MR. LYWARD'S ANSWER

by Michael Burn ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1957

For some twenty-five years Mr. Lyward, a most unusual schoolmaster, has run a school along most unusual lines for some forty delinquent boys in England. These boys, about 17 years old, are the rejects of parents, authorities, psychiatrists, or other schools with hopeless labels and serious records. Mr. Lyward, a frail man with an abstracted air, has managed to salvage almost all of them. At Finchden, there are no fixed hours and no curriculum and when Michael Burn, who spent six months there, asked one of the boys ""What do you learn"" he was told ""We learn to live"". Casualness is the keyword of Mr. Lyward's method, and while having once used analytic techniques- he now believes in what he calls ""a loosening process"". All of this is of course rather elusive for those who would want to follow in Mr. Lyward's footsteps- but it offers a very different form of re-education. Mr. Burn, a sensitive writer, has managed to convey the exceptional qualities of Mr. Lyward and the fluidity of his technique with fond admiration.

Pub Date: April 1, 1957

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Beacon

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1957

Categories: NONFICTION