George Tomlinson

unemployable neglected member society

“There never were unemployables. There were neglected members of the community who saved the situation in the country’s greatest need”

— George Tomlinson (1794 - 1863)

class size teacher children break furniture

“I realise that it is not economical or common-sense to train a teacher and then put him in charge of such a large class that all he can do is prevent the children from breaking the furniture.”

— George Tomlinson (1794 - 1863)

New parliament minister civil servants education teacher barbarism

“At a pinch you might do without Parliament. You could do without the Minister: you could certainly do without Civil Servants and almost as certainly without local education authorities. Without any or all of them the world might not seem much worse. But if there were no teachers the world would be back in barbarism within two generations.”

— George Tomlinson (1794 - 1863)

ignoramus ministry education appreciate

“They say there’s an ignoramus at the Ministry of Education and they’re quite right, but perhaps it’s only a man who’s never had any education himself who can appreciate it to the full”

— George Tomlinson (1794 - 1863)

value education crust surface exterior reality

“The real value of education to me lies in this: that it enables the individual to pierce the crust of things, to get beneath the surface, to see through the exterior to the reality what lies behind and beneath.”

— George Tomlinson (1794 - 1863)

crossing sweeper Skakespeare think lean brus

“Why should not a crossing sweeper be thinking of Shakespeare while he is leaning on his brush? He is going to lean on it anyway.”

— George Tomlinson (1794 - 1863)