Education Week
By PROFESSOR W. 0. LESTER SMITH
ATcertain seasons of the year education, normally a silent service, becomes vocal ; the views expressed at its con- ferences arc heard on the witeless, and the Press reports the obiter dicta of various delegates. At the New Year there are two important conferences, one held in London and the other some- where in the North of England. Teachers, administrators, members of committees, governors, managers brave the elements, and, stay- ing for the inside of the week at some hotel or boarding-house, attend day after day, and all day, meetings at which various educa- tional problems are discussed. In the evening the discussions continue informally in the hotel lounges, and the arguments are usually carried on to well past midnight. Some of those who attend no doubt have their expenses paid by some authority or association, but a great many of them do not ; and of all it is undoubtedly true that they sacrifice time and have to make a considerable effort in order to be present at the meetings. Why do they do it and what purpose does it serve ?
h is possible to find a partial answer to these questions in the programmes of this month's conferences ; for they indicate of the themes discussed and show who opens the discussions. The Con- ference of Educational Associations, which enjoyed the hospitality of King's College, London, is a gathering of about fifty societies representing a great variety of interests The conference opens with a presidential address, but afterwards the different societies meet under their own auspices. The Council which organises the con- ference, under the chairmanship of Miss Ethel Strudwick, had chosen as a general theme "Educational Objectives," and to a large extent this lead was followed by the various societies in the arrange- ment of their discussions. Thus the National Association for Mental Health opened its meetings with a paper by Dr. Alfred Torrie on the subject "Quo Vadis—Perspectives for Teachers and Parents " ; while the Modern Language Association, after hearing a presidential address from the Headmaster of Eton, discussed "Modern Language Objectives in Secondary Modern Schools." The Ling Physical Education Association also concentrated on objectives, with reference, of course, to physical education.
But not all the papers in the extensive programme were concerned solely with objectives. The National Froebel Foundation considered "Freedom and Discipline " ; the College of Preceptors arranged a lecture on "Education. Acquisitive and Creative," while the Universities federation for Animal Welfare heard the Super- intendent of the London Zoological Society on "The Keeping of Small Animals, with Special Reference to Small Pets:" No one visit- ing the conference could fail to be impressed by the great diversity of interests, and the vitality of the groups. Here in a great London college in one room after another one could hear discussions pro- ceeding, each one of them sponsored by a society that makes a special contribution to the content of British education. The names of the ditferent societies on the notice-board were enough in them- selves to stir the imagination, and remind one of the diverse pattern of our educational landscape—the British Drama League, the Nursery School Association, the Association of Teachers in Colleges and Departments of Education, the Montessori Society, the National Institute of Industrial Psychology. the British Pestalozzi Children's Village Association, the Association of Headmistresses of Preparatory Schools and so on and so forth. , There are, however, other aspects of the conference that deserve notice. One of these was the excellent exhibition staged by the publishers ; for there teachers were able to see and handle modern text-books and school materials and decide for themselves which would best suit the needs of their children. There was in addition a publishers' forum, at which, with the Headmaster of Harrow in the chair, four publishers answered questions on: "School Text- books in Relation to Modern Educational Objectives." Another item of general value in the varied programme was a joint con- ference on "the best means of co-ordinating primary and secondary education today." This is a crucial issue posed by the Education Act of 1944, and it was good to have the discussion opened by the Headmistress of the North London Collegiate School, and con- tinued by three other speakers representing between them special knowledge and experience of the secondary and primary stages.
Some, however, would say—and not without some justification— that the most important meetings of the conference are not the open discussions, but the less spectacular meetings that take place behind closed doors. For there, if you dared to intrude, you would find the leaders of some very important associations sitting in com- mittee and quietly sorting out for the benefit of their members the difficult problems which this challenging age throws up in such profusion. Thus on the great board in the enttance lobby of the college you would find certain meetings listed as "for members only " ; and among the bodies thus conferring were the Associations of Headmistresses of Preparatory Schools, of Headmistresses of Recognised Independent Schools, of Teachers in Colleges and Departments of Education, of Teachers of Domestic Subjects, the English Association, the School Library Association, the English New Education Fellowship and many others no less influential in their particular sphere.
Almost simultaneously the North of England Education Con- ference opened at Buxton, and whoever attends this annual gathering of North-Country educationists can be sure that, however wintry the weather, the conference will make up for it by the warmth of its enthusiasm and the ardour of its debates. There is a special flavour about this conference to which only a J. B. Priestley could do justice ; it has all the vital good fellowship of one of J. P. Mallalieu's Huddersfieldian cup-tics, but with it a great earnestness and a staunch belief in the value of education. This year was no exception to the general rule. The weather was wintry, but the hotel lounges were as usual alive with animated talk, and no one listening to Jack Longland's account of the conference discussions on the wire- less could be left in any doubt as to their practical value or the wit and wisdom of those who participated. The organisation of this conference differs in many ways fromslhat of its London prototype. It 'moves about, and each year the Local Education Authority for the town which it selects as its venue assumes a major responsibility for its organisation. Nor is it a conference of associa- tions, for its programme is arranged by a committee on which the Local Authorities of the North are strongly represented. This year it selected a single theme, choosing "The Teacher" as the focus of various addresses and discussions.
One of the liveliest debates this year was on the vexed question of the role of the administrator in education ; and with the High Master of Manchester Grammar School and John Newsom, the Director of Education for Hertfordshire, as contestants there was no lack of solid argument, tempered with the combative wit that a North-Country audience appreciates. John Newsom's particular theme, however, was the parent, and he made' hay of the fallacy that parents count for less today than they used to do. The con- ference was fortunate in having as its president Mr. C. R. Morris, the Vice-Chancellor of Leeds University ; and he gave an excellent lead to its discussions by stressing the importance of the teacher's personality and of not cumbering him, therefoii,•with too many responsibilities.. " It may be," he said, "that we expect too much of him, that we allot to him too. wide and deep a responsibility.... The virtue of our non-totalitarian, undogmatic, freedom-loving society must owe its preservation, if preserved it is, to the human qualities of the individual teacher."
These conferen:es serve many purposes, but pechaps their greatest value lies in the fact that they are mainstays of our educational freedom. They help to preserve, and, indeed, they mirror, the rich diversity of our educational heritage ; and this commerce of thought in conference, vacation course and common room is our way of achieving unity of purpose. It seems a more sensible way than that of relying on directives from a central power-house ; it is certainly more effective, and it is much better fun.
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