Transactions of The Royal Society of Canada 



SECTION II 

 Series III DECEMBER 1917 AND MARCH 1918 Vol. XI 



The Conflict of Educational Ideas arising out of the Present War. 

 By Sir Robert A. Falconer, K.C.M.G., F.R.S.C. 



(Read May Meeting, 1917) 



A favorite occupation in educational circles during times of peace 

 has been to hoe up the seeds of planted theories in order to investigate 

 their growth. Frequently it was a harmless pastime because the 

 theories would only have cumbered the ground if they grew. But 

 since the war under the impulse of a new earnestness many radical 

 activities are afoot. Signs are not wanting that some would dig 

 up the whole national field and plant fresh seed in the hope of pro- 

 ducing a fine crop of "efficiency." Others fearing that this new seed 

 has been imported from Germany proclaim their complete satisfaction 

 with their own garden, and will not pluck even the weeds lest they 

 pull out some good fruit along with them. Elsewhere in the field, 

 humanists and scientists are to be seen standing on their garden 

 patches, shaking their hoes at one another and boasting of the superior 

 value of their own vegetables as to food values or tastefulness, the 

 ignorant public all the while being contented with pretty coarse 

 fare provided they get enough of it. It may be affirmed with a good 

 deal of confidence that as a result of this war average English-speaking 

 people do not want a change of food; they are satisfied with what 

 has been grown in our own gardens. But those who think do want a 

 better quality and a much higher yield. They do not ask for a garden 

 full of imported vegetables, but earnestly hope for finer production 

 in ground enriched and kept free from weeds. 



Great variety of opinion has prevailed as to what the aims of 

 education should be, and as is natural each nation has believed that 

 what it has worked out for itself is best for its own needs. But this 

 war has forced us to reconsider many accepted opinions. Our ideals 

 in religious, ethical, political, social and economic matters have often 

 been inconsistent. The paths before us crossed and recrossed. Not 

 infrequently we had lost clear direction. Emergent interests suddenly 



