The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-07-11
BRITAIN SEES NEED OF EDUCATIONAL
 REFORM IN NATION
War Has Been Means of Bringing Home ReaIiza- tion of Present Sys-
 tenn of Schools

London, June 1-(special Corre-
 spondence. )-One of the results in
 England of the Napoleonic wars was
 the introduction of free popular educa-
 tion. The present great war will prob-
 ably result in another educational revo- . lution almost as important and far
 reaching.
 The war has taught England that she
 is lacking in modern, scientific train
 ing. It has also taught her that the
 best soldier is the educated soldier. The
 old legend about the stolid peasant mak-
 ing the best fighting man has been ex
 ploded. As a matter of fact the stolid
 peasant fails just where one would have
 expected him to succeed. The city man
 with his higher nervous organization, it is found, stands the terrible shelling
 with high explosives better than the peas ant, and there are far fewer cases of shell shock and collapse among the
 town regiments, composed as they are of
 men of more education and magma
 tion. than found among the regi-
 ments whose personnel is drawn from the soil.
 These facts, among others, have
 wakened England up to the realization that education has been neglected, and that the country is suffering because of that neglect. In addition to that one of the most inspired of MT. Lloyd Georges appointments when he reconstructed the cabinet was that of his education min ister. For the first time in the history of England the educa ton minister has been an educationist and not poli- tician. Mir. Fisher, the present minis ter, was the chief of Sheffield university before his appointment and one of the most famous experts in education in the country. His predecessor in the office was Arthur Henderson a labor leader, an able and worthy man, but about the least Tilted for controlling the education of the country that could be imagined Another predecessor was Augustin Bir- reu, politician and a writer of charm Ing essays, who might make passable professor of English literature, but whose experience of the problems of actual ed- ucational organization was nil.
 MT. Fisher spent his first six months m Office in finding his way about and working out his plans. A few days ago he came before Paria ament and asked right away for nearly $200 0O,CO0 more on the years estimates for education Last years estimates for the national con- tribution to education were about O.0OO.- ooo, and in addition about $85, ,OOO 900 were spent by the local taxes and some s35- ooV,o00 more from gifts and endowments. This makes a total of about S2OO GOO GOO. which, as Mr. Fisher pointed out in the House of Commons, is only eight times the value Of Brtains annual imports of oranges and bananas. It is one and one-thrd times the national expenditure on tobacco and nearly a quarter of the value of the nations annual drink bill
 In his speech MT. Fisher laid stress on the great scandal of the educational system in England-the scandal of the underpaid teacher. The figure, which he saVe VIII astonish Americans who will not be able to understand-and most English people cannot understand-how educated men and women can be got to work for the wage which is often lower tnan man that of street scavenger.
 ne average pay fpr a certified male head teacher, MT Fisher stated. is sss0 year. The average pay of certified assistant teacher-and this class, of course, Includes practically all the staff or the public elementary schools-is se45. and of an uncertified teacher-a fairly large class-S340. The salaries of women are lower, the figures being s630 S4so and S2S0. At the outbreak of the war there were in England 4, 200 male and female teachers drawing less than s5oO wear and 26.7o0 with salaries below s45o. II IS gratifying to know that MT Fisher proposes to snend all of the adlitionol money Tor which he hs asked. and Whlch Parliament has granted to him. in improving the salaries of the teachers and that he proposes to use it in such a way that it will go farther in that direc- ton than seems possible He has worked out scheme for grants to local educa- tlonal authorities which will give them ] direct interest in establishing liberal salary scales in the schools under their control.
 This reform is especially urgent now be- cause of the depletion of the teachers ranKs by enlistment In the ordinary way ,ooo new recruits to the teaching pro- fession are required every year in Eng and and Wales
 Tnls figure, said Mir. Fisher. twill prove to be very considerable under | sstlmate if any real attempt be made. as It must be made. to reduce our classes liter the war and extend the scope of 'upilc educaton. It is true very large numoer Of men and a still larger number of women enter the teaching profession actuated by something akin to the mis- 'lonary spirit but in profession num- | oerlng l50,O0O members you cannot rely | 'n the missionary spirit alone as l source Of recruitment. I do not expect | me teaching profession to offer great ma ,erial reward-that is impossihle-but I do | 'esard 1t as essential to a good scheme | or education that the teacher should be [ 'eileved from perpetual financial anxiety | md that teachers should be able to look i onward to rearing a family in respecta- ole conditions.
 The first condition of educational ad- | 'ance is that we should pay our teachers | better. That step should he taken now If the fruit of the investment Is to be | 'eaped after the war. One way is to pay he teacher direct. I have carefully con | 'idered this solution of the problem, but | n my opinion to establish the teaching | profession as branch of the civil service | would cut at the roots of our local system | 'f administration
 T do not so much fear the enslavement 'f the public intellect through a corps | 'f state teachers. because, do what we | VIII, we can never make German out | # an Englishman. let alone out of a | " Nelshman. but I do fear very great l md abrupt decline in the local interest in | if control of the teaching body | and payment means control-should be from the local authorities md centered at Whtehall."
 Sad Thoughts
 From the New York GJohe