The Dominion. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1916. A SWEEPING INDICTMENT
/ "The war has revealed us to the world as an uneducated people." This opinion was expressed by Sin Oliver Lodge in his inaugural address at the annual conference of Educational Associations recently held in London. The wer has placed our national character on its trial. The gold is being separated from the dioss. Our strong points arc being revealed and our faults and failures are being brought to light. ' Critics tell us that wo are a carelcss and unready nation—disorganised, unscientific, pleasure-loving, disunited. Our politics, our economics, and our social life have been scorned and derided, and now we arc told by Sib Oliver Lodge that the ordeal through which the Ernpiro is passing has "made apparent the ignorance of our governing classes— indeed, the ignorance of all classes." This is a sweeping indictment of our education system. Perhaps it is more sweeping than the facts warrant. But it is made by the Principal of an' English University at an important gathering of teachers, and it appears to have been allowed to pass unchallenged. Sib Oliver Lodge contends that tho failure of our education system to stimulate any healthy intellectual interest in the , majority is a fact that is now glaring at us. It is undoubtedly tnio ' that we have not been -so successful as_ tho Germans in the application of science to' industry, that we are lacking in initiative, and that we have : under-estimated the value of sys- ' tenmtiic investigation and expert : knowledge. But if our education : Bystem is to be made lesponsible for theso shortcomings on the material 1 or business side, it should be given some credit for tho high moral quali- 1 ties which this crisis has made mani- ; fest. Sir Oliver Lodge states that ! "'the courage and personal character 1 of our men—our men of all classes, i and ouv women too—have saved us." The most ardent admirer of the Bri- 1 tish school system would hardly ven- ! fcure to claim that our national character has been made in our schools J and colleges; but it has certainly been moulded in these institutions. 1 It is not fair to blame tho school* • master for our national 6 faults, with- j out acknowledging our indebtedness 3 to him for our virtues—at any rate for some of them. _ The war has ' proved that the spirit of patriotism " is very much alivo in British universities and public schools. The re- | sponse which- thc.v have made to the < Empire's call for fighting men has been magnificent. Sir Oliver i Lodge's address would have btnjti « .more .convincing if .he had shown ! j
both sides of the picture. It should be remembered, however, that lie was speaking to a gathering of education experts, and not to a mutual admiration society. His candid criticism provided his hearers with ideas to ponder over and problems to wrestlo with.
At the beginning of the present year several education conferences were held in London. The lessons of the war were discussed from many points of view. Rome teachers held that the wax showed the need of paying greater attention to the teaching of science; others contended that it emphasised the necessity of making character-building the main aim. The reaction against the German way was made unmistakably clear. The German ideal is described by Sir Oliveji Lodge as the heavy pedagogic grind, the desperate worship of material good, the soulless preparation for business, the concentration on « material ideal and its elevation into the region of worship. The British ideal docs not escape criticism. It is "bad enough and desperately unwise," but not "soul-destroying." A great scientist himself, Sir Omvbr Lodge naturally lays stress upon the value of science and industrial cfiiciency, but he also realises the first-rate importance of | bodily discipline and character training. If this war is going to I teach us anything it will teach us the folly of our" old method of "muddling through.' Before the struggle | commenced we were accustomed to regard national rauddlcment as a special British virtue. This idea has been rudely shaken by cur experiences during the past eighteen months, and our schoolmasters should make it their business to eradicate every trace of it from the minds of the people. Efficiency is not only essential to material prosperity; it is also a moral quality An ideal school system must maintain a just balance between the material and tho moral aspects of education. We havo a right to expect our schools to lit our boys and girls for useful careers; but they should not be sent out into the world with tho idea that success in business is the one object in life. _ This soulless preparation for business and business only is tho essenco of the German system, which, according to Sin Oliver Lodge, has led to the creation "of a ruthless monster that has to bo exterminated." And yet if the British Empire is to maintain its great place in the world it must loarn to place a higher value on efficiency. It must pub its brains to better use. It must take fuller advantage of thq discoveries of science in order to develop its resources in the most profitablo manner. It is strange that our national system of education has not been more successful in making tho nation realise the power of knowledge. _ Wc all have a great respect for science, but we do not seem to know exactly what to do -with it. There is a tendency to be suspicious of attempts to bring it into contact with everyday life, This war has revealed to us the folly of this mistrust. It has shown us, says tho Master of tho Temple, how terriblo is tho tribute which a nation contemptuous alike of imagination and education must pay to one which values such wisdom.
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Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2693, 12 February 1916, Page 4
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975The Dominion. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1916. A SWEEPING INDICTMENT Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2693, 12 February 1916, Page 4
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