The Story of a Great SchoolmasterWells, H. G. (Herbert George)
History
The Story of a Great Schoolmaster
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Sanderson, F. W. (Frederick William), 1857-1922; School principals -- Great Britain -- Biography
There are two other questions which I will mention before I come to
the actual work which may be done in schools. One of the main aims
of a good school is to see that each boy and girl is cared for, that
each one has every opportunity for development. We must not cast out,
or send our weak ones away, we must keep them in school--we must find
out what kind of work will appeal to them, so that they, too, may move
upwards, gain in self-respect, and love their life. And we claim that
this is what we would have done in all factories, or in any occupation.
It is the essential duty of every nation. We are anxious that no
worker should be stunted mentally or physically by the kind of work
he has to do. This again is a difficult as it is an urgent problem.
It is one which can be studied in schools, and there is no doubt
that the attempts of a school to provide avenues of advance for all
kinds of boys will tend to bring the right spirit into industrial and
agricultural life....'
§ 4
So much for the Bradford discourse. Here is the gist of a discourse
given to the Reconstruction Council in London a year later.
'The object of this paper is to describe in practical working
terms an organisation of schools which shall be based on a close
association with the manifold needs and labours of the community life.
At the outset I may say that the proposals will refer--even if not
specifically so stated--to all types of schools, from the elementary to
the Public Schools. It will be seen that the change needs a change in
the ideals which have usually prevailed in schools of the past. In the
community life the one urgent thing to be done to-day is to reorganise
industry and the conditions of labour. This reorganisation may require
quite organic or even anarchic changes--and for these changes the
ideals of boys and girls must be changed, and to prepare for this
change is the urgent work of the schools.
'Before I come to the proposals for reconstruction of schools, I will
state very briefly some facts in industry which are now meeting with
acceptance:
'1. Modern industrial life has come in with a tumultuous rush, in
a haphazard, ungoverned way, through the activities of forceful,
capable, and industrious leaders who have made use of the scientific
discoveries of another type of men.
'2. The shrinkage of the world, and the growth of population which
followed, has led to fierce competition; and this spirit of competition
has ruled everywhere.
'3. In the ungoverned rush for production all sorts of methods are
adopted which seem to be justified by their effectiveness. An example
is the modern system of efficiency, at first sight captivating to the
intellect and the desires, but yet a method which needs very careful
study.
'4. Now men are beginning to believe that the first product of industry
must be for the worker; that the worker should grow physically,
intellectually, spiritually by his work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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