would reply (1) that literary grace is itself a suspect quality nowadays and (2) that a more imaginative approach to contemporary problems is readily available in such plays as F9, Murder in the Cathedral, or Thunder Rock. (Mr. Kennard Davis cannot be unaware that the two modern works he quotes are unrepresentative of their authors' present style and thought.)

Still, a better answer might well be that it is unreasonable to expect a new edition of the Victorians. They were original so are the best writers of to-day. Strachey and Maurois in biography, Woolf and Hemingway in fiction, represent a contemporary mode which makes a quick natural appeal to intelligent youngsters. Through them comes the best imaginative approach to contemporary life. Nor should the new technique in poetry be despised as a method of fixing attention; we are living in a technical age and the innovations, in rhyme, rhythm and diction, of Hopkins, Owen, MacNeice and others, are often a useful and attractive avenue.

But, if an English master is mainly concerned with a solid approach to the discussion and comprehension of our present society, he must be prepared to face some awkward work and contentious books-Marx and Mein Kampf among others. And this is where Mr. Davis's reversion to Latin and Greek can be so dangerous. It is all too easy to see the analogy between Antigone and Niemöller, or to appreciate the Georgic landscape; but for the real problems of to-day, rural and social, you need such help as Stapledon and Bernel can offer: not leisurely discussion of abstract ideas but keen and professional analysis of practical difficulties. Surely the fate of the League is warning enough that mere liberalism will not do.

My own difficulties in sixth-form English are first, to choose between the many stimulating books now available, often at nominal prices, and secondly to keep my patience when faced by such a syllabus as that of the Oxford and Cambridge Higher School Certificate, which ignores modern literature and will not even allow an eclectic choice of the past.

2 Nunclose,

Mount Pleasant, Birkenhead.

G. H. CLAYPOLE.

THE SCHOOLMASTER IN THE ARMY SIR,-The announcement of the revised Schedule of Reserved Occupations, which raises the reserved age for teachers from 30 to 35, prompts me to reopen the question of the Army and Education. A further number of schoolmasters will this month be drafted into the services, and as professional men with much training and experience behind them it is pertinent to inquire in what ways their qualifications can best be used, and above all, whether or not they have a unique contribution to offer. So far as the Army is concerned, the great majority will, no doubt, after a period in the ranks, take a commission. The choice of a branch in which to serve will be very much easier for the specialists in those subjects which in one way or another are harnessed to the war effort. Teachers of mathematics and science have already been listed for special duties by the War Office and will probably find congenial work with the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. A branch of the former, the Ordnance Survey Corps, might well appeal to the geographer. The biologist and bacteriologist can offer his expert services for the welfare of the men through the work of the Field Hygiene Section. The specialist in languages will find an opening for his knowledge in the Intelligence Corps and Field Security Police. The teacher of physical training can continue his work in the Army where indeed he will find up-to-date equipment and a scientific approach to the subject.

But the Army will seek out these men not because they are professionals-schoolmasters-but because they are specialists. In other words, it is their knowledge of a special subject which is of value, rather than their professional

experience as teachers. Has pedagogy itself, then, Lo unique contribution to offer? I think it has. War has become a dread and complicated science calling for the most widespread technology, but men still count for more than material, training for more than personal bravery, and morale for more than mere physical fitness. In whatever arm a man takes a commission his success will depend on his qualities of leadership. He must know his task (and General Wavell has emphasized that, so far as tactics are concerned, this is mainly a matter of common sense), but he must also know how to handle his men and how to train them. Both their lives and his own may well rest or his ability as a practical psychologist and as a teacher. Psychology will help the officer to be just, to gain respect and to get the most from his men. Pedagogy will enable him to teach them in a way which will give them added confidence, and much deeper understanding of the task in hand, thus making them so much more successful as a fighting unit. These are arts which can be acquired, but are rarely fully developed, without study and experience. So the schoolmaster who puts soldiering first still has need of his professional training and experience. Not only will he be a platoon commander, but he will also have to be at all times an instructor.

The really ardent and successful teacher may, however, feel that he can render greater service in work more directly concerned with his calling and will remain primarily a teacher and only secondarily a soldier. In this war, more than any other, he need not be ashamed to seek work which will call for teaching ability above all else. There is no need to stress that the risks of war are to-day so widespread that the instructors at a depôt are as much a likely target for enemy bombers as the men on the beaches. Moreover, the preparation of a new world is a task of paramount importance; one which depends on each individual's outlook, and one which cannot be left to take care of itself after victory is won. There are opportunities, then, for the teacher to give sterling service either as an instructor in military matters, or as an educator determined to enlighten this great cross-section of the population that makes up our army, and so produce that public opinion based on knowledge and morality which alone will produce a better world.

If the schoolmaster proves his military worth during his period in the ranks, then his special qualifications would be of great service in an Officer Cadet Training Unit. Indeed, the ideal staff in such a unit would consist first of men on the retired list whose long and varied experience is still of great value on practically any military subject; secondly, of men who have fought in campaigns of the present war but are no longer fit for active service; and thirdly, of the teacher-soldier. The last could place his knowledge of methodology at the service of lecturers by suggesting methods that might be adopted for increasing the value of all lectures and for measuring their results. Secondly, he could be personally responsible for such academic subjects as organization and administration, military law and perhaps map reading. Then he would prove in a practical way how much importance is attached to good teaching while at the same time capturing interest and attention for those routine subjects from many who are apt to regard them as abstruse or boring. Finally, if only the method of recruitment of officers was more expeditious and if only elementary weapon training was omitted from the syllabus, there would be ample opportunity for a course on pedagogy and psychology. It is the custom at some O.C.T.U's. for a member of the Army Educational Corps to give a lecture to cadets on the principles of teaching, but a single lecture, however brilliant, cannot be expected to achieve much. There is a pressing need for every commander to know at least the principles of these subjects and to have the chance of putting them into practice. If the syllabus was recast this would be practicable.

(Continued on page 390)

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Finally, the cream of the teaching profession should surely be used by the Army Educational Corps. In a previous letter I criticized the scheme of the Army Council for War-time Education not only because it will fail to achieve its limited object of providing educational facilities for the troops, but also because it is allowing to slip by a unique opportunity for developing an ambitious programme which would benefit the ordinary private as a soldier, a citizen, and an individual. The Army Council does indeed recognize the fact that the soldier will be a more efficient unit not only if he is saved from boredom but also if his range of non-military interests is increased and his daily life given a richer content. Spirit and morale are in the long run more important than numbers, and the key to that morale is an active knowledge and love of what is defended. Can we improve the morale of our troops? Conversation in a barrack-room might indeed shock a casual bystander. Among the majority there is no real loyalty to Christianity which is the bedrock of our cause, nor any great appreciation of those liberties which we seek to preserve. Indeed, smug self-righteousness and empty slogans seem to sap away our mental awareness. In place of a rational determination to build a better world by a victory over ourselves, there is rather a feeling of helplessness, even of discontent, that the individual should find himself caught in the vortex of events. After some months in the ranks I know these men to be of good heart, and I have no doubt that when the time comes they will acquit themselves with as much courage and unfailing humour as those before them have done; but there is not that élan which might be expected of crusaders.

Again, quite apart from his immediate duty, the ordinary soldier needs help to develop to the full his capabilities. Without a lead, he has little idea how to employ his leisure time profitably or even in a manner satisfying to himself. Occasionally there is a visit to a cinema or local pub. On most evenings, however, he is to be found in the barrackroom idly turning the pages of an illustrated magazine or exchanging chaff in desultory fashion with companions, usually on the subject of sex which for many attains the proportions of an obsession. The Army is not primarily to blame. These men have never had the opportunity of true education. The school left them without interests, without any love for Christianity, without the means of improving themselves, but a wonderful chance is now offered to give fuller meaning to these men's lives and to counteract the influences which at present they are not equipped to resist.

In conclusion, at a time when we seem to live from day to day, it is even more necessary than ever to take the long view. Education in its widest and truest sense is the foundation stone of a New Order for true peace is a personal attribute. And we have never fully accepted Plato's contention that virile citizenship is dependent on a sound educational system. However, we receive the education we ask for and to regenerate our world we must create a demand for reform. Adult Education is too limited in scope at present but it will be given a new meaning after the war if the ranks of the Army, drawn from all classes and walks of life, are given an insight into the value of study and a true sense of proportion. What may not be the result for the well-being of our democracy of this taste for education in its all-embracing sense, of training for citizenship! If I may echo the reply of your Army correspondent in March, there is indeed a very strong case for making the Unit Education Officer a full-time specialist instead of a parttime amateur, providing him with assistants and allowing him to carry out an interesting educational programme for all in parade hours. And that case is not met by arguments of lack of time or money, for we shall in this way be preparing to win the peace in deed as well as in word, while fighting the war, and fighting it with increased efficiency. P. M. BURNS, 2/Lt.

c/o 2c Watling Street, Canterbury.

ORCHESTRAL BROADCASTS FOR SCHOOLS SIR,-In her Plea for Music in Secondary Schools", Miss D. N. Blasdale mentions wireless as a means of bringing orchestral music within the reach of all secondary school pupils. May I amplify this suggestion by drawing attentica to the forthcoming series of weekly orchestral concert broadcasts for schools, which will begin at 2.40 p.m. ca Friday, September 26 ?

This series should be of particular interest to secondary schools. It will include, during the autumn term, five halfhour concerts given by orchestras of the B.B.C. and presented with a running commentary by Dr. Reginald Jacques, Dr. Thomas Armstrong, Mr. Ronald Biggs, Mr. Herbert Murrill, and Dr. Malcolm Sargent. On the two Fridays preceding each orchestral concert (except the last) there will be twenty-minute illustrated talks on the music to be heard at the next concert. In the course of these introductory broadcasts orchestral instruments will be heard singly and in combination, and listeners will be given opportunities to memorize important themes by singing and tapping.

Among the works that will be performed in the orchestral programmes during the autumn term are the Overtures to " William Tell" and "The Magic Flute "; movements from Beethoven's Fifth and Haydn's "Surprise" Symphonies; the first movement of Mendelssohn's Viol:r Concerto; and parts of Bizet's "Carmen".

Full particulars of this and other series of music broadcasts for schools may be obtained from: The Secretary, Central Council for School Broadcasting, Bedford College for Women, Regent's Park, London, N.W. 1.

R. C. STEELE,

SIR, I notice in the August Journal your criticism of Prime Ministers who treat the presidency of the Board of Education as if it were to be held only till something better could be found for the holder. Before President or Board existed there was similar criticism about the vice-presidency of the Education Department. As a specimen I append an extract from a paper advocating the creation of a Minister of Education which I read in April, 1887, at the Portsmouth conference of the N.U.E.T. (the Union had not then shed the “Elementary '').

"Important as are the duties of the Vice-President his office stands very low in the estimation of both political parties. It is one of the last to be filled when a new government is forming and seems to be regarded by Prime Ministers as essentially the office wherein an untried man can, with least danger, serve an apprenticeship in state-craft. If he fails it is only children and teachers and such inferior creatures who will suffer; if he succeeds he is promoted at the earliest opportunity to some more important post, such as the superintendence of railway fares and continuous brakes or of the police and the common hangman.

"Of the thirteen persons who have been Vice-Presidents how many were known before appointment to have any fitness for their work? At most but three. And how many, when they took office at any future time, went back to the Education Department? Only one, Sir Henry Holland, and he was translated as soon as possible. Mr. Forster, when Vice-President, helped to ensure the greatness of England by the passing of a measure which will be gratefully remembered as long as that greatness lasts, yet, when his party was next in power, he was rewarded by being sent to Ireland. Mr. Mundella . was promoted to the Board of Trade. Does not this prove that Prime Ministers look upon the Vice-Presidency as amongst the lowest offices in their gift and that they have not yet realized the magnitude and importance of its duties or the momentous issues dependent upon the performance of them ? "' Brynhyfryd, DAVID SALMON.

Narberth, Pem.

THE

U.S.A.

HE importance of a thorough understanding between America and ourselves has already been recognized by the institution of a series of courses on America for English school teachers, the first of which was opened in London by the United States Ambassador in July. Hence it is of interest to gather American views on problems which both nations are confronting at the present time, e.g. that of school religious training, to which The Phi Delta Kappan devotes an article. This gives an account of a meeting held at the University of Pennsylvania, at which some 800 educationists were present. There is a movement, which "is sweeping the country like wildfire ", to introduce some form of religious training in the public schools. The factors to be considered are that the country has always been committed to the separation of church and state; at the same time the basic roots of democracy spring from the deep traditions of a religious heritage. Church and state have had their particular provinces to cultivate, and it was taken for granted that the school was imparting secular education while the church was inculcating religious ideals. But the church has not done an effective job. A generation has grown up which is hardly conscious of the traditions of religion, poorly informed in the contents of the Bible, little endowed with profound convictions in the belief of God, and little appreciative of the ethical ideals which should activate life and society ". The need for something to be done has become more acute because of the antireligious propaganda emanating from Fascist, Nazi and Communist countries.

"

Granted that a sounder religious training should be given, certain questions must be answered. Should the schools introduce formal religious training? If so, who will give it? Should some time during school hours be allowed for children to visit their respective churches for religious instruction?

If instruction is given in school, the cardinal question is who will impart it. To suggest that clergymen should come in and give it would involve the dangerous issue of church and state. If the teacher is to give it, the question is raised whether she is qualified or prepared to do so. (The feminine pronoun is suggestive to English ears.)

The objection to the released time" proposal is that

it would accentuate religious differences rather than emphasize common ideals. Moreover, there might be implied ostracism of pupils who preferred to remain at school. Again, one hour a week is insufficient for adequate training.

To reduce school hours altogether in order to provide time for outside instruction might involve reduction of teachers' salaries.

Thus these three proposals all have objectionable characteristics. The solution might be found in closer co-operation between church and school. The Protestant Church has been planning in recent years to extend its Sunday School organization to include a week-day school, giving afternoon religious instruction. Better support for this from educationists would be helpful. Jewish people have evolved a similar means of religious instruction in weekday schools which children attend for an average of six hours a week.

The writer's conclusion then is, put the responsibility of religious education upon the agency where it belongs, namely the church, but have the school cooperate with it by encouraging the growth of the church week-day school.

IN the same issue May particulars about the status of the teacher in the United States are given as compiled by the National Education Association. It appears that between 1870 and 1940 the proportion of teachers in the population has risen from 1 in 192 to 1 in 138. Of this

number, 70 per cent teach in kindergartens and elementary schools. In 1870, men formed 39 per cent of the teachers; now they form 21 per cent. The typical public school teacher is a relatively young, unmarried woman and is recruited from the middle economic level of American life. The trend is toward women teachers marrying and remain. ing in the profession. In elementary schools, one teacher in three can claim college graduation or its equivalent. In senior high schools, the proportion is nine out of ten. The average class-room teacher has had about ten years' experience-seventeen years if in an urban school. One elementary teacher in every five changes his position annually-but only one in twenty in cities above 100,000 in population. The average salary of all class-room teachers is about $1360 a year; that of urban teachers $1900 and that of rural teachers $830. Public school teaching ranks eleventh in a group of sixteen occupations, according to estimated average earnings. Teachers spend about thirty hours a week in actual teaching and about ten hours a week in out-of-school activities. Twenty-nine states have tenure provisions; nineteen have not. One quarter of the teachers can look forward to no retirement or disability security whatever. Fifty per cent are protected by actuarily sound retirement plans. Administrators and school physicians agree that lack of mental or emotional poise is the prime detriment to successful teaching. Inability to make necessary social adjustments is second; and physical illhealth, third.

Between 1935 and 1939, 319 men teachers in West Virginia resigned their positions, some of them giving the following reasons: insufficient salary, 95; insecurity of tenure, 46; political influence, 31; no retirement insurance, 29; undesirable location, 13; shortened school term, 13; living expenses too high, II; accepted administrative position, 11; chance for future betterment poor, 9; dislike for the work, 7; better job available, 7; jobless summers, 5; graduate work, 6; teaching in a college, 5; better position in school of another state, 4; availability of public elective office, 2. All these now command greater salaries than they did when teaching in West Virginia, the average yearly increase being $822. S. B. L.