Kate writes about her parents at Beacon Hill School:

"I think my father was always most concerned with results; he wanted to produce a certain kind of brave and intelligent person and he thought freedom the best way to do it. When it didn't work, though, he was ready to revert to more traditional methods, such as compelling John to get used to the cold and stormy Atlantic.

My mother, on the other hand, though she also wanted the same kind of people, was more interested in the process. What mattered most to her was freedom of inquiry and behaviour, and she was sure that would produce the required results; no need to keep looking to see if it was working and adjusting methods if it was not."