The sun., 1912-08-10

Bob, If you don't behave you cant go
back to boarding school" These diver
gent threats not only disclose the differ
ence in. parental viewpoint but also
emphasize the attractiveness Of the
boarding schools Of to-day as contrasted
with their penal character thirty or forty
years ago.
Of course not all boarding schools
Of that time existed for the purpose Of
training the unruly boy. hut unfortu-
nately that was the general impression.
school advertisements. most Of which
especially laid stress on the disciplinary
side. and by tho large number of military
schools. The sharp decrease in the
number Of military schools is remark
able. Many boarding schools of to-day
have eliminated this feature and those
that still cling to military methods care
fully state that military training is used
not az an engine for sibduing lawlcss-
ality. alertncss and precision.
No one schoolmaster has Rad perhaps
~ much influence in shaping present day
conditions in boarding schools as the Right
Rev. Dr. Thring. late headmastcr Of Up
bingham School, England. Of courseit has
been customary in England for many gen
era, ions Of boys Of the upper classes to at
tend the public schools" which as we in
America use the term. are private schools
existing for the purpose Of preparing
boys for college. For centuries the English
preparatory schools. like Eton and Rugby.
had prepared the sons of the so-called
upper classes for the two English uni
versi,ies of Oxford and Cambridge
These schools were officered in general
by great men. iY men Of ambition and
power. as is shown hy the great number
Of English Bishops chosen from the ranks
Of headmasters. The headmasters were
mostly. If not wholly. olergymen. and
partly for this reason the hcadmastcrs
were trying to work in two different
avenues at the same time. in boy training
and in religious matters. DR.. Thring.
although powerful preacher. never tried
to do two things simultaneously While
in no sense did he minimize the Wit neces-
sity for training in religion indeed ht
emphasized it-still he made this work
OF boy training the dominant feature
Cf his school. The Life and Letters
of Edward ThrinG shows how slowly
but how surely he arrived at the prin.
ciplc which has done SO much to inf'uenr.
American schools. For generations tn,
mass had been the unit: with Thrine
the boy was the unit This new and star,
ling theory. backed mp 10y argument and
by practice, revolutionizcd the boarding
school. and most curious result is that
the effect is thoroughly felt here in the
United States. but in far less degree il,
England. where conservatism still holds
sway.
II is habit of the Amcri can people tc
cri icisc Many a philosopher has seen
in this American habit n national fault
but also a national Virtue Impatien,
with practices which had no sound reason
for existence. il has been entirely natural
tina; tho American pcdagogue has cx.
pcrimcntcd more or less in attempting
educational reforms No doubt there
has been "A certain amount of wild experi-
disastrous. But ont of the mistakes has
come the one guiding principle and tha,
principle is that the boy is the unit and
that As a consequence the needs of the in
dividual are paramount The pendulum
has undoubtedly swung recently from
the silly abuses of this principle as shown
by illo. ical applications Of the elective
system, but the prime iple remains as the
centre of our American education.
Boarding schools have been particular,
keen in seiaing this principle and using il
for the advantage Of the boy. Public
schools are also using the same principle
but While the individual is the unit. eco.
nomic necessity still forces these public
schools To use the mass of individuals OF
similar interests as the nearest possibl,
approach TO the ideal The rapid growtl
and the high degree of excellence attained
by the New York high schools are evi-
dences of the progressiveness Of the New
York school officials For it can hardly
be disputed that the enormous number o
pupils above the age of those compelled
by society to attend schools bears testi-
mony to the efficiency and practicabiit,
OF public hich school education But the
boarding schools still more strongly EN-
phasize the individual needs of the in.
dividual pupil. Boarding schools ar,
primarily pay schools. The averag,
American i too keen business man tt
pay money for what he can get for nothing
Tie Is always seeking a good investment
Speaking IN business terms, the American
father is ready To pay for special training
for his son provided he finds it a good
investment. That he does find it 80 il
shown by the rapid growth of the board
ing schools. which have increased nu.
merically with great bounds in the last
twenty years, Indeed, it would hardly bt
n nv IA vA tt..,N a