Science in Public Affairs 



throw upon it heavier work than it can effectively 

 do. The other parts of the child's environment 

 the home in particular need to be brought into 

 closer connection with the spirit and work of the 

 school. 



Is, then, a really national system of education 

 likely to arise in England out of the present stir 

 of thought on the subject, or shall we sink back 

 into a period of disappointment and indifference ? 

 I will now state some of the considerations which 

 must be weighed by those who may attempt an 

 answer to this question. 



In the first place, there is a strong and growing 

 conviction, especially in the great towns, that, 

 through ineffective use of the power of education, 

 an unduly large part of our intellectual resources 

 is allowed to fun to waste. We seem to make too 

 little out of our average material. Germany gets 

 more out of boys of middling ability than we do. 

 The economic struggle with other nations is forcing 

 upon us the neccessity for vigorous action in 

 regard to education. But it would be unfair to 

 regard this movement in thought as solely due to 

 concern for industrial and commercial prosperity. 

 It rises also from a conviction that for social 

 welfare, for the complex tasks of municipal govern- 

 ment and for the organisation of agricultural in- 

 dustry, we need more of the trained intellectual 

 power which is the outcome of a highly efficient 

 system of elementary and secondary schools. 



Secondly, there is a remarkable stir of educa- 

 tional thought among teachers in all parts of the 



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