EDUCATION AND THE FUTUEE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 140, 2 March 1918, Page 7

EDUCATION AND THE FUTUEE

■ /V^-NMvßWißli-SCBEl!!?-.! INTERVIEW WITH MR. H. A. L ■"'.'■' FISHER ■'..■■ FROM NURSERY TO UNIVERSITY ' (By Edward Marshall, in the London , "■ . '.'Observer.' , ) " •■■: In an interview which, to a layman, seems almost like the story of tho dream of a new. nation, Mi , . H. A. L. Fisher, President of the British Board of Education* told me-of'the. new cdu- / cational soheme ■whichilie believes will bo ■' the best of all monuments to the men .who-'have fallen in the .war "fighting for those ideals which iiiark the progress—that' is, ■ tho: proper education — of-the. world." ' .'"War," said Mr. Fisher, "has stirred men's minds as well as souls. TJni- . yersal ser.vic.e naturally leads |o the conviction that tlioso who.render it are worthy of the best from the-oommun-. ity, even as they give their best to the eomiiiunity. ■ One of niy friends .' doing Y.M.O.A. ■work at tho front and •coming, into contact with incredible numbers'-of our British soldiery, tells -me how: especially determined •on a , more- liveable future is the British soldier.- First of all he is resolved; of . course,- to bwfc the German; tjio secondary keynote of. his feeling, is that we must have a better England after the war. ■ It will be.well for those in power in -Government if. they- fully realise this'genera!, determination. : "Obviously the first requirement of,a better.England muot be better education, and. especially/more- education for the children of tho people: The impulse thrills the Empire. Recently a meeting representing 100,000 work-. •' ers met in South WaJes.tq pass resolu- . tidn.s demandingf free • secondary and .university education,for everyone who by'scholastic efforts shall show-real: de-. • sire for it. -Nearly, all the trades unions in England have passed resolutions of the sort.; The relationships • between child labour and child education have been and are being_ consid-ered-with especial , care. v British cbil dren hiive hot been kept out of .tue ele-' ■ mentary school by labour—such institii- • tions have had anß4 per cent.attend- ■ ance—but, under the system which has existed, a child, before-, beginning its '' school day, has been permitted to work' : three'hours at such tasks as delivering newspapers/ blacking'boots,, or carrying parcejs. : ■.- . ■ ■;' •,..-.' •• ■ ■ "Experience has .disproved the theory : that such occupations do no harm to : school work. .Reports from a great. • number, of our elementary school au- ■ thoritics show that school work is very greatly impaired by out-of-school em--..ploymenV land, especially- by earlier- ; than-school hours -work. Children ■who perform it reach, school tired, with their minds full of other interests, too! often paramount. ■• To me, therefore, ■ it seems obvious that the first require- % ment of efficient elementary school system must be strict limitation of hours of.labour for children under fourteen. Under my Bill" no labour will be tolerated under, twelve, and, on school days, none .whatever before 5 p.m. or. after 5 p.ini Thus-will be guaranteed . freedom from interference by employ-. ; ment. .- A night's rest. will, intervene, 'between any outside work the child may • .do and its school day. In other words, education will be first and employment second , in ! -England. '" '',

••. : Better-Paid Teachers. "That improvement is important, but; to niy.mindj thV-cardinal reform '_[ ,whi6lr the'Bill provides is : the. increase V^ 1 of To die , ivho'khbws; '.I; i 'sKe' , -'scllpSls , , t^'' 1 have,•Be'en;,' ; .!it is, .' J; appafeht l ' / ihai 'instructors' ? for-'them must recruited from; a : class mentally ;; arid psychologically better than that ■which has been drawn from to the'past; and;that. teaching'must be "made a . liberal profession rather than low-grade labbu'K 'With'this'thought in mind we' have secured of 'new money' fbr annual' expenditure! £3,200,000 'for higher salaries and ..'.pensions for the teachers in ' elementary' schools, and £433,000 'for teachers in secondary schools. ~, ' "I believe, and an (increasing number of other people are beginning to believej that education lies at the root r of happiness for every people. Worthy • education is impossible where inferior teaching forces are employed, and onfy inferior teaching forces can-be; secured. • where' inferior pay is offered. AVhere • teaching 'is inferior' good' government ' cannot-be •■':"■. ;

' '"That : nation which,' after the '.war, • employs the best teachers • with the •highest pay-and as a part ;of the-best school system will be the'best governed ■ arid therefore- the greatest nation. Of that I am absolutely certain.' No people which does not respect education will demand'arid support good\gorernment, and if there is : riot a vital-impulse run-, ning through : its'education the'people ■■ of rio nation can- be expected 'to re■spectit. ' ' ' "•■.■■■ • 3 Nursery Schools. • . .'{The school programme '.under the . new system will include:— .'- '.'■• "First. Nursery schools for children ; between the ages, of three, and six. It. ?s'almost certain, that these .nursery ". schools will be small institutions in which much sleep and play will be.com- . binod, with very .little routine instruction; but, the play will be educationally , organised; and the- sleep will be under those conditions .which will help the . children to become strong ■ and healthy men and .women.. In these schools' will be. no dbsks; they will be equipped : with, cots and tables, and,, so far as . possible, they will be arranged so that their pupils may spend much time in the open air. ,; ,'.""•'..' . : • "Attendance at these schools will not bo' # conipulsory,/for we wish children, with good homes to remain in them-.till-six-years of-age; bat in tho crowded districts, where mothers are generally employed, such nursery schools' will be very benoficial, especially as, under careful medical supervision, they will be inspected daily and guarded carefully against such infections as measles,' Thus wo hope that we shall bo able- to give a multitude of children from three to six years old, who, at present,: are denied it, a solid foundation 'for such good .health as ■ will enable them to take any advantage of our later educational plans. . "There is the- first stage: a 'good physical foundation, as much open air as possible, teachers who will be. partly ■'nurses,, gymnastic training of all available kinds,-schools in close contact ivith the children's homes and moth- ■ ers. -■ The Child Up to Fourteen. "Now comes the second period:— "Children frorii six to fourteen years of age will be cared for in the elementary schools. Tho child's elementary school life will be roughly divided intotwo- periods, one from the ago of six to that of twelve devoted mainly to fcho acquisition of educational rudiments, and tho other" from the ago of twelve to that of" fourteen, when further and more elaborate training will be. given, in,, say, literature, foreign ..languages, handwork, housecraft (for girls);'and genera,! handicraft for boys,' both of the latter treated. rather as methods; than as subjects. Music will be offered to both sexes. ' . "The third period', requires full time iti the .secondary schools. .'By grants the board now aids' nearly a thousand such institutions giving general secondary education. ...... , ''This year we shall establish two ex- , animations, pne for secondary school pupils roughly sixteen years old, and one for pupils of about eighteen. Wβ,

aro hopoful that we.may be able to got these examinations accepted as credentials,, not only for. entrance into universities, but for entrance into various professions., .■ . "This, might tend to relievo the country of tho great embarrassment of many institutions, and we find several professions agreeably disposed toward the idea. We have a grant .of £50,000 with which to finance the examinations, and believe them likely to supply the country with two good and 'thoroughly reliable tests for its sixteon and .eighteen-year-old youth. i

"One of my predecessors, Mr. , M'Kenna, passed a regulation requiring that every secondary school aided by .the. board must provide free places for elementary school pupils up to 25 per cent, of its total number of pupils This gives us from our elementary to our secondary schools a highway broader than exists elsewhere, I think. Institutions which accept grants from the State- muse make 'tjiis provision of one-quarter of their places for elementary school pupils, and thus many private institutions.will be affected,, most of: those in England in fact, save Eton, Harrow, and n few others.

"The majority of such institutions have no great .endowments, do not especially cater to the aristocracy, and are assisted locally and by the State. Under the Bill a boy or girl leaving the elementary schools at fourteen must attend a secondary school at least eight hqn'rs a week for forty weeks, or, in some other way, be under direct edwcritional; influence to the aggregate of 3?0 hours each year.' This attendance mny be distributed so as to suit the convenience of its industry, if .the pupil is employed. Thus the pupil is carried-on,'in general; to the age of eighteen. '

"Part of this training will be physical, so. for the first time in our history, general supervision will be exercised not only over tho basic health', but over, tho physical fitness, of our citizens, up_ to the ago of eighteen. .Literary, historical, general, and vocational training, also will bo given, vocational training dominating during the last two years. }. Our Lost Art of Music.' "I hope that music will find a place, but this has not been settled. Personallyl regard music as important in all education. There is no way in which the Germans are so far in advance of the'other natrons of the world ae in their general diffusion of musical knowledge and taste; It has helped them, even in this war. . "I believe such knowledge to be a great solace to industrial populations, who,, when overstrained, can take rcr fuge in really fine music' We have neglected, music sadly, although we were" a musical people in the seven-, teenth century. How or why nvusio suffered so suddenly an eclipse among us I am at a loss to understand. We have a great volume of wonderful folk-' • songs,-.and: if,- our people have but slight encouragement we soon shall be a musical nation again. I believe that through social' and musical education ns .parts of-the continuation system in evening s'choole wo shall raise our whole population, to a higher standard within a few years. : ,

"Now let us. consider the relationships between popular education and industry, remembering that it is through .its industry that every nation lives! We human beings : are such oreatjures of habit that we have come to regard the exploitation of children and young-people in industry as a primal necessity of industry's, and therefore of the-nation's, prosperity. I submit that this. 13 wrong. •

"Youth ought not to be subjected to, industry. A'nation thrives, not through the industry of its youth, .but through that of its adults: and adult industry will be perfect only in' those cases in which tho adult is properly developed. »—in-;other words, in those bases in . Trllich":the'. fitltilt'flV. childhood had ,beeh guarded' and nurtured. rightly.\ ■ •. ", '

• ''-'There'is''a'greater danger in ' e'nb* nutting youth to modern industry than, there was in submitting; it to that of nlden days, fflr modern industry is more monotonous than was that ■ of- past ages. ■■ The ; more monotonous employment becomes,, as in the machine indus. tries of to-day, the more important it is that .-as; ebmnlete an education as possible should be given before youth enters it.

' "And, modern industry leaves Uor 'certainly should leave) more time for education than did that of the old days, for repetition -of processes results in a demand for and tho necessity of shorter hours of labour. The eight-hour day will be brought about through tlin monotony; of'industry. It might not ■ have come or been necessary if indus--try'had not developed as a thing principally of machinery. ■ ': ; .

"If! tlie hours of workers are greatly to be shortened; 'as'.they must be, then we must train our young—we must have shall have -chaos, In view of the' industrial trend a threat increase in our educational machinery is not more than au elementary precaution. •■■■ , ' ~.

"But* the new plan aims at' protecting ' the interests.' of employers as well as •■' those of youth, and the Board of Education is prepared to recognise schools off a vocational character established' 'nnd maintained in industrial establishments by "employers, if these , schools come up , to'required standards. Thus children will be permitted to take their 320 hours? annual vocational training instruction in schools by the . State or in employers' schools inspected by the State. ' '

.'"We regard it as important that employers should be encouraged: to'feel that they must bear their share of the general obligation" of 320 hours' vocational training for\every child. Employers 7 are somtimes suspicions of schools,, fearing that some competitor may be reaping an advantage through employing children at full time. The new system will do away with every reason for such .apprehension.

"We shall insist that every school shall include in its work certain general cultural branches for'children up to the age of sixteen, that between sixteen and eighteen the training shall be mainly cultural, and that physical training'of one kind or another shall Ve continuous throughout.

* "Another new idea of which we are very hopeful is expressed in that portion of the Act which enables the school nuthoritips to start school camps for summer instruction. We liope that to these camps schoolboys of the working classes will go in great numbers—at least when they leave the elementary schools at fourteen—to spend some j narfc of their usual holiday fortnight. These will bo organised by the local school authorities and will he controlled by schoolmasters, so that the attendant Itoyswill get some instruction, some discipline, Mime physical training, some knowledge of country life, much open air, and the fine moral effect of a wollconducted residential camp.