THE EDUCATION PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2928, 14 November 1916, Page 4

THE EDUCATION PROBLEM

Sir, —Li your sub-leader of Tuesday last, you speak of tho hopefulness of the fact that a greater attention/is being paid to education, and at the same time deplore/the lack of unanimity as to the aim and end of .education amongst those who aro supposed to know, to wit, tho educational experts, who, you urge.,, must accept their full share of the blame for the apathy displayed by the public in this important matter. A groat part of your criticism from the external respect is much to tho point, but the matter of apportioning the relative blame for tho failure of education is not to be settled by a mere pen stroke. What is it that has brought homo .so vividly to our con? sciousness this failure? Tho war, indubitably. It was .easy to rush to the conclusion that something was wrong when we found the whole machinery of the community thrown out of gear and experienced in our daily routine an inconvenience we have been unused to. But were things, really satisfactory before ? It was no doubt disconcerting to discover that we had managed our affairs so ill that we were unprepared to face a war that has been staring the Empire in the face for at least fifteen years, and that as far as tho organisation of our resources and of the various phases of our community life wo are in a rudimentary stago compared with our enemies. But is there even new any genuine dissatisfaction with ourselves in what is connoted by "living" over aud abovo mero comfortable physical existence? How far aro real happiness and contentment characteristic of our general social life? When wo regard the blase Philistino snobocracy at tho top and tho uneducated Jack's-.is-good-as-his-master snobocracy' at tho bottom, with tho anxious compulsorily respectable and despcratcly-set-to-make-both-cnds-nicot middle class severoly squeezed between these other two in their acrimonious struggle, somehow we cannot help feeling that our social life is hot a pronounced success. It is a mere truism to assert that wo have not arrived at agreement on the question of correct and reasonable standards of living, but until there is something like agreement about tho aims and moaning of lifo and standards of conduct, it is hopeless to look for agreement on educational aims and methods. These have to be determined in ■ close connection with the values of life accepted by tlio community as a whole, and thus it is that the public call tho tune unto which the educational expert must order his piping. If the present outcry, for more effective education means that' society has realised that its ostimatp of lifo values lias been fallacious, thon wo may expect that there will bo a casting about to determine a different set of stan-.

dards, presumably more worthy, and then the educator will get his opportunity; which up to now ho certainly has not had, sinco in public esteem, judged by tho emoluments and social status, _ accorded to its members, his profession stands lowest of all the learned professions. It is quite conceivable that .if ib enjoyed tho same prestigq and coidd exert tho samo corporate influence as tho law or medical profession, it might succeed'in impressing more worthy ideals on the community. When tho educator is asked to bear the responsibility for the sins of society it is worth while noting that if he deliberately prepared his pupils to conform to standards much in advance ol those used as the working basis in tho community, he would 1 bo handicapping them against the time when theywould bo taking their places amidst conditions in which" lower ethical motives operated:. It will, be helpful, howover, to endeavour to.put tho finger on the plague spot. Buskin has stated : clearly enoughthat what is understood by success in lifo consists in the possession of wealth and influence, and especially the being known to possess these things, and it is also quite certain that a man's worth and influence are measured by the size of his banking account, quite irrespective of how he came to acquire it. Tho accidents of birth and fortune thus thrust men under the recognition of their fellows whose mediocrity would otherwise havo passed unrecognised. Tho tendency on the part of society to place a premium on wealth and position is reflected in the demands made on the school. Hence it is that the dominating factor of school life has been, and still is, intollectualism, and because it has not achieved sufficiently the above ends, it seems wo must have more of it, but more nicely calculated to attain the desired material goal. That is the moaning of much of the cry of tho extreme vocationalists, who are holding_the field just now. There:is everything to be said in favour- of sonable direction of the individual along the lines of his native capacities as_ an economic proposition, but it is being overlooked that man'does not live, by' bread alone.

Now, it is this cult of intellectualism, with its emphasis on individual ' attainment, which is responsible for the one-eyed, one-sided ideal of grab as much as you can in the world. We •want greater individual efficiency, not merely that the employer may get higher roturns from his employees, and have less worry over incompetent assistants, nor.merely that the employee may'get higher wages for fewer hours of work.

A more compelling argument is. to bo found in our dire need for a greater social efficiency. Social service must be mado the watchward of all our edu-' cativo agencies, and social ideals must bo strenuously cultivated. The statement that the. individual can only attain his full statnro in and through and for society is pretty well worn threadbare, but that the principle is more honoured in the breach than the observance is abundantly demonstrated by the dearth of public-spirited people whose mublic spirit is more than mere talk. The proportion in the community of those who come forward to accept social responsibilities is notoriously small Evoryone who has to do with any social organisation well knows that the success of its activities depends on two or three vigorous spirits who do the work, whilst tho others usually look on aiid take the credit. When it is acknowledged that the reform of society and a vastly quickened senso of. social responsibility is what we need pre-eminently, wo shall be in a better position to undertake a measure of educational reform which will assist in the realisation of greatly enhanced! social ideals. And as a move iii that direction I would be inclined/to mako the Utopian suggestion of quite a,, different conference from that indicated in yolir "editorial, which, it appeals, would be solely composed of teachers, the men you hold largely responsible for tho unsatisfactory state of things." I should summon to it the ' doctors, whose caro is tho body; tho clergy, ■whose care is tho soul; and then the teachers, whose care is, or should be, inind, body, and soul; and I ishould summon tho Treasurer, to whoso care I should like >to entrust this one thought, whether is it more economical or not to spend tho money he so nignardly parts with' for education on law courts, gaols, reformatories, retreats,, henovolent and lunatic asylums and other doubtful havens for tho derelicts on life's high seas; or. to spend the 1 moner in finding tho ship properly for the vovage of life by making .sure that every child was effectively trained! in conduct and ideals, so as to make port later on without the necessity for being towed in.—l am, ete., T __ T „-„-. T : S. R.DICKINSON. November 10.