Good Bye Mr. Chips & Other Stories by James HiltonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
"You cannot judge the importance of things by the noise they make... These things that have mattered for thousands of years are not going to be snuffed out because some stink merchant in his laboratory invents a new kind of mischief."
I have found a new favorite character in Mr. Chips! Short for Mr. Chipping, the name of the school teacher protagonist, the 1934 novella and accompanying short stories have been turned to film four times over the years. Timeless and essential, this book touched the deepest parts of this teacher's heart. Have your handkerchief ready, onions abound! And it's SO POWERFUL and MAGNETIC... I just HAD to read it in one sitting!!
It's easy to dismiss this book as "boring" upon reading the synopsis. After all, it is "only" about the life of a teacher spent in service to his school and country, with every life's ups and downs.
But what a magnificent life!! Because of the magnificent kindness, courage and humor of the man, whom no tragedy, no German bomb could stop from teaching. This gentle hero was based on the author's teachers and his own father, who was a headmaster (Principal) as well.
I suppose this book hit hard because it's about teaching in a time of war. And make no mistake, we are in the middle of one.
"All over the world today the theme and accents of barbarism are being orchestrated, while the technique of mass hypnotism, as practiced by controlled press and radio, is being schooled to construct a facade of justification for any and every excess... but there are other and fiercer fires."
The fire to pass on knowledge and kindness is ever burning in the hearts of educators all over the world. And we will let nothing quench it.
"Let us resume our work. If it is fate that we are soon to be interrupted, let us be found employing ourselves in something really appropriate."
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