Kurt Hahn: The man who taught Philip to thin

"There is more in you than you think" was the motto Kurt Hahn used during his long and active life.
A German Jew who opposed and fled the Nazis and mentored the Duke of Edinburgh, his influence on education is all around, even if his name is not.
Hahn was instrumental in setting up the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, which has introduced millions of 14 to 24-year-olds to outdoor adventure and community service.
He established Gordounstoun, the Scottish private school that has educated several members of the Royal Family, and inspired the creation of dozens more schools around the world. He co-founded the Outward Bound Trust, whose courses more than one million people have taken.
On Wednesday, the duke attended a reception in London commemorating 30 years of the Kurt Hahn Trust, which provides scholarships for German students to come to Cambridge University and vice-versa.
In a speech, Hahn once said freedom and discipline were "not enemies". He advocated "experiential" learning - putting young people in situations to challenge them mentally and physically. Hahn said he wanted to prevent the erosion of children's "inherent spirituality".

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Image caption Gordonstoun boys on an obstacle course

"If you throw a glance at the boys of any public or secondary school you find them up to the age of 13 full of curiosity, courteous, animated by high and good spirits," he said. "Then they reach the awkward age. They often lose their freshness and their charm, sometimes forever. I belong to a secret society called the Anti-lout Society."
He diagnosed six societal ills:

• lack of physical fitness
• decline of initiative and enterprise
• decline of imagination
• decline of craftsmanship
• decline of self-discipline
• decline of compassion

To combat these he developed a programme for developing "moral independence", physical wellbeing and the ability to tell right from wrong.
Born in 1886, Hahn suffered severe sunstroke in 1904, and had to have the occipital bone at the back of his skull removed. Throughout his life he avoided sunlight and wore a wide-brimmed hat while outdoors, creating an air of eccentricity.
Hahn co-founded the Schule Schloss (Castle School) for boys in Salem, in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, in 1920. Pupils had to go for a run before breakfast, drank milk at mealtimes, did 45 minutes of athletics during their mid-morning break and, after lunch, lay flat on their backs for 45 minutes while a teacher or older pupil read aloud to them. They also helped with the upkeep of the school. On Saturdays, the boys formed "guilds" of explorers, farmers and artists, which Hahn said gave their eyes a "gleam".

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Image caption 1967: Gordonstoun boys clear a moat as part of volunteer work

Philip, who had been exiled from Greece following a revolution when he was an infant, arrived at Schloss in the autumn term of 1933. It was a bad time for Hahn. In August 1932, five months before he became chancellor of Germany, Hitler had condoned the murder of a communist by Nazi stormtroopers.
Appalled, Hahn had written a letter to Salem's old boys, telling them to disregard Hitler or break off relations with the school. "Germany is at stake, her Christian civilisation, her reputation, her military honour," he wrote.
In March 1933, Hahn was one of many people arbitrarily arrested following the burning of the Reichstag. He was allowed to leave Germany in July only after the intervention of UK Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald.
The next year, he founded Gordonstoun school, taking over a stately home in Morayshire, an area where he had spent time while a student at Oxford before World War One. He ran it along similar lines to the Schule Schloss.
One of his first pupils was Philip, who had moved to the UK from Germany. At Gordonstoun, the boys rose at 06:30 for a cold shower and a run, the timetable for the day much like that in Germany. At 21:15 there was a quarter of an hour of silence to enable the pupil to "glean the harvest from his manifold experiences" before lights out.
"After a very difficult childhood, Gordonstoun gave Prince Philip a much needed sense of stability, says Philip Eade, author of The Young Prince Philip. "Hahn's spartan educational philosophy made an impression on the young prince that has remained with him throughout his life and has doubtless helped him in all sorts of ways as the longest-serving consort in British history."

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Image caption Prince Philip at Gordonstoun

There was great emphasis at Gordonstoun on learning seamanship, as it encouraged teamwork. Later, mountain and sea rescue were encouraged, activities Hahn thought would instil active compassion for others.
Several 1930s opinion-formers were impressed by Hahn's ideas and force of personality, including the Archbishop of York and the novelist John Buchan. But WB Curry, the headmaster of Dartington Hall school, Devon, was concerned his ideas were "incompatible with a really liberal civilisation" and "the product of the tortured German soul". "I also insist that his psychology has far more roots in his own emotional nature than in the nature of other human beings," he said.
Some later pupils complained that the regime at Gordonstoun was overly harsh, with bullying rife. Prince Charles, who attended in the 1960s, reportedly called it "Colditz with kilts", while the writer William Boyd likened being there to "penal servitude".
"It's clearly not suitable for everyone, as Prince Charles's miserable time at Gordonstoun showed," says Eade.

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Image caption 1962: Prince Charles arrives for his first term at Gordonstoun, an experience he described as "Colditz with kilts"

But Daniel Emery, a pupil from 1985 to 1989, enjoyed his time there. "There's more to life than pure academic achievement," he says. "It's important, of course, but Gordonstoun gave you a zest for life."
After founding Gordonstoun, Hahn set about spreading its philosophy beyond public schools. In 1937 he started the Moray Badge scheme, allowing children living nearby to get physical training, take part in expeditions and complete a project before earning the award. He wanted to extend this nationwide into a County Badge scheme, but the resources were lacking.
In 1941, Hahn started the Outward Bound School in Aberdovey in Wales, along the same lines, the wider-reaching Outward Bound Trust starting in 1946.

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Image caption 1947: Sailing practice at the Outward Bound school in Aberdovey

And in 1956 the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards scheme began. Participants can gain bronze, silver and gold awards, in return for volunteering for community service, learning physical activities and skills and going on an expedition, such as a mountain trek or a sailing trip. Almost 2.5 million awards had been achieved by March last year.
"The duke has a a very clear view, which has come from Hahn," says the award scheme's chief executive, Peter Westgarth. "He's always seen the awards as a sort of self-help scheme for growing up."
Duke of Edinburgh's Awards are offered in more than 140 countries and territories. "The duke is driven by the idea that people should be compassionate and engaging young people in direct with people they wouldn't otherwise come into contact with." says Westgarth. "It was Hahn who encouraged him to set up the awards."
Another aspect of Hahn's thought was internationalism. "Nothing but goodwill between nations and classes can save this generation from wars and revolutions," he said in a speech in 1936. "And education can help to build this bedrock of goodwill as a foundation of the society to be."
Hahn died in 1974 and, in 1986, the Duke of Edinburgh co-founded the Kurt Hahn Trust. "He was an incredibly energetic man," says Nicola Padfield, Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. "He was really committed. A lot of the thinking behind the trust was to get people from different countries talking. It's a fantastic message and it's still appropriate today."
In 2007, the US book Leadership the Outward Bound Way described its philosophy, handed down by Hahn, as "a unique blend of two traditions: the Greco-Roman way of tenacity, physical challenge, courage, and perseverance, and the Judeo-Christian way of compassion, self-sacrifice, love, and tolerance".
Hahn, unlike other educational innovators of the early 20th Century, such as Italy's Maria Montessori and Austrian Rudolf Steiner, claimed no originality in his ideas, arguing he had picked useful elements of the works of figures such as Plato and the 19th-Century British headmaster Thomas Arnold.
Since the 1960s, the Round Square organisation, with 150 member schools around the world, has promoted Hahn's experiential philosophy. And the enthusiasm of his best-known pupil has not dimmed, more than seven decades after he left Gordonstoun.
"You were meant to suffer," Prince Philip joked as he handed out gold Duke of Edinburgh's Awards at a ceremony in 2013. "It's good for the soul."

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The Duke of Edinburgh's award

• The Duke of Edinburgh's Award programmes take between one to four years to complete, and they must be completed by the participant's 25th birthday
• Participants select and set objectives in each of the following areas - volunteering, physical activity, developing practical and social skills and taking part in an expedition; gold-level participants must also do an additional fifth residential section, involving staying away from home doing a shared activity
• Each level - bronze, silver and gold - demands more time and commitment from participants - bronze, 3-6 months; silver, 6-9 months; gold, 12-18 months
• Participants are required to show regular activity and commitment to the award for the duration of their DofE programme, which is usually at least one hour per week

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Why is the pound falling so sharply?

The value of the pound has been sliding on international currency markets, declining nearly 4% since the start of 2016.

It has been losing ground against the euro for the past eight weeks, its longest downward streak since the single currency was introduced in 1999.
Last week, it hit its lowest level in euro terms for a year. Against the dollar, it has fared even worse, plumbing depths not seen since mid-2010.
Isn't this all rather sudden?
Indeed. As recently as November, the pound was as high as €1.43, but it's been downhill all the way since then. Now it's flirting with the €1.30 mark.
Over the same time period, against the US dollar, it's gone from being worth as much as $1.53 to about $1.43.
That makes it one of the worst performing major currencies, at a time when the UK economy has been considered to be stronger than many of its peers.
After all, it has grown in every quarter since the start of 2013, whereas some eurozone countries are still seeing contractions.
So what happened?
Well, the US Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates in December has highlighted the differences between the US and UK economies.
Last year, there had been an expectation that when the Fed rate rise eventually came, the Bank of England would quickly follow suit.
But now that expectation has faded. The predicted timing of the next UK interest rate rise has shifted - first to late 2016, then to early 2017.
The current record low interest rate of 0.5% makes holding sterling less attractive and encourages traders to sell the currency.
Is that all there is to it?
No, there are other factors at work as well, explaining the Bank of England's reluctance to raise interest rates.
Weak economic data is casting doubt on the future performance of the UK economy, with inflation persistently well below the Bank of England's 2% target and earnings growth slowing down from a six-year high.
Earlier this month, figures for November showed that UK industrial output had suffered its sharpest decline since 2013.
Looking further ahead, investors are worried about the outcome of a referendum on the UK's continued membership of the EU.
As Andy Scott of foreign exchange services firm HiFX put it: "Concerns over the UK economy and the risk of a Brexit look likely to continue to haunt sterling."
Traders are also generally more risk-averse in the light of the global turmoil caused by Chinese market problems and falling oil prices, which makes them reluctant to buck sterling's downward trend.
What are the consequences?
If the pound's weakness continues, tourists will find that trips to Europe and the US are more expensive, with sterling buying fewer euros and dollars than last year.
Imported goods will also become more expensive when priced in pounds, which would fuel domestic inflation.
UK exporters should, in theory, derive a boost from a weak pound, since their goods become cheaper in euro or dollar terms.
However, the UK doesn't produce as many tangible exports as it used to: the country's service sector has recovered to the levels seen before the financial crisis, but manufacturing has not.
How long is this likely to last?
Ask the Chancellor, George Osborne.
He recently warned that the UK was facing a "cocktail" of serious threats from a slowing global economy.
He added that this year was likely to be one of the toughest since the financial crisis, and that far from "mission accomplished" on the economy, "2016 is the year of mission critical".
In this context, the pound's latest woes seem a fair reflection of uncertainty ahead.
In the words of Esther Reichelt of Commerzbank, "the headwinds to the British economy have definitely increased."

Ka'veon Wilson, a 7-year-old special needs student at Public School 194, was "slammed" across a hallway by his teacher on Dec. 23, according to his grandmother and cops.

Family Handout

A teacher at a troubled Harlem elementary school with a long history of hurting kids has been arrested for his latest violent outburst, this time against a special-needs student, police allege.
Osman Couey, 53, was busted on Tuesday and charged with assaulting a 7-year-old student at Public School 194.
Cops said the young victim was kicked out of a classroom on Dec. 23 and started banging on the door to try to get back in. Couey then tossed the boy, Ka’veon Wilson, across a hallway, police said.
The child is still traumatized, his grandmother, Verlynn Phinazee said. “He’s still scared of the dark. He still needs a nightlight in his room.”
“He’s really scared of Mr. Cuoey. If he has to pass by that school he gets real upset.”
ABUSIVE HARLEM TEACHER HAS HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
She said Couey wouldn’t let Ka’veon into the classroom with the rest of his classmates, and when the boy kicked the door and opened it, the teacher lost it.
“Mr. Couey came to the door, grabbed Ka’veon by both of his arms, picked him up and slammed him, like threw him,” Phinazee said.
His grandfather, Donald Phinazee, said the attack was caught on school surveillance video.
Verlynn Phinazee said the family never knew Couey was Ka’veon’s math teacher, and the boy’s mother didn’t learn about the assault until Jan. 28, more than a month later.

Family Handout

Ka'veon's grandfather, Donald Phinazee (seen with his grandson), says the incident was caught on surveillance camera.

City education department spokeswoman Devora Kaye said Couey was pulled from the classroom after his arrest.
"This behavior is deeply troubling, and we are seeking to terminate this teacher's employment," Kaye said.
Couey, whose salary is $105,142, has been teaching at P.S. 194 since 1993, and has a record of corporal punishment against students dating back more than a decade.
He was reprimanded twice in 2004 for corporal punishment and verbal abuse. In 2006, he was reprimanded again for corporal punishment.

The rapper was reportedly attacked over a dispute involving an elevator ride.

James Devaney/GC Images

Rapper A$AP Rocky was reportedly attacked by a group of men in New Zealand yelling “f--- A$AP.”
The “L$D” rapper was roughed up by three men during an elevator dispute at Pullman Hotel in the city of Auckland on Wednesday afternoon (early Thursday morning in New Zealand), according to TMZ.
Punches were hurled when the men were told by the 27-year-old, who was accompanied by some women, that there wasn’t enough room for them in the elevator.
The Harlem native, who is there for an upcoming show in Australia, reportedly tried to protect the women as he was punched in the face, officials told the gossip site.
Authorities eventually broke up the assault and booked one of the suspects in to jail.

Neo-Nazi gangs daub swastikas in BLOOD' at Dover protest Police struggled to keep activists apart, as the peaceful rally quickly descended into chaos

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A blood-soaked bald man with blood streaming down his face and with 'EDL' tattooed on his fingers glares at the medics on the scene

Far-right groups made a speech about 'third world scum', with one speaker claiming Jeremy Corbyn 'hates everything British...and is destroying Britain'. 

Before the demonstration the South East Alliance advertised the protest on its Facebook page, saying: 'Remember we are there for a purpose. To highlight certain issues we face. We are not there to have a kick-off with the red scum but we do know they will attack us and we shall defend ourselves without hesitation.'

And following the march the National Front posted on its own Facebook site, saying: 'A big well done and thank you to all white nationalists who attended Dover today to save our country from invasion. Respect to all in attendance.' 

The Scottish Defence League wrote on their site: 'Well done to all the SDL and other patriot groups who went to the anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, support our truckers' demonstration in Dover today.' 

Shadow secretary of state for international development Diane Abbott is among those who travelled to Dover to join the anti-fascist protest and she addressed the crowd. 

She told the cheering audience: 'It's 2016, Time for those racist rocks to go. Mr Cameron, tear down those cliffs.'

Counter-demonstrations included members from Dover Stand Up to Racism (DSUR) and the Kent Anti Racism Network (KARN). 

Bridget Chapman, chairman of Kent Anti Racism Network, said: 'We're here today because there's been a big demonstration called by fascists. It's about the fourth time in a year they've had a far-right demonstration.

NEW AUDIO.AT:SITAKI KUSEMWA

LIBERIAN WOMAN WITH EBOLA ARRESTED AT LAGOS AIRPORT

Reports just reaching KWETUMEDIA has it that a Liberian woman infected with the Ebola virus has been caught at the Lagos international airport today, when she arrived from the Air Morok flight.

The woman whose name was not identified as at the time of this report, was said to have just landed at the Lagos airport when she was screened and the virus was detected in her.
She was immediately arrested.

More details later