WORKERS' EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 996, 10 December 1910, Page 7

WORKERS' EDUCATION.

MUST AIM AT DISCIPLINE OF. THB' - : fi& . -■"■ MIND.: ' ;•' •■v ; ;i : ;-; ; . TESE EXAMINATION '^M •A national demonstration in. eonneotion" "",,..1 with the sevonth annual, meeting'of the .;;■:/; Workers' Educational Association 'waa . . 'i',; held ii the- Town Hall, Beading, oa.Oc- ..', * tober 14. ■ The Rev. William Temple, .. %S headmaster of Repton, and president 'of'■"■'•'.■*',';! the association, was ill the chair.. The ' !i v : s Mayor and the Principal of "University v^'-i J: ■College extended a hearty welcome to the; > r . ! r >.: association, '•■:'■.. s." ■ ;■■' •'..!■!■'; ! Mr. J. Pointer, M.P., moved a• resoliK..'; ; ;->'. : v tioii expressing confidence. , in the unset-': ,V\",.[; arian, nbn-party, democratic) activity of ;"?,-', the association' in.'attempting • alike to: •_:,-';:;.:';' stimulate' and to satisfy the demand. ::';';'v;i: among working men and working women , '';^;.>; for education. He said the 'associatipa -'[■.r.i-XM was doini yeoman service for the people,: .-.ip.■'?/ whom itfwas intended to benefit, and oa 'VKSji behalf of a.class which was downtrodden;-..;. \^'/s' because of its lack of education.. They; 'y^ir believed there ought to be a.free liath-.,'.,,vis way from the elementary school right ..""rti, 1 ;; up ■to the. university.: Hβ.. was - afraid : '..,:•;. that often that -was. a mere shibboleth,"; ," .(.{> but that .association-meant it, -and waa , ';:^,;"^' going the right way to■ achieve "it: It. , ;..;vf.,t; ; was a national obligation- to'., train 'bpya.; -it;'?.',; and girls" to be real men and-women.' , 'in'i'viS' , !^ the true'sense of the word. -(CheersJ .;■' : >>Js^;; Professor Gilbert.Murray-secdnde'd. Hβ -f^y-i ; said there was .with, all their iunity-.of; 7 ::.^':!;', aim in the.pursuit of edncatioh. an"e»-" ~ traordiiiary difference in the way they/ '-'tv^ pursued that knowledge.'•: Many people : ; f'^ti who .wanted to improve their minds: suf-'S'^rt; fered from a lack of direction,'' aud~v ; ;:!&: there was always a flood of rather' bad;'■:■;':?;.- ;■£ books. Educational books,' perfectlycclear,r r , j *J:.;J and simple, and certainly clieap, .were:-V'.— .".':' nseded. He pleaded for sympathy bfr-.., ,r,f^.;J twecn all classes pursuing*knowledge in.r , .'^;^: their different ways. , ;' ... ':..-. ~??.-~- Mr. A. H. Dyke Acland-supported the->V^;. motion. He said that many, years ago at-' ;}*•-> Oxford they had great. opportunities,, but ■' ".^.-' ; little use was made of'them for'theSser-fi. , -^" vice of their fellow citizen, ho doubt be--.!;!?::. cause the people were not,so read'y.asnosv v i_.^v. ; What was really wanted..'.was continuity r; of instruction, and i'or that purpose they..-. ■'.-. must be linked as. closely as possible t0,.. •- -, the' Universities, who alone could; provide ... M, i it. The object of the movement was pot'■■Ht* ." to stuff knowledge into "people's brains, . ."-.:. but to. give-discipline of the mind.,' The ;...; famous Bishop Butler, once; said: "Of,edri-• \.v;.'. ration information itself is ' really tho- 1; : ,;v least part." That was perfectly - true. : '• ■ ■ ■;.: Nothing but discipline, of the mind could • >_-'■ be considered .as genuine education. 'Ho;-;.-^--> djd not' want a human encyclopaedia. Hβ - r ; wanted men with trainedj balanced, and. ~:..: level mindSj and ii education did. not "pro- .• -y,> auce men oi that sort, it wasaot -worthy n : ■■■_ of being called education. He desired,to .."'■.:■ foster originality in thought. This was-.C*';' an age of certificates and honour hunting.;• '•■■^y' (Laughter.) The. _ multiplicity of ■ exam-.: ~ illations under which a very large portion -_-.-, ' of the field of education suffered was-do-. , ,; yj'-J----in«T. infinite harm to originality. ... : , : 'J!ho Bishop of Birmingham said he.'...~-:. !: believed the heart of this movement lay ./^V"'' inthe-'tutorial classes. There never would .'•-^;>: be the right book on any subject, be-. : : .. r v cause they could never do without the. ■%■*• personal contact of the teacher. There ■;:. was in these, days a great and growing /v'~ passion consuming the hearts of the peo- ;.;~.-; pie, a great demand for .justice. , (Cheers.)-' But all this passion would accomplish, ~r - : : nothing unless they got knowledge. "You. :U:mav effect a revolution,", said the. Bishop, ■.■.:s : "but you will be trodden .down again iin- ,-?.; der the - feet of knowledge, unless you: ;;,;■■; get knowledge for yourselves. Knowledgei..^.,-: will always, win over ignorance.." (Ap- .-■;■ ;•;... plause.) ' '■~ '.'■ : : ".-'*'■" The resolution was carried with en- : jv; thusiasm. ' ' '.■ . ■ . ■■; ; T;,'