The Vague Cry for Technical Education.

Evening Star, Issue 7754, 27 October 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

The Vague Cry for Technical Education.

[By Lorb Armstrong,™ 'TheNineteenth Century' i'ok July.] There is at the present time a great outcry for technical education, although few people have any distinct idea of what they mean when tiu-y use that term, or any definite opinion either as to the class of persons who will ba chiefly benefited by it, or as to the time of life at which it ought to be acquired. Additional zest has been given to this subject by the meeting lately held at the Mansion House respecting the scheme for establishing polytechnic institutes in London, and the present is therefore a fitting time for bringing forward ideas which have long been incubating in my mind, and which, I believe, are in accord with those of many employers of labor who, like myself, are engaged in manufacturing pursuits in which technical requirements afford most scope for application. I have no adverse criticism to make on the speeches delivered at the Mansion House j meeting, except that I think them rather vague and indefinite, as speeches on technical education generally are. Very admirable sentiments were expressed by Lord Salisbury and others on the objects sought to be attained, but there seemed to be considerable discordance of view on the part of the speakers as to what those objects should be. Lord Salisbury cautiously adopted the term secondary education iustead of technical education, meaning by the former term the education which is to follow school education, and thereby using a more comprehensive phrase and avoiding the troublesome but not unnecessary task of framing a correct definition. He also spoke of this_ secondary education as a carrying on of primary education, but he ignored 'the question whether the existing system of primary education is worthy of being followed up on its present lines, or whether it requires to be altered to make it more in harmony with the proposed secondary stage. Lord Salisbury most truly said that the first necessity of man is to live, that his first duty i 3 to work, and that the first object of education is to fit him for work : but much as I applaud these words I doubt wnether I am in unison with his lordship as to the kind of education which would best fulfil the object he thus enunciates.

lii expressing my own views on popular education I must address myaelf in the first place to the present system of primary or elementary education, which is now very generally considered to be ill as a preparation for the business of life. That systom has, in my opinion, the radical defect of aiming at instruction in knowledge rather than tho training of the faculties. A man's Buccess in life depends incomparably more upon his capacities for useful action than upon his acquirements in knowledge, and the education of the young should therefore be directed to the development of faculties and valuable qualities rather than to the acquisition of knowledge, which may be deterred to more mature age. Not only should the mind be trained in habits of thought, and in quickness and accuracy of perception ; but the hand, the eye, and the ear should all participate in training exercises calculated to make those orgaus more available as instruments of the mind. Nor should the development of the physique be neglected, lor with the great majority of both men aud women personal vigor and activity are the foremost factors in making a living. Except in teaching the art of writing—which, as a rule, is very imperfectly done in elementary sichools—no attempt is at present made to educate the haud._ The addition of drawing would be a step in the right direction, and would afford a useful accomplishment, but would not supply all that is needed for giving dexterity to the hand. Appropriate exercises ought to be devised for cultivating its precision, and delicacy of touch; and if, in so doing, tho ability to use simple tools were acquired it would lie advantageous in any line of life that jni-iit be ultimately adopted. Every man and viw.ui would be the better for pro-acquired manual dexterity, but to attempt to teach children special trades and processes of manufacture would, I conceive, bo a mistake. It would involve great expense, would be a misapplication of time, and would only forestall the more effectual teaching which at a more suitable age may bo attained by actual practice in factories aud workshops. As to the thinking faculties, they are to a certain cxteut at present exercised in learning arithmetic, but it would be better if this were done more by reasoning than by rule. The late Mr Bidder, who as a youth was called the calculating boy, used to say that he never learned a rule of arithmetic in faia life, but taught himself to comprehend the relations of numbers to each other and the result of their combinations by handling groups of peas in such a manner as to visualise a system of arithmetic which his mind could grasp with perfect distinctness. It is by methods such as this rather than by books and rules that the minds of children should be led on to the forming of clear ideas and to the exercise of reasoning power. A rule may be committed to memory for convenience of use, but the first object should be to make the learners understand, as far as possible, the reasons upon which the rule ia founded. Hut the present system of elementary education does little else than burden the. memory with facts, rules, and information, which for the most part are of little use for developing the intellect or preparing it for the ordinary vocations of life. Such instruction excites little interest in the minds of the pupils, and in tho vast majority of cases is speedily forgotten. Even in the case of the few youthful minds that appreciate knowledge as thus learnt and display superiority in acquiring it, the effects are by no means invariably beneficial, seeing that such superiority tends to create a fastidiousness which makes manual labor distasteful. Successful scholars, if boys, generally think themselves too good for mechanical work, and aspire to be clerks or teachers, and, if girls, they shun domestic service, and aim at employment as shopwomen, milliners, telegraph operators, and so forth. Thus the elite of the popular schools seldom enter the field of manual labor, and when they do, their school acquirements are not conducive either to efficiency or contentment.

The teaching of reading, writing, drawing, and arithmetic are all distinct from instruction in knowledge. They are means to an end, and are necessary both to the attainment of knowledge aud to its utilisation. I do not mean to say that the inculcation of knowledge should be wholly excluded from popular schools, but I think it should be "limited to knowledge of a very fundamental nature, such as may serve as a basis to build upon in adult life. Juvenile lectures on experimental science followed by easy examinations would also serve a useful purpose by exciting the interest of the pupils and leading to habits of observation and reflection favorable to future acquirements. Professor Huxley has well said that our present system of elementary education is much too bookish; and, in my opinion, this bookish teaching might be cut down to very small dimensions, so as to admit of the introduction of an effective system of mental and physical training, without adding to the present cost of popular education. If I am asked to specify the particular methods by v/hich such training should be effected, I reply that I am not sufficiently an expert to be able to do so, but it is not difficult to form general Mtas on the subject. All organs and all faculties are developed by exercise, and the application of appropriate exercises constitutes training. Just as athletics are praotised for developing the muscles, so may analogous exercises be used for developing all the physical organs as well a3 the mental faculties. If a juvenile pickpocket can be trained to use his hands with exquisite adroitness in the practice of his nefarious occupation, why should not the hand of a schoolboy acquire by proper training similar mobility and delicacy of touch to be used for honest purposes ? Houdin, the celebrated conjuror, states in his amusing memoirs that he and his son practised the receptive poAver of their eyes by walking quickly past shop-windows, and then recounting all the objects which in a moment of time had been presented to their view. Tha faculty of perceiving at a glance all the details of a complicated situation, or condition of things, is most valuable in enabling prompt action to be taken, not only by conjurors, but by persons in every vocation of life, and especially by those in positions of command. I may also observe that the cultivation of " »ve memory," suoh as would

I £d, I be acquired by au exercise. of., this k« 0 f | would greatly facilitate the acquirement*,,/ correctness in spelling, which is a scfcfw^ great difficulty with many intellects P^ otherwise defective. I mention ttfp examples of training not as definite propose for adoption, but as illustrations of w£t can be done by appropriate exercises. I need hardly say that the ear as wellps the eye can have its capabilities exalted !>y the operation of training. The powerpl minute discrimination can be given to both, and the one can be awakened to a sef e of symmetry, and the other to that*" harmony, where those perceptions fe naturally dormant or defective %n far> all organic development, including _f e functions of the brain, turha i-port and youth is the most favorable time lor application of exercise. In cleverness «- hand and eye, and in promptitude of acti<?}> children at present learn more from thj lr games than from their teachers, and I n inclined to think that training associate with amusement might be so to produce excellent results, both in menial and bodily development, as well as in tie promotion of health and vigor; but in relation to these I may observe that a sufficiency cf food and clothing is especially necessaiy. Indeed the want of it in the child rtn of poverty - stricken parents is already a serious difficulty in popular education. , It is related by Sir Frederick Pollock. In his interesting reminiscences, that when was at the University of Cambridge one Df the subjects submitted for discussion at :» debating club was the question : " What as the use of useful knowledge ?" We. are not informed what was the result of the debate, nor is it important that we should be so; but the question appears to me to present in a quaint form a theme of a very debatcable nature. I think it must be conceded that where a man fails to get on in the world it k not from want of knowledge so much as from want of natural capacity, and of zeal, energy, and perse%'eiance. If he possess natural capacity, combined with these qualities, he will not suffer himself to be defeated by want of knowledge, but will surmount all difficulties in attaining it. If there be capable men striving after knowledge necessary tr. their advancement and unable to obtain it, they have not come within my observation, and as to the incapables, it would be no advantage to them if they had it. Many people imagine that genius is kept down from want of knowledge, and that in manycases it is thus lost to the world. This ] entirely dispute. Genius is irrepressible, and revels in overcoming difficulties. Except in what are called the learned professions, few men who have risen to aistinc tion have owed their success to book knowledge thrust upon them in early life, Amongst engineers I may instance Jamee Watt, George Stephenson, Smeaton, Brindley, and Telford, as men who have made a great mark in the world, some of them a transcendent mark, and yet none of them were loaded with information at school, but were left to educate themselves in after life, with scant facilities, in such knowledge as was necessary to the exercise of then talents and the attainment of their ends Their receptive faculties might have beer quickened by early cramming, bat theii originality would probably have been impaired, and their natural talents, instead o\ being concentrated upon the line of thought forwhich they were best fitted, would have lost effect by diffusion in unprofitable channels. The well-known dictum that ii the Romans had had to learn Latin they never would have conquered the world is suggestive of what our loss might have beer if these self-made engineers had frittered away their energies upon inappropriate stndies forced upon them at school. _ What I have said of engineers may be said with equal truth of men who have attained success and reputation in the various phases of mercantile life, and also in the naval and military professions. Take Wellington and Marlborough amongst generals, and Nelson and Blake amongst naval commanders, Surely none of these would have directed the armies and navies of England with more effect if book knowledge had been crammed into them at school, and it is highly probable that their services would have been lost tc the nation if success in competitive examinations, such as are now in vogue, had beer made a condition of their entering the armj or the navy. If I were to ask the question : For what class of persons is technical education mort especially required ? I suppose most people would say the working classes; but I think u. little consideration will show thatthisanswer would not be correct. It must, I conceive, at once be admitted that in the numerous class of laborers figuratively styled " hewers of wood and drawers of water" no man would be rendered more efficient by the possession of any kind of technical knowledge, although the value of his labor would undoubtedly be enhanced by his having been, as a boy, trained in the exercise of his hands and limbs. Making one step in advance of the '.vholly unskilled laborer, let us take for example the case of a " hewer of wood" in the more special sense of a woodman skilled in the use of his axe. To do his work properly would require skill, though of a humble kind, and some degree of intelligence, as well as strength of arm; but it cannot be said that technical education, distinct from that which he acquires for himself by his own practice and experience, wouldadd to his skill and efficiency, whether he be an unlettered laborer working for wages, or a distinguished statesman practisan amateur. Ascending a step higher in the scale of labor, we may take the case of artificers, such as joiners, carpenters, fitters, and all others who work in wood and iron for constructive purposes. Hero again we find manual skill, intelligently used, the chief criterion of the value of their labor. These men in general work under direction, and so long as they do so, it is their manual skill, and not their knowledge, that comes into play. It is, therefore, not easy to see how knowledge distinct from manual skill can add to the value of their labor. As to those whose office it is to direct such labor, they are men chosen for their superior intelligence as well as skill to act as foremen, and whose duty requires them to work more with their brains than with their hands. They, in fact, are persons who emerge from the class of manual workers, and it is here where the value of technical knowledge first comes in. But even in their case all the information they require can be found in a condensed and tabulated form in handbooks applicable to all kinds of constructive art. Such technical information is in this form available to every man who can read and do arithmetic, however ignorant he may be of tho scientific methods by which such tabulated results have been arrived at. No doubt these handbooks will fulfil their purpose more completely if those who consult them can work Bimple algebraic formulas or have a slight acquaintance with geometry; but these limited accomplishments can easily be acquired by private study, and are quite within the reach of self-education. In fact, experience shows that it is men of this stamp who, on leaving school, have voluntarily availed themselves of the facilities offered for self-education in ordorto qualify themselves for positions of responsibility and superintendence. The next class we have to consider is that of managers and designers who require technical education in a higher degree; but even here it is only in rare instances that high attainments in science are essential to practical results. It is only in pursuit of research and discovery that highly advanced scientific knowledge is required, and not even then in all branches of science. Upon the whole I am of opinion that the number of persons who would be benefited in business by scientific education of a technical nature, and who have the zeal, capacity, and perseverance necessary to its attainment, constitutes a very small proportion of the population, and it remains to be considered whether the existing facilities for the voluntary acquisition of technical knowledge are sufficient, or to what extent they require to be supplemented. These facilities, as they are found in large towns, consist in the first place of evening classes conducted under Government auspices for the teaching of practical and applied science. If knowledge for clerkship be wanted, such as bookkeeping and shorthand writing, those subjects might be taught at a small expense in a similar manner, and doubtless would be so if a desire for it were manifested. There are also various associations of a general scientific character, and others specially applicable to particular lines of business, at whioh institutions papers are read or lectures given on appropriate subjects, and other '

facilities offered for Beif-educatioa. These associatfloss might be multiplied to any extent and be' made applicable to every V ; r)<*> ~ f business/ and, I believe, their i»'uliifAlcalion does actually keep pace with the demand for them. The people have als© the advance of University extension leetures, and they have access to abundance of libraries either absolutely free or belonging t-> mechanics' institutes or scientific societies, to which anyone can be admitted on payment of a very small annual subscripts. There is also the universal advantage ot cheap scientific literature, including boote of reference of a technical nature applicable to almost every kind of employment OU whwh science can be brought to bear. w ciiief wan* appears to me to offthat of]puWic (laboratories, to which qualifies students J could be admitted for the practice of expeni menial science. To these laboratories ciassj rooms should be attached for evening teacnI lis. As to- colleges of physical science, ! they are apt, 1 think, to be too scholastic : for popular requirements, though valuable ? fc* *hecultivation of theoretical science of a. more attract nature, and also for the eduI cation of tftoas who have to become teachers !of science. Tfesw college could be made ' to embrace more practical instruction than they do, but such instruction is attainable )&% a smaller cost by the means I nave 1 describe. When colleges car. be established ; by public subscription or private mumfii c'nee, they are worthy of approval and emendation ; but wherethe State or local aovernine bodies have to furnish money for education in relation to national industry, they mast look to attaining tne required results at tile loast possible expense, and ± am inclined to look upon collegesasluxunee in education rnther thafl necessaries. But it is onlv in large towns that the facilities I have mentioned are to b e fo ™"'» and it would certainly be desirable that small towns and rural districts should be placed in a position to afford practical scientific instruction to all capable persons who earnestly seek to attain it. In rural districts the chief occupation is J*"^ I*™** 1 *™** the practice of which would be benefited by technical instruction which is not at present provided. Great ignorance prevails in the practice of this important industry, DOT there does not appear to be much desire lor enlightenment among the farming population! for in the few cases where night schools have been established for useful instruction relative to farming, the attendance has been very unsatisfactory. As to the question whether our commerce is to be saved from the effects of foreign competition by a wide diffusion of technical knowledge, I have no faith in any such safeguard. Cheapness of production and superiority of quality will decide the victory in the race of competition, and if by'early training we develop the mental and bodily faculties of our people, we shall improve oar chance of maintaining a foremost place; but not, I think, by any forced or indiscriminate system of imparting knowledge. I do not undervalue technical knowledge voluntarily acquired as a means to an end, but it is tne brain-workers andnotthe band-workers who will seek to attain it and benefit by it. Compulsory education is neither justifiable nor practicable except in childhood, ana without compulsion I am satisfied that it is only individuals of superior ana fitnpss for business that would perseveringly avail themselves of new educational faculties. Such new facilities should await the demand for them, and be supplied gradually and tentatively, for it would bo folly to rush into new and costly projects without any certainty of their resulting m adequate benefit. I most heartily concur in Professor Huxley's commendation of the great services rendered by the Science and Art Department in the promotion of evening classes for tne teaching of art and practical science; ana if Government intervention be needed m other branches of technical knowledge, I think it would be wise merely to expand in the same economical and unpretentious line of action. . ' , In the preceding remarks on popular education it" must be understood that I am viewing the subject in a purely utilitarian aspect. My topic is technical education, and I leave untouched all questions relating to instruction of a religious and moral nature. Happilv those subjects are now treated in a much more conciliatory spins than formerly, and I hope that -any remaining impediments to popular education of an elevating kind may eventually disappear.