FUNDAMENTAL CHRISTIANITY AND THE EDUCATION QUESTION.
LTO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—Referring to your excellent article of December 30th, 1905, and the interesting correspondence that has followed it, I have waited in vain to see if a champion would appear to advocate what seems to me to be the simple solution of the problem,—i.e., the teaching of the "elementary religious truths" in all State-aided schools, as proposed by our new Minister of Education. So far, nearly all your correspondents assume the necessity of giving dogmatic teaching in school hours, and some seem to consider that the only alternative to this would be the "secularisation of our primary schools." But any one who will take the trouble to -study the admirable syllabus of simple religious instruction approved by the London School Board, and adopted by many, if not all, other County .Councils, will find that what Mr. Birrell proposes .has already been done for Council schools. It consists of the daily reading of admirably selected parts of the Bible, followed by hymns and prayers of a simple character, well suited to the minds of children, and offering no difficulty to any teachers. If this excellent course were made universal in all State-aided schools, supplemented with permission to all ministers of religion to give special doctrinal instruction in the schoolroom, as proposed by Mr. Birrell, the requirements of the trust-deeds of Church schools would be fulfilled,— for no Churchman could assert that the daily reading of the Bible was opposed to Church principles ; and if liberty were thus given to the clergy to give doctrinal teaching to those children whose parents desired it, no one could say that such schools were not conducted "on the principles of the Church of England." The same would apply to any schools (Nonconformist or Roman Catholic, &c.) where the trustees or parents consider that dogmatic teaching of their various shades of opinion, . would be beneficial to youthful minds. For my own part, I venture to suggest whether the best teaching for children is not the simple reading of selections from the Holy Bible, for no effort to paint the rose has ever appeared to me to result . in any distinct improvement. At the same time, I would. suggest that in various ways the greatest consideration should be shown to the trustees of Church and all other. denomi- national schools,—e.g., that a fair rental should be paid for the bui ding (to be devoted to Church purposes), that the trustees should be allowed the use of the school on two - evenings a week and the whole of Sunday, the cost of all
• repairs and extensions being defrayed by the school authority. Also, that any trustees or denominations who did not accept these terms should be allowed to conduct their schools under the management of the Board of Education, in accordance with the conditions which prevailed previous to the Act of 1902. In this way we should maintain religious education in all State-aided (primary) schools, and definitely avoid the -danger of secularisation, which, as you say, "would national calamity of the first, order."—I am, Sir, &c., [Our correspondent's proposal, unless we are mistaken, amounts to this :— (1) A groundwork of fundamental Christian teaching in all schools, supplemented by denominational teaching for those who desire it.
(2) The buildings of Voluntary schools to be rented by the County Councils, and the rent so paid to be employed in giving religious instruction according to the views of the denomination by which the school was originally founded. (3) Any Voluntary school to be allowed to contract itself out of the Act, and be as it was before 1902.
The scheme seems to us a very reasonable one.—ED. Spectator.]
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