EDUCATION & CHARACTER.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1886, 21 October 1913, Page 4

EDUCATION & CHARACTER.

A BRITISH ASSOCIATION ADDRESS Principal E. H. Griffiths, in his pre sidential address in tho Educations Science Section of the British Association, reminded tho members that w< had now had forty years' experience ol compulsory education and more thai: ten years' experience of the working o) tho Education Act of 1902. Wo were spending at tho present time out ol the rates and taxes about thirty-foui millions per annum upon education. H( had taken every opportunity of ascertaining tho view.s of men of varied occupations and differing social positions upoi'i this matter, and he confessed thai tho impression received was one of universal discontent. Tho complaints 'wert not only of want of knowledge but also which was far more serious, of want oi intelligence. Tho assumption that al! children were fitted to profit by tho re than tho rudiments of academic education was, ho believed, responsible foi many of our present difficulties. Bemoo racy counted noses rather than brains. Tho teachers ns a body agreed that there had beeif 0110 real advance, viz., the abolition of tho system of payment by results, but many of the'nl admitted that during tho last ten years progress, if any, had been slight. His own opinion was that in the matter of primary education wo wero proceeding m tho wrong order, in that we gave greater prominence to tho acquisition of knowledge than to the development of character. There was truth in EmerI sou s dictum that tho host education was that which remained when everything learnt at school was forgotten. Wo ought to introduce the spirit of our much abused public schools into all schools namely, a sense of responsibility, a sense of discipline, and a standard truthfulness and consideration. In this connection ho had been much impressed by a report of the AVarwick Comity Council on tho establishment of tho prefect system in the elementary schools of that county. Ho quoted from tho head_ teacher's remnrhs, and pointed to an instance 111 which tho boys themselves drew up their codo of rules, tho headmaster adding that ho could not havo got out. any bptter ones. Dr. Griffiths continued"The origin of the movement whose results aro thus described is due to tho man whom I regard as tile greatest educator of our time —namely, Sir Robert BndenPowell. I believe that the Boy Scout movement is rendering greater service than our complicated Stato machinery lit preparing those who aro brought within its influence for tho struggles of life. It is a matter for regret that so small [infraction of the children in our schools is ablo to share its benefits. I only, wish it wero possiblo for our political system to admit the appointment of Baden-Powell as Minister of Education, with plenary powers, for the next ten years." He stated' that when visiting a great agricultural school in Australia ho asked tho principal to inform him briefly what was tho general trend of his training. Tlio reply was, "Character first, then agriculture." If this, suitably modified, could bo adopted as tho motto for all our schools, tho present nttit'wdo of tho man in tlio street towards education would soon undergo modification. In regard to the secondary and' higher branches, Stato aid should be restricted to those who •were able to profit thereby. Touching on tho "conspiracy of silence" regarding sexual instruction, he urged that we could not bo said to bo really educating our children so long as wo withheld from them all guidance in ono of tho most difficult problems which would bo presented to them in later life. In speaking of primary 'education lie had referred to the curse of uniformity as one of the greatest evils of our educational system. This country._ the President went on to say, is spending £200,000 per annum on the highest' education and tho promotion of research work, 0 total but slightly exceeding .that devoted to ono of the universities of Germany. When they reflected on tho magnitude of tile results which would inevitably follow an adequate encouragement of research the irony of the position bccanis more evident. . ,