Democracy and Education

Northland Age, Volume XII, Issue 44, 12 August 1943, Page 4

Democracy and Education

IT is widely recognised that in social reconstruction after the war education will occupy a prominent place. If even the limited amount of democracy at present existing is to survive the war and not give place to some disguised form of authoritative regime—and that is by no means an impossible result of a complete Allied victory—then the educational standard of the people must be raised unless they are to become, what too many of them are at present, mere voting cattle, the blind prey of every glibtongued rabble-rouser. Government by the people even under the most democratic constitution is an impossibility unless the people —or the great majority of them—have the character, the ability and the knowledge to rule themselves. The chief end of education ought to be the development of citizens of that kind; men and women who can dwell together in unity and yet preserve the widest possible freedom. It cannot be said that our present system of education is doing this. The Germans claim to be the best educated people in Europe, and so far as academic and technical education is concerned the claim is justified. But it was these well-schooled Germans who, failing to work a democratic constitution, not only submitted tamely to the seizure of power by a ruthless gang of ruffians without morals or manners, but are fighting furiously and dying in heaps in an attempt to perpetuate their own slavery as well as that of the peoples whose countries they have over-run. There is some excuse for the Italians—mostly illiterate and desperately poor, and for two generations the prey of corrupt and inefficient politicians—accepting Fascism and it glittering promises. Compared with the Nazi yoke the Fascist burden sat lightly on the shoulders of the Italian peasant and workman and they had real gains to set against the loss of their votes. If the vanity and cupidity of Mussolini had not dragged the nation to war at the heels of Hitler, the Duce might have had a long reign. Mussolini understood the Italians and how to lead them, possibly giving them as good a government as they deserved. All that was demanded of the citizen was that he obey orders and pay his taxes. The more ignorant he is the more docile he is likely to be. The future government of Italy is likely to be somewhat of a peace problem. Education for citizenship is a life-long business, but it is in the schools the foundation must be laid. In the primary school little c n be done except in a measure to put the tools of education in the hands of the children and try to inspire them to make use of these tools—and usually the inspiration is lacking. Run through the education mill in over-large classes by often overdriven teachers with the fear of examinations before their eyes, most children simply learned what they must and welcomed their relief from the prison of school into the larger life of the world. There their real education began but it was an education for work largely, and had little real connection with what they learned at school; and in a year or two what they learned there was largely forgotten. Intellectually, that is the position of a large number of voters in the Dominion today, who will be called upon shortly to elect members of Parliament with the wit and wisdom to solve the many peace-time problems. It is not surprising that if the average member of Parliament hardly ranks as a statesman, at least he is usually fully representative of the bulk of his constituents. But it is little wonder that real power is gradually passing more and more from Parliament into the hands of a few men, and that the political machine, expertly manipulated, is becoming more and more dominant. It is a cause of profound thankfulness that Britain has found a wartime leader of the calibre of Churchill, who has united cur world-wide Commonwealth as it has never been united before. With Roosevelt and Stalin he is one of the three men who wield tremendous power in the world today. Power is apt to intoxicate, and the Romans, who invented dictatorship, made the wise provision that the dictator elected to meet an emergency should retire as soon as the emergency was over. But with the decay of democracy in Rome there was a constant procession of dictators over a State still nominally Republican. That Churchill cherishes any ambition to be the peace-time as well as the wartime Caesar of Britain is consistent neither with his years nor his character. Carrying a crushing burden of responsibility it is more than likely he is looking forward to the time with his work well done he can retire to rest on his well-earned laurels. But will he be allowed? People whose leader he has been through years that have tried the nation’s soul to the utmost are not likely to part with him lightly. We can recall the huge parliamentary majority that Lloyd George received at the “coupon” election after the war, when he simply nominated the members he wanted elected and the electors obediently complied. The same spirit is likely to prevail now. In the growing complexity of society real democracy can only survive among an educated people, a people with knowledge enough to form a just judgement on the various political problems as they arise, with courage enough to make whatever changes may be necessary, and with the will to do justly and love mercy; qualities that will be tested to the utmost when victory is won. For the generation now at school there will be many and difficulties adjustments to make. They must be educated to live as well as how to make a living. Raising the school age to 15 or even 16, to enable a little smattering of various subjects to be given will not be enough. Unless we have a people wise enough to give us a real government of the people, by the people, for the pople—a government that will leave no man in bondage to another—then real democracy may indeed perish from the earth.