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Book: Ivor Cutler

Chapter: Back to School

DOI: 10.1558/equinox.42536

Blurb:

Mr. Cutler (as his pupils called him) taught in the Scottish school system for just two years but was never comfortable with its rigid approaches and use of corporal punishment – he claimed that when he left Scotland’s education system he cut his tawse into pieces and gave one to each of his pupils. Ivor moved to England – he would never again live in Scotland – and took up a teaching post at Summerhill, a school known for its radical and unorthodox approach to education. After a few years he moved to London, married, became a father and spent the rest of his teaching career with the Inner London Education Authority. This chapter features interviews with ex-pupils, including his son Dan, and parents, who recall Mr. Cutler’s idiosyncratic approaches to the teaching of drama, music and dance.

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