By Charles Stampul
“His school evolved naturally, gradually and surprisingly… He has maintained a familial approach to education despite the increased size of the school. Deerfield has no printed rules and no set penalties.”
Frank L Boyden, Deerfield Academy 1902-1968
“During the second World War, Deerfield boys helped local farmers pick potatoes… He believes in wearing the boys out. They dug ditches; they also made beehives, incubators and wheel barrows and with axes and crosscut saws, they cut lumber for lockers for their athletic equipment… He believed in athletics… an educational novelty in 1902.”
“He is famous for his simplicity, which he cultivates… I try to do the simple things that a well organized home does for boys.”
“‘You must have your boys together as a unit at least once a day, just as you have your family together once a day.’”
Helen Boyden, Deerfield Academy 1907- 1968
“She plays games with boys, giving them gradeless quizzes, asking one short question after another, drawing them out as if they were around a dinner table… She is the brightest person on the faculty and the busiest person at the school.”
“When her daughter was born–in their home on the campus– the headmaster burst into the room and said ‘Helen, what are we going to do about the trustees. They’re being so difficult.’”
“She has more influence on the boys than I have. She makes them want to do their work.’”
Excerpted from The Headmaster by John McPhee.
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That’s GB in the background before he went to Yale and joined Skull & Bones.
Wow! And married Aleister Crowley’s daughter.
Not many saw the greatness of Boyden and Deefield Academy when he took over in 1902, but some did. He was doing something new and different.
Dean Wormer admired Boyden’s leadership style!