P.erieir of Retieict, t/8106. 



EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY. 



B\ THK Hon. Sir Langdox Boxvthon, M.I', 



>'rom ;i speech <lelivered on opening a Conference of the 

 -A deliverance of this kind is of interest to educationists all nv 



As this day .tp- 

 l>roached I found 

 myself wonderin.i^ 

 what I should talk 

 to you about, and 

 eventually it came 

 to me that I could 

 not do tetter than 

 sayd word or two on 

 the responsibility 

 of the teacher. I 

 feel I owe you an 

 .»lx>logy for select- 

 ing this topic, be- 

 cause it is one that 

 must always he in 

 your thoughts, 



and I am afraid 

 that to realise to 

 the full one's re- 

 s]!onsibility does 

 not contribute to 

 exhilaration, but 

 rather to depres- 

 sion, and I would, 

 if I coidd, add to 

 the gaiety of this Conference. Events happening in 

 the world to-day suggest my subject. 



Of course, there never was a time when the posi- 

 tion of the teacher was not one of responsibility, but 

 at the beginning of the twentieth centur) that re- 

 sponsibility is greater than ever it was before. The 

 government of the world is going into the hands of 

 the masses of the people. At no previous time did 

 the teacher of the ordinar\' school possess the far- 

 reaching influence which is his at the pre.sent mo- 

 ment. With the existence of free education and 

 universal suffrage he should be a very great power 

 in the land. The other day a leading London 

 paper stated that the government of England was 

 shifting from the propertied classes to the })eopIe, 

 who in the past had had little or nothing to do with 

 government. I am sure no one asks for the explana- 

 tioa It is so very plain. Till last centur\ the great 

 bulk of the people were plunged in igmirance. and 

 this ignorance created a gulf between them and the 

 governing classes — a gulf which could only be 

 <-rossed by one here and there. You remember the 

 lines of Gray in his fatuous Kleg\" : — 



Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid 

 Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire. 



^aJids, that the rod of Empire migrht have swaved. 

 lOr waked to ecstas.v the livina Tyre. 



sir Langdon Bonython. 



State School Teachers of .South .\usiralia in Adelaide on Julv 2. 

 er Australasia. — LOhitok. 



But knowledge to their eyes her ample page. 



Eich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll; 

 Chill penury repressed their noble rage, 



And froze the genial current of the soul. 



'Ihe days referred to. are passed, never, let us hope, 

 to return. Education is now within the reach of .ill. 

 -Much- is being done in the direction of providing 

 .quality of opportunit}' : but it should be remem- 

 bered that equality of opportunity does nut mean 

 equality of capacity. Capacity depends on natural 

 ability, Industn.-, and on other qualities which are 

 not easily detined, but which are all important as 

 equipment for the battle of life. The discover\- has 

 been made that brains are not the monopoh of one 

 class. 



To quote a phrase that is everjwhere current just 

 now-, ■• the people are'^coming to their own." If we 

 turn to Europe, what do we see? The government 

 of France is entirely in the hands of the people, 

 the democratic movement is growing in Germany, 

 and in Russia a new era is dawning. And what of 

 the United States of America? It is a question more 

 easily asked than answered, especially by those who 

 have read that powerful book, • The Jungle." There 

 are people who, in the language of the Bible, are 

 asking, " Watchman, what of the night?" The reply 

 depends very largely on temperament. There are 

 pessimists who point to the past, and say that histon- 

 mtist repeat itself. But there is no complete parallel 

 in the past. Free education should accompanv uni- 

 versal suffrage, and it is in the combination of these 

 two things that we find ground for confidence. Surelv 

 we may trust the sturdy common-sense of an edu- 

 cated people to act with prudence and with justice. 

 By an educated people I mean a people who have 

 been trainerl to think for themselves — to work out 

 their own conclusions, and not to accept opinions 

 secondhand. It should be remembered, as a well- 

 known writer lately remarked, that the only conclu- 

 sions worth coming to are our own conclusions. ' 

 This is where the teacher can render such valuable 

 service, and where his increased responsibility comes 

 in. He must teach his pupils to reason — to be able 

 to give a reason for the faith that is in them. As 

 a matter of fact this is more important than the 

 acquirement of knowledge. To gather information 

 is good, but to cultivate the thinking faculty is bet- 

 ter, because along this line must come, if it con, 

 at all. the wisiloni which is vitallv essential in .t 

 governing people. 



I can imagine one of my audience exclaiming, 

 "Truly you have selected, a distressful theme I Is 

 if not enough that new subjects should constantly 



