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
'The change which I am advocating will demand a new organisation,
and will call for a new type of school buildings, and new values of
subjects. The new-comer Science, and with it organised industry,
which springs out of it, must take a prominent and inspiriting place
in school, and in every part of school work. It is not sufficient to
say that Science should be taught in schools. The time has gone by for
this. We claim that scientific thought should be the inspiring spirit
in school life. Science is essentially creative and co-operative, its
outlook is onwards towards change, it means searching for the truth, it
demands research and experiment, and does not rest on authority. Under
this new spirit all history, literature, art, and even languages should
be rewritten.
'A new type of school buildings and requirements will arise. No longer
buildings comprised only of class-rooms, but large and spacious
workrooms. Class-rooms are places where boys go to be taught. They
are tool-sharpening rooms--necessary, but subsidiary. For research
and co-operative creative work the larger halls are needed. Spacious
engineering and wood-working shops, well supplied with all kinds of
machine tools, a smithy, a foundry, a carpenter's shop, a drawing
office--all carried on for manufacturing purposes. Plenty of work
which will employ boys of all ages will be found to do.
'There will be a corresponding spacious literary and historical
workshop with a really spacious library full of books: books on modern
subjects, as well as reference books. The building should have wings in
it for foreign books--modern as well as classic, history, economics,
literary, scientific. As many as possible of the foreign languages
should be represented here, that boys may grow up with knowledge and
sympathy and respect for other nations, and thus aid in promoting wider
and deeper ideals of life. Another gallery for geography, and natural
history, travels, ethnology.
'Here is full scope for a large number of boys of all ages to be
engaged in research. It is all of a co-operative character. They can
study the various social and economic systems--from co-partnership to
syndicalism; or the Liberation of Slaves; or the League of Nations; or
the Liberation of Italy.
'Another block will be a science block with an engineering laboratory,
machinery hall, physical, chemical, and biological laboratories--well
supplied with apparatus and plant for applied science; plant, too, to
lead to the investigations of the day; testing machine, ship tank, air
tunnel; a miniature standardising laboratory; and with this a botanical
garden and an experimental farm.
'Another would be an art-room, music-room, theatre, a home of industry
for studying industrial development and industrial life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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