F. W. Sanderson
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Frederick William Sanderson (1857-1922) was a famous schoolmaster of Oundle School from 1892 until the time of his death in 1922. Sanderson was educated at Durham and Christ's College, Cambridge. He was assistant master at Dulwich College in 1885, lectured at various colleges until 1892, when he went to Oundle, then a small country grammar school, where he continued as headmaster until 1922.
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[edit] Biography
With the difference of other famous Masters (like Thomas Arnold of Rugby School), Sanderson was not constant in the world of the schools of State. His relatively humble origins, Northern accent and lack of holy orders gave him an approximate turn with the traditional masters that he found on the arrival at the small one and weak Oundle of 1892. So difficult were his first five years, Sanderson really wrote its letter of resignation.
Fortunately he never sent it. By its death thirty years later, the number at Oundle had increased by 100 to 500, it had become the first school for science and machiner particularly in the country, and it was liked and respected by generations of the pupils and colleagues grateful. It was said that it misses control like public loudspeaker, but its sermons in the vault of school could carry out sizes of Churchillian.
At Oundle, it was named with the specific objectives of the reorganization teaching, presenting the fresh subjects of the study, and raising numbers of pupil and the statute of the school. It succeeded with all these objectives, establishing the departments of science and technology. It built new laboratories and workshops, and presented a co-operative method for technology and other subjects. It was an authority on the hydrostatics and electricity, but nothing human was foreign with its interests.
Sanderson died in 1922, after fight at the end of an important conference to a meeting of the scientists, at the university of university, London. The President, H. G Wells itself, had just proposed a voice of mercies and had claimed the first question of the floor, when Sanderson was dropped completely on the platform. The conference had not been laid down like good-byes, but the eye of the feeling can read the text published like educational will of Sanderson, an addition of all what it had been successful appriss in 30 years like supremely one and deeply loved the director.
[edit] How Sanderson worked with the boys of Oundle
Sanderson had a passionate desire to give the boy liberty in order to fulfill himself. He beileved that the laboratories should be left constantly unlocked, so that boys could go inside and work on their own research projects even if unsupervised. The more dangerous chemicals were, "locked above, but enough was left approximate, in order to disturb the equal courage of other masters, whom less faith than the head in this planning had, worries about the boy."
He would use the same open-door politics at the school workshops, which it filled with state of the art machine tools. Sanderson's most industrious work particularly were in the name of the average and ` the blunt ' boys. He would never permit the word: if a boy were blunt, was it, because it was forced in the wrong direction, and it would let endless experiments find, how one receives its interest. It did not neglect obvious talent, but it believed here that the problem was simple. He loved to give to a clever boy plentifully existing time and material to revel in its special topic.
Around this to do it would spend immeasurable work surplus difficult details of the organization; -- its extraordinarily intuition and memory -- it know boy in particular and have completely a spirit illustration of its ability and letter -- alone form it possible to treat with its to need individually accordingly. But, if any boy still stood and showed no indication of the life, it aids to assume somehow, in order to receive its attention.
Them were not enough, which should do the majority well. "I may never fail with a boy." Despite -- or possibly because of -- the dislike of Sanderson for league tables, did Oundle well in them. Tradition Sandersons, which, which the complete school a part in the annual Oratorio survives should rehearse and roar, also it and is far by other schools copied. Its most famous innovation, the week in the workshops (a full week for each boy in each designation with further whole work shifted), did not survive. It was killed away by test pressure. But a Sandersonian Phoenix rose from its ash. The boys and the girls co-operate the except-school hours to establish to the cars to a special Oundle the Design.
[edit] After Sanderson's death
H. G. Wells said of Sanderson: “I think him beyond question the greatest man I have ever known with any degree of intimacy.”
On the night of 22nd September 1965, a fire almost completely destroyed the hall of the Grocer's Company in Princes Street, London EC2. Busts of both Winston Churchill and Sanderson were completely melted down. Fortunately casts were available of both, so that they could be replaced.
[edit] References
- H. G. Wells: 'The Story of a Great Schoolmaster: being a plain account of the life and ideas of Sanderson of Oundle'
- Richard Dawkins: A Devil's Chaplain (Contains a letter of tribute to Sanderson).
