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LAND & WATER 
July 12, 1917 
Reform of Public School Educiation 
By S. p. B. Mais ' 
THERE are two problems which require immediata 
solution in the domain of Education ; two points 
in which wo have quickly to make up our minds 
before we can hope to promulgate a scheme for the 
reform of public school education. They are: (i) The 
type we want to produce, and (2) the methods we ought to 
' employ to produce those types. In the first place there are 
many people who are entirely satisfied with the results of the 
present system ; tliey point to the magnificent quaUties 
evinced by our men at the front, qualities of indomitable 
courage, both physical and moral self-endurance, splendid 
initiative, ability to obey command, the capacity to gain 
and keep the confidence of other men, unselfish self-sacrifice, 
intense love of the country which gave them birth, and 
countless other virtues not less praiseworthy than these. 
We are, perhaps, prone to forget amid the clamour of war 
that there is ever a probability of the return of peace : 
we omit to remember that just as the clouds of war broke 
without warning, so may the sunshine of peace dispel these 
clouds as unexpectedly, The youth of to-day will be 
called upon to grapple with the arduous problems that 
will beset us' in the years of reconstruction which will follow 
immediately upon the cessation of hostilities. What is the 
tj-pe we wish to produce if these problems are to be 
adequately dealt with ? Knowledge of social conditions and 
an intense sympathy will without doubt be the predomi- 
nant characteristics of the leader of to-morrow.' Are we 
training those who are now at school on lines calculated to 
evince these and other qualities of a similar nature ? Is it not 
a fact that the majority of boys are now allowed to leave 
school without any training whatever in social reform or in the 
principles and duties of citizenship, or in sympathetic vision ? 
In O.T.C. work and their games boys are just as keen as 
ever, but how do they stand in matters pertaining to the 
intellect ? Are they not inchned to shirk mental labour of 
all sorts ? Are they not blind to the responsibilities- which 
will all too soon rest upon their shoulders ? The type which 
W'e aim at producing will have to be something altogether 
different from this. It will have to study the question of 
capital and labour, it will have to help in a rational scheme 
for demobilization, it will have to face squarely the problem 
of the poor, destroy slums, encourage the arts and a love of 
the beautiful, equalise the opportunities of all men so that 
merit shall displace interest, and worth count before riches. 
Howcan such a type be produced ? In the first place by 
interesting the parents. So long as parents regard educa- 
tion as a sort of training for the body alone, no progress is 
possible. That a boy should gain his First Eleven or Fifteen 
cpiours is of little moment ; that he should develop sanely 
and methodically mentally is of the first importance. 
At present only a minority of fathers worry about the sub- 
jects their children study. They willingly leave such things 
to the schoolmaster, who in his turn has perforce to be led 
in these matters by the dictates of the Universities and 
e.\terrial examinations. So we have a vicious circle. No 
change can be effected until the parents demand a thorough 
reform, and few fathers and mothers like to trespass on a 
province with which they are for the most part unfamiliar. 
Parents then mUst first be educated, and after the parents 
the schoolmasters. 
In the past a man has been selected to a post at a school on 
the strength of his University degree and his success in athletics. 
To have gained a " First," or gained a " Blue" ensured a 
good permanent position on the staff of a first-rate public 
school. Unfortunately these men got into the habit of re- 
garding their degree as the zenith of their achievement. They 
were encouraged to believe that there was nothing left for 
them to learn. Certainly they found nothing in the work 
they were expected to teach which required any further 
study. It never struck them that they ought to be keeping 
abreast of all modern movements. They found that so 
much of theu: time was spent in correcting exercises, adding 
up marks, helping with the games, or organising societies, tliat 
no spare hours were afforded during which they could read 
or argue about the pressmg matters of State which were per- 
plexmg the politicians and thinkers of the time. It never 
crossed their minds that they ought, when teaching history fo' 
example, to show how present-day conditions depend very 
much on precedents drawn from the past : they never dreamed 
of applying Greek ideals or Roman order to the practical 
problems of their own day. . All the subjects which they . 
taught were dealt with as if they had no relation to the world 
outside school, but were so many lessons in mental disciphne 
of no practical utilitarian value whatsoever. Consequently 
teaching became dull and the profession of. schoolmaster fell 
into disrepute. The best men would not join, partly because 
it offered no Scope for their abihties, partly because of the 
wretchedly inadequate salary. 
Higher Pay, More Leisure 
Now no reform is possible unless the right tvpe of man is 
attracted into the ranks of the teacher. The" pay must be 
raised considerably, and more leisure given in order that 
schoolmasters may continue to study the things which they 
are expected to teach, which comprise nearly everything in life. 
In existing circumstances it is quite possible for a boy to pass 
from a great Public School after six years of so-called' teaching 
without being able to write a letter or to express himself 
with any clearness of diction on any subject. It is not only 
possible but probable that a boy of eighteen will now leave 
school ignorant of the arts, unable to speak properly, 
with no special individuality of character, no interest in 
books or politics or any of the things that go to make the com- 
plete man. He wiD, in other words, have no marketable 
value : subconsciously he will want to do something for his 
country and find, to his chagrin, that he is merely a dead- 
weight, unfitted to give judgment on matters that require 
mental acumen or knowledge of the conditions of life. 
It is in his school days that the foundations must be laid 
for the true citizen. It is in his school days that a man nmst 
begin to feel that passion for literature without which 
no one can hope to gain much insight into the 
art of living. It is false comfort to imagine that what a boy 
omits to learn at school will come naturally to him after- 
wards. It is simply not true. Set him in the right direction 
while he is still malleable, give him an interest in thevthini^s 
that matter and the odds are on his becoming an efficient 
member of the Commonwealth. Deny him any prospect 
of the vista before him', cram him full of useless formul-e, 
and train his memory but neglect his powers of reasoning 
and you may get him to take care of his bodily health ; you 
will never succeed in educating him in the true sense of - 
the word. All talk of reform and progress will leave him 
cold ; he will use his influence to keep everything stationary, 
he will obstinately clog the wheels of Government because 
he will fail to understand the principles underlying action ; 
he will selfishly seek to gain all for himself and prevent 
others from sharing his good fortune. 
First then, in order to prevent this catastrophe, we have to 
train cur teachers. 
In an admirable article in the current number of The Round 
Table an anonymous writer puts forward some practical 
suggestions for this training, not only for those who are to 
teach but for all who would be counted among the leaders 
in any direction in the future. 
As the President of the Board of Education has so aptly 
l)ut it, our first business is to secure the right kind of teaching. 
This can be done by making the lot of the teacher a happy 
one : he must be relieved of domestic worry if he is to devote 
himself whole-heartedly to the service of his country. 
Happiness in part consists of absence of financial difficulties 
combined with congenial and useful service. Useful service is 
impossible without proper training. Up to now there has 
been no training whatever' given at the Universities in 
citizenship. The Round Table suggests a • three year course 
for a Pass Degree, to be spht up into three periods. 
In the first year the undergraduate will attend lectures 
in Enghsh Literature and in one other language ancient or 
modern, in order to glean something of its literature. In His 
second year he ivUl, study Bfif j^h History and make practical 
experiments m the Lsiboratories in some branch of Science 
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