The Washington times., 1917-04-30
WAR TO REORGANIzE
SCHOOLS OF BRITAIN
Compulsory Education Likely to
Be Result Of Agitation.
By JUDsoN c. wELLIvER.

LONDON, April 30-One result OF
the war is going to be the reorganiza-
tion of the British educational sys-
tenn, though the progress being ac-
complished in that direction at pres
ent Is not very reassuring. Neverthe-
less there is enough discussion OF the
subject to make It very apparent that
interest has taken deep root in the
soil that finally will produce returns.
Like everything else in England,
the educational system represents the
growth OF centuries. 1t represents q
rather halting and frequently inter
rupted tendency to democratize the
old system that was based on the con-
ditions OF those times when all edu-
cation and practically all culture was
controlled by the church. The ele-
mentary schools are in some cases
controlled by the Church of England
and in some cases are board schools"
which mean real public schools. The
board schools are supported in part
from local taxation raised In the
Jurisdiction they serve and in part
from national funds apportioned to
the local Jurisdiction.
The elementary education Is rather
meager and attendance. especially of
children representing the working
classes, Is very uncertain. There Is
going to be a new realization OF the
Importance OF compulsory school at
tendance. and the National Union of
Teachers has prepared a plan looking
to compulsory attendance and to
maintaining a good deal larger educa-
tional scheme.
Buildings Are Archaic.
School buildings and equipment, like
the system. are handicapped by the
fact that there is such a huge invest
ment in archaic structures. A clever
American observed the other day that
the greatest handicap to development
OF any kind in England was the fact
that everything Is built too well.
When they build a house here they
build Il with the expectation that
II Is going to stay right there and in
precisely that condition for at least
few centuries. 1t doesn't adapt IT.
self to changing customs and methods.
An American comes along. buys one
of those fine old ancestral piles and
wants to put in modern plumbing and
heating. but discovers that while the
thing can be done 1t is as near
house construction could make II, and
that. moreover. building regulations
and the preJudlces OF builders and
contractors make 1t just as difficult
and expensive as possible.
Tuition Is CostIk.
A pupil at the age of seven or eight
will pay perhaps $40 for tuition In a
private school for a term OF twelve
weeks. five days in the week. As the
age increases the fee rises also. get
ting up to $50 or $25 for the term in
the higher grades.
Such charges obviously are prohjb-
itive in a fairly large family. The
scheme of the National Union OF Teach
ers proposes to require the school au-
thorities OF each local Jurisdiction to
maintain free schools OF satisfactory
character roughly corresponding to
the American system OF high schools:
to coordinate these with the elemen-
tary and intermediate grades, as Is
done in America: to require compul-
sorry attendance OF childreE up to
some age that shall be fixed.
As TO this age for compulsory at
tendance there is a wide difference OF
opinion, some fixing 1t at fourteen.
some at sixteen. some even as high as
eighteen. But the necessity FOR max
ing attendance compulsory is widely
realized by the school authorities and
by most persons concerned with the
educational problem, because so many
people would take their children out
of school and put them at work unless
they were vigorously prohibited from
doing SO.
While the demand for better public
education comes to a conside -able ex-
tent from the Industrial classes, there
are. nevertheless. multitudes of per-
sons belonging to these classes who
have no conception OF the value and
Importance OF educating their chill