John C. Corlette - Links To Round Square

Links To Round Square

The beginnings of Round Square: http://www.roundsquare.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=58

Corlette met and became friends with Dr. Kurt Hahn of the Round Square organisation. Dr. Hahn maintained 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.

Aiglon College became a member school of the Round Square association in 19xx, and followed 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: "John Corlette of Aiglon...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 Aiglon 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, Aiglon 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).