The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1914-04-02

V1m0 W000 t0lS 16 accomplished, now.
ever, does not appear to be near at
hand.
Great Decrease In lllIteracy.
Much improvement as the result Of
the more general education that has
been provided is noticeable in Great
Britain. The decrease OF illiteracy
shows what broadening the school
system and establishing compulsory
school attendance have brought about.
Forty years ago. Of every 1000 men
married in England and Wales 225
signed the. marriage register with
their mark, because they could not
write their names; last year only II.
The proportion Of women who signed
with q mark decreased during the
same period from 319 to 20. In Ire
land the proportion Of men thus
shown to be illiterate decreased from
404 to so and Of the women from SIT
to rs; in Scotland, men from ia to 16
and of women from 222 to IL.
Scotch laborers Keen for Education
Scotland. which furnishes wisdom to
London, as Ireland furnishes it wit,
has ever lead in the general dissent
nation Of education among it's people.
Even the agricultural laborers in the
Scotch constituency whom l represent
ed" said distinguished member Of
parliament. were keen for education.
They were men whose wages in rent
and money and what they got other
wise amounted to not more than $3.50
. week. They were great, burly,
strong fellows. we'll educated, and with
wives a. keen ~ they were: the cot
tages were without speck Of dirt and
with an abundance of books. They
read and they thought. There was the
breaking down q this class barrier
through education, ana father and son
feeling they had much the same
chance. It was = matter Of accident
or choice whether one went to farm
or to q learned profession: the learned
one was one who could manage farm
II the pinch came and the farmer
could adorn the learned profession;
both were keen democrats. but In moth.
ing 80 democratic as this, they meant
to have proper education for their
children" The democracy extended to
student life also. 1t may be assumed.
from the story told of Doctor Words
worth, the author Of the Greek gram.
mar and the originator Of that inter.
esting and diverting educational spec
tacle, the Oxford.Cambridge cricket
match. Coming from England to Scot.
land to take the headship Of a college
in Glenalmond, he was struck by the
absence of awe" in Scottish boys; or
"even of ordinary respect" for the
schoolmasters. One Scotch lad came
up to him after q lesson and said:
Can you tell me where can get some
good worms? I am going out fish
ing"
Public Schools Gaining, Private Losing,
A notable sign of educational change
is the increase in the attendance upon
the council or state (public) schools
in Great Britain as compared with the
attendance upon the voluntary or pri
vate schools. Five years ago 2,S13,757
children were in attendance upon the
council schools; this year, 3,213,S99,
an increase of 400,142. The attend
ance upon the voluntary schools had
decreased 347,343 during the same
period, falling OF from 2,479,S24 to
2,132,481.
Four principles are involved in the
states support of the council schools,
as outlined in the elementary school
program of the Liberal party: Full
and complete popular control and no
religious test for teachers; every pa
rent to have opportunity to send his
child to council school-either the
school is to be taken to the child or
the child to the school, where demon
national teaching is permitted none of
the. cost is to be paid by taxation; a
recognition of the value of Bible teach.
ing. Around these principles much
contention RACES in the political
world.
Universal Education the Aim.
The new education in Great Britain
is slowly moving to the provision OF
the equality of training, which is the
only basis of true democracy-which
forbids the conception OF the "ele
mentary" school for the mass, the sec
ondary' school for the selected
classes, and the universities for the
few destined by inheritance or envir
onment to be the leaders" of the PEG
pie. The new education is universal
education of all for the service of all
If the prophets of the new educa
tion speak the truth, it will make a
Greater Britain instead of a Little
England. Educational progress is
slow, however, in this land. New edu
cational ideas find acceptance only
when they become old. But no finer
material for educational experiment
exists. In tomorrow's world it may be
a Briton from the council schools Of
today, who yesterday would have beer
denied opportunity Of living his life
who shall call the nations to yet high
er things. Newbolt's tribute to the
handful of school graduates of yester
day in England may be true-will BIZ
true-of the scores Of school gradu
ates of tomorrow:
The sand of the desert is sodden red