The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-02-21

and its effects are felt here not only
i'm the complete arrangement of the
present educational system, but in the
prospect of far-reaching changes after
the war The basis of these prospec-
tive changes is the undermining of
education. making it more practical
for coping with everyday business
AFFAIRS of life, after the American
and German methods. This. in turn,
has precipitated heated controversy
over whether the English school sys-
tenn is to be "Germanized". Premier
Lloyd Georges recent choice of
Prof. Fisher, Head of Sheffield Uni
versity. as Minister of Education,
was one of the steps to get a practic-
al educator in charg eof affairs while
the changes were working out.
the present effect of the war on
! education is, shown in the reduction
of the great Universities of oxford
and Cambridge to mere shadows of
| their former extent Instead of hav
ing about 1000 TO 10000 students
they are now reduced to the dimen-
sions of small schools, with about
! 500 each. There is tn esame reduc-
| tion to mere shadows i'm the exten-
sive system of universities and tech
nical schools throughout the country,
: at London. Glasgow, Sheffield Man
chester and all the great cities. All
the able-bodied students have gone
1 to the war and even those not able
bodied are engaged on research work
| in munitions acronautics. aviation.
mireless telegraphy and map-making
for the government.
The Public Schools have been sim
ilarlr affected, particularly in the
teaching staffs, about 25O0O schoo
teachers having been taken from the
regular establishments to join the
army The scholars in the secondary
| schools have also suffered marked
losses, as the top-form boys have
fallen within the military age Even
the elementary schools have felt their
share of the effects, in the loss OF
teachers. the military occupation OF
over 1000 schools as hospitals bar
racks. etc; the displacement of 10,
600 pupils by this military occupa
ton of schools; the taking in of %,
600 refugee Belgian children; ant
the substitution of women for mer
as teachers. One schools has a WON
an teacher for the first time in sixty
years. Another large school has 81
women teachers.
Even the courses of study are ma
terally changed to a war basis. IL
one locally there are courses on the
Western Front the Eastern Front
the Balkans, the War in the Air ant
Naval Operations. In another local.
ty war loans. war taxes and similar
subjects are discussed. Letters from
relatives at the front are regularl!
read before the classes, as 95 pc
cent of the pupils have relations a
the front. Much of the composition
is on war subjects. Geography of tn,
countries at war has been great,
stimulated; also the history of tn,
.. Balkan and other countries of whicl
little had been known At on
school the boys have constructed
sand-map 20 by Is feet, of Flanders
the Dardanelles, and the Trentin
\ front in Italy.
Y II is at the great universities, how
ever. that the greatest change ha
\ occurred. At Oxford, which is
\ university grouping of 30 schools
Balliol has furnished $50 soldiers an
\ has had 81 killed: Oriel furnishe
| $40, killed 81 Magdalen furnishe
| 725. killed 106; Trinity furnished 63t
| killed Sc: Christ Church furnishe
| 1.075. killed 113; ST. Johns furnishe
4S5. killed SO; University furnishe
| 554. killed IS; Queens furnished 40
| killed AZ. Corpus Christi furnishe
240. killed A.
Cambridge shows the same larg
representation at the front, an
heavy deahtlists. Up TO the begil
ming of this year Cambridge had fu
nished 13.l3S men at the front,
which 1.4O3 had been killed. 1.9l
wounded, 21S missin gor prisoner
Victoria crosses have gone to VT
Cambridge men and eight Oxfoi
men; while many other crosses, no
ors and foreign decorations ha'
gone to the men of both institution
As a result of the depletion of L
universities. foreign students a
about all that remain. The Oxfo