Kurt Hahn Reimagined
Now this is the antidote against a poisonous civilisation: the plan of life for adolescence at school and out of school, should give a place of importance to activities meant to stir and sustain the love of skill, the love of enterprise, and the love of aloneness. On 22 nd December 1940, in the aftermath of heavy bombing in the City of Liverpool, Kurt Hahn made a speech in the Cathedral entitled: The Love of Enterprise; The Love of Aloneness; The Love of Skill. This was a rallying call for educators to cultivate these ‘healthgiving passions; to harness the motivations and develop the talents and dispositions of young people to find meaning and purpose through action in extraordinary times. This speech started: ‘ If it be true that Education can heal the State, then indeed we educators have a grave and anxious responsibility.’ It is clear that the ‘State’ now, as then, is struggling to meet the challenges of the time and s o our responsibilit...