the answers of
grade schoolers do. Then the interviewees are asked to list all
the science classes they've taken over the years, either at
Harvard or in high school. When I show this video to
audiences, I say, “Come on, they've taken every kind of
science course possible and passed every one of them, and
done this and that, but they can't apply it to something as
basic as the change of seasons!?” Because of their Harvard
diplomas, these grads are going to become some of the most
powerful people in our world, but what kind of power is it when
you can't apply the knowledge that the diploma stands for?
Elliot Washor, my longtime friend and the cofounder of The
Met and The Big Picture Company, points out that this says a
lot about how too many schools view learning. He relates it to
what we are doing at The Met and our Big Picture schools in
this way: “They say knowledge is power. We say the use of
knowledge is power.”
My point is that learning is about going beyond the knowledge
given to you in a class or in a book or at a museum. Learning
is personal. It happens one on one, it happens in small
groups, it happens alone. Sure, a conference, a speaker, a
lecture is motivating—but the real learning happens after. It's
what you do with it, how you integrate it, how you talk to your
family, friends, and classmates about it. That's what learning
is. As noted psychology and education expert Seymour
Sarason reminded me recently, it's similar to psychotherapists'
belief that patients don't get better during the hour,
but between the hours.
I'm not suggesting we throw out everything schools do now or
everything those Harvard kids learned. I'm suggesting that we
look more deeply at what we define as learning and be honest
and try different things and see what works. Learning is
about learning how to think.
My new friend Tom Magliozzi, from National Public Radio's
popular show Car Talk, has a lot to say about what learning
really is in the book he and his brother wrote, In Our Humble
Opinion. One of my favorite parts is when Tom, a man with a
Ph.D. in chemical engineering from MIT, says this:
It seems to me that schools primarily teach kids how to take
tests (a skill one hardly uses in real life unless one is a
contestant on a quiz show). Elementary school prepares kids
for junior high; junior high prepares them for high school. So,
the goal—if we can call it that—of schools is to prepare kids
for more school.5
Psychologist Robert J. Sternberg has written about the
dichotomy between his “real world” success and the difficulty
he had studying psychology in college. Here's a quote from
him that reminds us that, even in higher education, there is
often a huge split between what we are taught and expected
to learn, and what is actually important “out there”:
I have now been a psychologist for 21 years, and one thing of
which I am certain is that I have never—not even once—had
to do in the profession what I needed to do to get an A in the
introductory course, as well as in some of the other courses.
In particular, I've never had to memorize a book or lecture. If I
can't remember something, I just look it up. The way schools
set things up, however, they reward with As the students who
are good memorizers, not just at the college level but at many
other levels as well.6
Learning is not about memorizing. Learning is about
being mindful. Mindfulness is a concept I learned about a
while back, and it really makes sense to me as something we
are trying to develop in our students at The Met. Ellen Langer
is a professor of psychology at Harvard and the author of the
books Mindfulness7 and The Power of Mindful Learning.8 In
these books, she talks about how cultivating mindfulness is
helping people realize that the world is full of interesting
possibilities for learning, and that the world will always look
different from different perspectives. Our education system
should see creating mindful learners as its goal. Learners
who are mindful of all that surrounds them and all that is inside
them. Here's Langer, quoted in Parade magazine:
Too often, we teach people things like, “There's a right way
and a wrong way to do everything, regardless of the
circumstances.” What we should be teaching them is how to
think flexibly, to be mindful of all the different possibilities of
every situation and not close themselves off from information
that could help them.
I love tennis. When I was younger, I went to a tennis camp,
and they taught me how to hold a racket when I served. Years
later, I was watching the U.S. Open, and I realized that not
one of the players held the racket that way.
The problem comes in the way we learn. We are rarely taught
conditionally: “This might be a good grip for you.” Usually,
we're taught: “This is the right grip.” Being mindful—using
imagination and creativity to learn what works best for you—is
what makes the difference between an average player and a
champ.9

FROM DENNIS LITTKY’S BOOK “THE BIG PICTURE”, FIRST CHAPTER.

---------------------
Appendix 6
Iain Barraclough’s stories

(Iain Barraclough - a lifetime member of the Aiglon Association - was

at the school 1964-1967, and later contributed to the school by
helping out in entertaining prospective parents/children at
presentations held in the SCGB premises in London, and in acting as
a trustee for a period, for the Aiglon UK Charitable Trust. He now lives
in New Zealand, having emigrated from the UK in 1982.)

Q: (Asked about Iain's recollection of JC.)

Iain Barraclough: I didn't really know him all that well. Didn't have
much to do with him. It was JC who introduced me to a new way of
listening, and listening very carefully, to classical music. It was the
Musical Appreciation Society - I think it was called that - that
assembled in JC's quarters in Clairmont each Wednesday/"culture"
night. I knew him as the principal and that he was sponsoring the
Musical Appreciation Society.

In the Musical Appreciation society, we got to listen to classical music

on JC's QUAD brand hi-fi gear - pre-amp, amplif ier and electrostatic
speakers. I had never seen this equipment before, but I later
discovered that it was absolute top-of-the range, leading edge hi-fi
gear. (QUAD stands for "Quality Unit Amplif ier Domestic", made by
the Accoustic Manufacturing Co. in the UK.)

I knew him as "The Boss" or "JC," as he was variously nicknamed. I

had been told that he was an architect. I never did figure out how he
got to set up the school. That’s something that I never explored. It has
often puzzled me how he got there.

FIRST IMPRESSION
My memories of the place are those of a child who came from a
grammar school in North Wales, UK, where I had been the only
English child in the school. I was used to being picked on by bullies
because I was different - I sounded and behaved differently to the
other children, many of whom spoke Welsh at home. I had been
taught by my older brothers to never back down if a fight was
threatened, because I would regret it, and so I used to face up to a
potential threat and go in with fists flying to do max damage, even if I
wasn’t likely to fare well, on the basis that the bully would not usually
come back for more, preferring to pick on an easier victim next time.

So I was actually - I had learned to be - quite aggressive when I came

to Aiglon. My initial response on arriving at Aiglon was “what a bunch
of softies”. It took me a while, but fortunately my mother taught me to
be somewhat thoughtful, and so I eventually started to see that the
boys were working in a closed system – a community - and that it
worked better if we all cooperated and pulled together in the
community. Once that penny dropped, I started moving up the ranks.
Standard Bearer Candidate, Standard Bearer, then Councilor then
House Prefect, then Vice-House captain. I didn’t seek these things, I
just became more responsible without realising it. I never sucked up to
anybody or had ambitions to be one of those things.

I think it was quite a good system - the school's ranking system.

MY FIRST COUNCIL MEETING:

Like all systems in a community, there was corruption. I saw this when
I was invited to become a councilor. The day I was elected, I was
invited to sit in on the last part of the council meeting that had elected
me. They were discussing some of the boys and whether they should
be promoted. There was one boy (Brian Diaz) who was up for
standard bearer candidate, I think, and the doubt was raised, “It is still
not certain whether he is smoking.”, and the councilors agreed that
there couldn’t be a promotion if there was a suspicion of smoking -
which offence was punishable by expulsion. I was puzzled by this as I
knew which of the boys on the council were themselves smokers.

I asked, “Is the only reason for his not being promoted the suspicion
that he might be a smoker?”
They agreed that that was the case.

So I said, “People who are in this room could also be supposed to be

smokers, isn’t that so?” (there were students and teachers there).

There was a deathly silence in the room. I just thought that they were
a bunch of bloody hypocrites - and this was my first meeting.

I went at it fairly logically like that and said something like, "I would
hate to be the one to suppose which of the boys in this meeting might
be smokers."

The upshot was that Brian got a well-earned promotion, which he had
very much wanted. It would have been very de-motivating not to have
promoted him otherwise.

Q: That was an empowering moment for you because you stood up

for the kid.

Iain Barraclough: Well, unfortunately I had by then developed the

tendency to stand up for the underdog - e.g., for those who are not
present/able to defend themselves, and I detested hypocrisy.

TEASING INCIDENT:
In my first term at Aiglon, I shared a room with another boy, on the top
floor of Clairmont. There was a very nervous boy who occupied a
single room on the same floor. Me and my roommate had been
teasing him with a silly made-up story about there being the ghost of a
boy who had died of an ashmatic attack in that very room, and that his
ghost resided in a water tank in the room and came out to haunt the
room periodically. I concocted a story about how the dead boy had
had a club foot, and that when his ghost appeared "You can hear him
wheezing and clumping/scraping his club foot down the hallway at
night.” Me and my roommate then conspired so that one night, one of
us made the clumping/scraping noises down the hallway at about 2
a.m., and the other attempted to enter the boy's room with a bedsheet
over his head, wheezing and moaning. It was very funny and we (me
and my roommate) were laughing hugely about it afterwards.

But then CR (Christopher Reynolds) took me aside the next day and
told me to put an end to this and made me see that what I thought
was teasing and joking around was psychological bullying and that it
could make the victim's life a misery. He made it clear that there was
no place for bullying in the school and that if I kept it up, then they
would have to consider asking me to leave.

That hit me hard because there was no way I had intended to bully the
boy - I already knew that I detested bullies. I subsequently apologised
to him for the teasing, and also made a special effort to be friendly
and helpful towards him henceforth. He developed a trust in me such
that, when I became a prefect, he would sometimes come to me for
advice/help if he was being bullied by other boys (he was a natural
victim). But the thing is, CR's approach - the school's approach - was
to help the individual student to nurture the positive and push out the
negative aspects in their own behaviours.

ALMOST EXPELLED:
I wasn’t a model schoolboy at all. Having been raised in the Welsh
hills of the Snowdonia National Park, I loved walking in the mountains
and hills, but I didn’t like being organised to do so by others. I would
never be a good military person. So I didn’t really look forward to the
expeditions we went on - anything that was compulsory meant that
you were being organised by others. I tried to make the most of them
(expeditions) when I was on them though, especially the beautiful
alpine scenery.

I would have been expelled along with three other senior boys. We
went on a long expedition where we should have walked up some
mountains near the valley around Gstaad. Collectively, we had
knowledge of all but one of the mountains that we needed to walk up,
so we only needed to walk up that one and reccy it. We drew straws
or took a vote (I forget which), and the other three boys went up the
mountain while I stayed in Gstaad wth my girlfriend (I was in love), at
the swimming pool. I think the three of them were walking up a ridge
on the very day that we were supposed to be walking that section, and
apparently DB (Derek Berry) happened to be on a mountain
somewhere nearby. He apparently used a pair of binoculars and
counted one person walking up to the col - the object of the expedition
- and noted that two others had stopped and were sitting - they were
actually too tired to go any further and were having a fag, and were
waiting for the solo walker (he was very fit) to reccy the col, make
some notes and return. The fourth member (that was me) was
missing.

At the debriefing - which I didn't need to attend, as I was not the

leader - DB or someone avoided us having to tell the prepared lie
about the details that we "remembered” from the ex by saying that he
knew we had not done the ex. The outcome was that we were told
that we should really be expelled, but, as we were all very senior boys
(including the head boy) and we were less than a year away from "A"
levels (we were all to take Oxford Local exams), the school would not
make a fuss, but we were not to be given any points from that ex. Nor
were we to publicise this but to keep it secret.

Q: Are there any meditations that stand out in your recollection?

Not really. I think Group Captain Watts’ meditations got me thinking
quite a bit along the lines of principles - standards and moral
principles. The act of trying to understand what meditation was and
why we were being asked to do it got me thinking. Going through that
questioning process - what was it supposed to give me? Then I
realised that it was giving me an opportunity to do something for my
SELF-discovery - to discover something that I otherwise probably
wouldn’t be doing.

(There was some discussion about the Google Knol that Iain had set
up for Aiglon College, and the Wikipedia article for Aiglon College that
he had contributed quite a lot of material to. In a report that Iain had
come across, the head of Round Square had talked about the
contribution of Corlette to Round Square.)

Iain Barraclough: Corlette is frustratingly under the radar. His history

and motivation - I’d like to know more, because he (and his school)
played an important part in my life.

Iain lives in New Zealand. He uploaded and maintains the WIKI and the KNOL
about JC and Aiglon College.

He has also helped with a blog about the early years of the school.
http://aiglon5060.blogspot.com/

You can contact him at Iain.Barraclough BAT gmail SPOT com.

----------------------------
Appendix 7
The Impatient Taxpayer.

I posted a video describing the frustration that

some educators have, since they know that
most schools have not evolved or kept up with
the new research (see in particular the first
appendix covering Howard Gardner’s theory).
I created a website
called FindASmallSchool.com, which brings
together some of the data that parents need
when deciding where to send their children to
school.

I wrote a book about an “A” school (a small

charter school) -- the book is available
on Scribd.com at .

I visited Dennis Littky’s school and made a

video...
A small school booklet on Scribd.com captures some of the information that is presented
here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/20125234/Taxpayer-Booklet-ready-to-print-Small-Schools-
2009-24-pages-BOOKLET
The profile of Littky’s school came from this document.

=============
An End Note

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/quotes

Batty: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack

ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams
glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those
moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.

In other words, I’ve heard stories about the

school that John Corlette founded. People
who went through that school remember
different parts of the school. So that those
moments are not lost in time, this
document is shared with you. If you have a
story or stories, take time to sit with a video
camera: point the camera at a photo and start
talking. You don’t have to worry about the
spelling or paragraph structure or punctuation.
Just talk, record, and upload the video
to youtube.com. Tell us where your memory-
video is located (send us the URL from
youtube) and we’ll download it and then
upload it to myAiglon.com’s youtube channel.

To those people who can supply Will with the

“bridge loan” of $800,000, thank you. You will
see that Will can get that money from 1000
former students. He’s already about 10%
toward that goal (as of 26 April 2010).

To those who went through John Corlette’s

school, you have three opportunities:

a) why not help John Corlette’s school

build its fund for scholarships?
Contact Rana Sahni at
ranasahni@yahoo.com to help organize a
fundraiser or
the alumni office (Rachel Davies) at
RMLD@ John Corlette’s school.ch

b) Why not help Ben Udy build his

school’s scholarship fund?
Cofradiaschool.com is the school’s
website in Honduras.
Ben’s email address is
bu@cofradiaschool.com
Ben’s school is the only known “Offspring”
(school started by someone who attended
or worked at John Corlette’s school). If
you know of other schools that we can add
to this list, write
to visualandactive@gmail.com.
 c) Why not help Will spread the “ethos” of
that special place? After reading the stories
in Chapter 3, the essence of the school can be
stated simply (from Chapter 6):

-- Delayed gratif ication

-- Planned hardships
-- A quiet time every day
-- Staff people who "know students, look out
for them and push them to achieve”**
-- Dinner and Lunch with an adult
-- No tolerance of bullying
-- A focus on the individual, not on “the
academic reputation of the school."
** From a speech by Bill Gates at the Summit for High Schools attended by U.S.
Governors in Feb. 2005

... and we’ll miss the point, too, in trying to

capture all the steps involved with capturing
the “ethos” of John Corlette’s school. As Will
says, “When you try to capture the spirit of the
law, by writing about every possible angle,
there’s usually a way to get around the written
word. Something that we didn’t anticipate
appears.”
Why not call Will? ws@QBEglobal.net

You can also support his efforts by giving him

feedback about “what worked” from that era...
as Will puts it, “Who knows better about
what teaching methods worked than you
alumni who went through that school?
Tell me what needs changing and what
worked for you.”

Thank you for your time.

SteveCongerAlpina@gmail.com
+1 954 646 8246
Steve Conger
Alpina 1973-76

Granted: Civilization will not fall if these boats are not

purchased by Will. Failure to purchase them will be a
small hiccup or bump int he road and the project will
move forward. If you would like to keep in touch and be
placed on an update mailing list, write to
ws@QBEglobal.net.

========
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Who was John Corlette?

Chapter 2
What was his vision for his school.

Chapter 3
What was the “ethos” of his school?

Chapter 4
How has the vision spread?
(Cofradiaschool.com)

Chapter 5
The Need for A New Way

Chapter 6
What is the Essence of John Corlette’s School?

Chapter 7
The Sailing School

Chapter 8
What’s Next?

Chapter 9
Some Concerns

More Links

Appendices

The Last Word

This document was tossed together. If you

find some errors and omissions, please
contact me. SteveCongerAlpina@gmail.com

Join me in supporting Will Sutherland’s idea.

The vision of John Corlette can spread. If you
know of a teacher who wants to spread the
vision of Corlette, share the message. Spend
some time and get the ideas on paper.

Here’s my last shot, aimed at people in the

USA. Does the next paragraph look familiar?
(I hope so)...

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress,

assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions,

do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish

and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent

states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political

connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved;

and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace,

contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent

states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the

we mutually pledge to
protection of Divine Providence,

each other our lives, our fortunes and

our sacred honor.
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html

My ancestor signed this document (Richard

Stockton). He was imprisoned and, after his
release, died about 4 months later. He never
heard the news from Yorktown.
Will you support Will?

Here is another extract:

Rigor, Relevance and Relationships: By replacing the

original 3Rs with Dennis Littki’s 3Rs, which were adopted by
Bill Gates, “Rigor, Relevance and Relationships” and
incorporating the values and thinking of Kurt Hann, John
Corlette, and other prominent educators, and of course our
own, we intend to provide opportunities for all students to
benefit from the new concepts and systems.

To be of use to the younger generation, any education system

has to be flexible enough in its aims and aspirations to keep
up with human and technological development whilst
preserving the arts, and the foundation values, which make
man.

OUR TOOLS ARE MIND AND PEOPLE!

How do we bring this about?: By creating the right

environment and giving the students the right to use their own
minds to select and complete project based learning
opportunities, both in academic and sports curriculum time.
Modern teaching methods and styles break down the barriers
between teacher and student, and create an informal but
structured learning environment. This allows more “one to
one” time and fosters a sense of enquiry and team work to
accomplish a common goal. The growth mind set is “All is
possible, yes we can!” so the peer pressure is for everyone to
succeed. Each individual is motivated to go to college and on
to greater things.

Of all the delivery methods I have studied in the Western

World I feel the High Tech High system and work by Dennis
Littky and Dennis Yuzenas are the most effective and logically
relevant to the 21st Century. Introducing these into European
education systems will not be easy as there is little room to
manoeuvre in the set ways of the hierarchy who will defend
their positions at the top.

The quickest way to convince people is to demonstrate it

works. So we have to get on and set up ways of
demonstrating project based learning in all spheres of the
educational process. This combined with the ideals and ethics
behind the original Aiglon philosophy will produce a unique
International College and centre for learning. I wish to use the
sea to bring all the elements of majestic beauty, discovery, and
expansive usable space to our project, in the same way Aiglon
uses the mountains.

At least send him an email message:

ws@QBEglobal.net