GREATER INTEREST

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 73, Issue 6306, 18 November 1946, Page 6

GREATER INTEREST

EDUCATION IN ENGLAND SOME ASPECTS EXPLAINED “ Education in England (jas become more alive since the people realised that real democracy does not come of itself, but must be constantly striven for, and that only an educated democracy can hope to survive,” said Dr W. P. Morrell, professor of history at the University of Otago when he addressed a public meeting in Invercargill under the auspices of the University Association of Southland. Dr Morrell examined some aspects of education in England, and expressed the view that a completely standardised system was not desirable. The value of tradition could not be lightly dismissed. A greater interest in education was now evident in England, said Dr Morrell. This interest oh the part of the British publie had been stimulated, rather strangely, by the wartime evacuation of families from, the great cities to the country. This had caused a general mix-up in which people had learnt just how other people lived, and thus they had discovered what were the real educational .problems of England. Another aspect was that the demands of modern warr tested to the full the scientific and technical knowledge of the nation and showed some of the deficiencies of pre-war education; yet another influence was the new approach tb adult education given to many ■ people in the forces. White Paper Issued Changes which would have an important effect on the future had been embarked upon when the country was in the midst of war, for, in 1943, the Government issued a White Paper on education, and in 1944 passed the Butler Act, which Was to provide for primary education to the age of 11 years, secondary education front 12 to 19 years, and beyond that adult education. Secondary education was to be of three types—grammar school, technical, and modern. Education age, later to be etxended to 16 years, and part-timie education up to 18 years was to be made compulsory for those who had left school. Control of education remained with the county councils and borough councils, with the Ministry at Whitehall exercising a directive supervision. One of the main difficulties, said Dr Morrell, was the shortage of teachers. London’s chief problem was not to introduce the new, but to pull togethei’ the old, system, for the war had , created much disorganisation. Many schools had been destroyed and others were quite out of date. A large-scale recruiting campaign had been launched to secure teachers, emergency teacher training schemes had been adopted, and salaries were raised to attract good types. Religious Disputes Disappear Happily, the speaker continued, the long-standing religious dispute • i English education had now disappeared. Nazism, and fascism had been distinguished from democracy by their complete neglect of Christian principles, and now it was compulsory for all children in English schools to receive religious instruction. Emphasis was on the moral and spiritual implications of Christianity, and dogmas were avoided. The Spens report of 1938 recommended the setting up of academic, technical and modern secondary schools, but the London County Council was going to establish multilater d schools to include all three courses in the one school Dr Morrell did not believe that these multilateral schools would abolish social strata; teachers should try to eradicate snobbery, and education should aim at making all classes rub together. Work of Public Schools

From what he had seen of the great public school? of England, said Morrell, he would say that they did not cultivate snobbery, but education, and particularly education in responsibility. They obtained the cream of the children, and turned out men capable of filling the highest posts in the cdlbnial service. The needs of the Empire were still such that -it woqld be sheer vandalism to wipe out the stimulating traditions of the public schools. It would be wise to bring new elements of the nation into contact with education of the public school type, but it would be disastrous to attempt to have a completely uniform system, of education. Similarity was. not an attribute of democracy but of totalitarianism. The universal education system of France did not prevent the undermining of the country, and that of Germany did not prevent the people from losing their character and becoming the tool of a dictator. The salvation of England lay in the variety of the education imparted. Pressure of Sciences Although there had been an increase in the pressure of the sciences on the curricula of the English universities, Dr Morrell found that there had been a keen demand also for languages, history, and geography. The essence of a university was not to be. found in its bricks or in its curriculum, but in its cultivation of the minds of its students, he concluded.