THE Dulwich Despatch Summer 2023
I suppose I would say it is too early for me to know how deeply the experience has set, but that is also part of the human condition, isn ’ t it? You think you have been changed and then the ebbtide comes and slowly you just go back to where you were. But, I think overall, yes, it has changed me. SC: Finally, what do you think distinguishes Shackleton from other Polar explorers, and what should Dulwich pupils learn from him? Dr Spence: There is a quotation I have often heard but had never really taken seriously. It is about the essence of the difference of the great explorers. To paraphrase, “ For adventure give me Amundsen, for science give me Scott, but when all hell breaks loose, pray for Shackleton ”. Scott was the establishment figure, the Royal Navy officer who led by military discipline. Shackleton was from the Merchant Navy, his style was “ Come on lads, let ’ s all do it together, you shave your hair and I ’ ll shave my hair, you sing badly at night, I ’ ll join you and sing badly at night! ” He was very down to earth. The main takeaway for pupils is that Shackleton believed in optimism and in surrounding himself with optimists, because , as he put it: “ Optimism is moral courage ”. “Seals are beautiful, but penguins appear to have been created to make us smile!”
Illustration by Bharat Jaipura, Year 7
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