NOTES ON EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 173, 15 April 1908, Page 5

NOTES ON EDUCATION

■ (By Socbates.) - ' LEAVINC SCHOOL. • THE question of employment. • : A few weeks ago, tho writer, happened to meet a-.boy of his. acquaintance,; and-tho following:conversation took place: •" Hullo!" * . . , " Hullo." "How's school?" 14 1 dunno—left three months ago.V, , What are you'doing now?" : ... .." I'm in a bike-shop.'! "How do you like it? " , / •"•L dunno —I've only, just .startedl'.ve, been riding a butcher's horse.'for about a month, and boforo .that T was in an office. ■ " I see. Why don't you get a good billet; 1 and stick to it?"' ■■■ ■_ .r' j . .-"l'm going to. ■ I'm after a job as driver of a motor-car." •. _ u ' 1 "Thus speaks vaulting ambition. ... ■'."Beg Dardon,; sir?" ■ , > ■ • "Oh, nothing—only, get something bettor to do than driving a motor-car. . That s all— goOd-bye.'" , ' r - . . _ : . Now-here was food for: reflection. .-This boy was coquetting 1 with one kind of crnploymcnt after another, wasting, his time, and ruining his ; and, what was more serious, was> but one of a' great many who ; were in a precisely similar position. ' Thero can be no doubt that the casual esist- • onco which' is' led' by a' number of boys for a considerable; period- after leaving school ■ must'have a most unsettling effect upon their minds,'and tend to a relaxing of. those regular and definite habits of work' which-the discipline !of ; their.daily school'life has previously instilled. , ' Oari nothing 'be done with this : particlar: class/of:boy? ' ' - r 'Questions of a similar nature have recently engaged the attehtion.of the school authori- ■ ties 'in' Scotland,' arid not long ago an' important j'conference took place in - Edinburgh for the purpose of discussing questions arising out of proposals for the , establishment of a scheme" for' • encouraging ; the' apprenticeship of teys to trades, arid-of. an i educational in-, bureau: ior the',gtiidance 'of young peoplo in : the choice of.an occupation. •'. As an ' indication' of the -public, interest ■which' is beirig taken in. the questiori in Edin- , - burgh, it might-bo mentioned f that' among those 'represented,at the. conference; in additaori ' to- the . members ,of tho . Schod Board, were:—- .-■... .. ■ < ■ ... . The Town Council; Parish Council, Presby : tery *of Edinburgh, the United Free Presby- , tery iof .Edinburgh* .Chamber of Commerce,' the headmasters of the Board , . Echoolsi'.'the Easti of. Scotland of Engineers, and ' Ironfounders, the North British Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society; •Edinburgh and District Chemists' Trade Association, Edinburgh, Leith, arid District. Building. . Trades : Association, Edinburgh Association, Edinburghv'and '. District United Trades Council, the, Advisory Committee of. - the Labour. ■ Eschango Committee of .'tho Distress (Committee, the Scottish Association of Master Bakers; Edinburgh Merchants' Association, ■ Edinburgh- South Side- Merchants'- Association, and other bodies. :•..■ -. • 7 '■ . : .. - " TWO SCHEMES. ■ There wore' two', schemes brought forward for discussion.; ,Ono of. these—for .the establishment '-of ■ an" educational • information bureau —was explained to- the, conference,.by ■ !'Mrs..'Ogilvie' Gordon,•Aberdeen; by- whom it • had been brought beforo the -School"Board.. She'said' that what she would suggest'was ' that tho School Board might do well to institute an information 'bureau, and appoint an official- who would make it his express work 'to go:among the workshops: arid trades iriquir*l irig as :tO;th'e> conditions, of the work and i • tho 'actual demand for young workers, and who would then;be able, as an expert, ,to advise the School Board in these matters. ■This official - would ; be'{ at'-the . service not only of' the 'School Board/ but indirectly of ' . tho' community 'represented -by.'the School Board.'; " ..vv; ": : :j r • -' The other scheme was outlined by Professor Lodge, who ?said' that' the'. Employment . and Apprenticeship Committee; which he repre--1 sented had.beeri' led to consider : the. question . from' a growing', conviction that perhaps';the most prolific' source of ; the'poVerty and dis-1 tress, at the' preE'ent. time was' the '.great i • temptation to adopt casual employment when clnlnren were which [offered the temptation of, a'.comparatively high rate of imraediato reriiuneratiori—and that ■ : tho syOung -peoplo' thereby. lost- a very important.period'. of-their-'lives. The scheme. • which'.i , goirig to-' unfold was in , no Bense,' antagonistic "to ; that''which had been ' oxplained by Mrs. Ogilvie Gordon. -The one - - scheme,' in -fact; jcould perfectly-easily dovotail into the other.: The niachinery must be ■ of two .kinds.-," 'In: the first placo. thero should,.' be.- •in/jcbmection >.with nthe School Board, •in tho School''Boii'fd> offices, a ■ central; organisation for the,bbllection/pf also desifable.<'td in; con-necHon'ivith-eachiSch'obl.m: theicity-racom-mitteeithat'-would'undertake .the, ; tasli: of suporvisign after the young worker' started his apprenticeship'. - :.To this committee could be pven :the/names'of .those boys and girls who ,were aborit.'.to-'leave 'school.' It-would be tlie'bu3inessibf\the. Committee to 'arrange an : interview.. with each child and wjththe parentsVof cliild, with the object of ■ discussing .'as to the lines of occupation which tho;''chilf :and. the. parents desired.; There was-no wish to weaken or diminish parental .responsibility:;. The employers could help immensely :in such a scheme. '• per-. . haps;' make the gulf between the remuneration of, unskilled labour and - the apprentice .. \ a little,less.conspicuous . and a . little less of a. temptation,-: and, he. believed - that in tho, - long ran, the. employers), who took thiat line would.havo■ their own reward.' Many'of the..representatives of- the"differ-' ... ■ '.ent .public .bodies and, trades took part-in tho discussion' ,which followed, r General approval;was; expressed of the principle/of Mrs; i Ogilvie Gordon's scheme, but one or two of ! the spdakors, y iricludirigithe representatives of the- Trades - Council,: stated that, they : were opposed'- to 'tho crowding of .apprentices into trades;.which they : said were already so much ' overerbwded 'that ;.inuch''.unemployment was the result •' . •: • ' " ■ The' Chairman o£,tho School Board (who .presided);'in closing the Conference; said, it was'evident, .that they approved .of the School: Board tackling the question; and seemed' to think that . an. educationiil infonnatibn. bureau would b l :'an-advantage. That .woulil be reported to the. School Board as the result of. their consultation. THE EDUCATION QUESTION. ' ' DECLAKATION BY CHURCHMEN.■The. follo>ving declaration of opinion regarding -the .-education iquestion has x - beeri -.forwarded to the British Minister for Education by leading-laymen of the. Church of England: •We,'. the' members: of - the*' Houses of, Lay-mori-of;Canterbury'arid'York,: feeling that a continuatiori of tho'contrbversyregarding; religious education. in elenientary schools is : mimical to: religion,, and calculated to injure the;.best interests 'of the children, venture to ■ put forward the broad principles which ,we , believe would provide a settlement acceptable ■ i to: the vast majority, of the nation. : Further, the, School Board system having , , t generally worked so satisfactorily, for some ■ J thirty-seven years past, both as regards.Ve- ' > ligiouß' a'nd secular instruction,.,we are .pro-. ' f pared to assent to the following:— . 1. A,.national system of education,.all Bchpols to b3 provided-schools., \2. All managers to-be appointed by the local education authority.' > .> 3. All. teachers to be: appointed by. the local education . their ■ ecclesiastical oreed to'be no, bar. to appointment. . v ! 4.' Kent ta be paid for what have been rionprovided schools. ■ '5..1t shall be' a requirement that local "education. authorities shall provide, in every school as an essential part of the curriculuin religious instiTittibn ; such as has:been given in : the .majority, of the Board arid Council schools. • 6.j_ Wh'ero a majority', of the parents desire special denominational teachirig in what have ' previously_been , non-provided schools, it shall be given in the during school .hqurs by properly • trained teachers, tho cost; of the same to be borne by. the denomination-.