THE SCHOOL AND SOCIETY
By F. C. HAPPOLD (Headmaster of Bishop Wordsworth's School, Salisbury)
ERE may be good grounds for criticising or even con- I demning the ideals of the totalitarian States ; but it is impossible not to be impressed by the devotion these ideals have inspired in the youth of the totalitarian nations or by the high sense of social service which seems to be evident among the boys and girls of Italy, Germany or Russia. It would be wise to examine the source of this inspiration ; for is it not necessary that an equal devotion, expressed perhaps in a different way, should be aroused in the youth of our own country if the heritage of centuries is to be preserved?
If the boys and girls of England are to be inspired with a zeal not only to preserve all that is fine in the tradition which has been handed down to them but also to mould it and revivify it so that it may be the motive power in the creation of something even more splendid, hazy appeals for good citizenship or the defence of democracy are not enough.
If they are to be filled with an urgent sense of social awareness and impelled to give of their best to the com- munity which gave them birth, a more compelling motive than either patriotism or humanism must be found. If there is to be aroused in their minds an effective urge to play their parts in building a saner, happier national and international order, it can only be by something which is based on religion, and has in it that driving power which only religious faith can give.
There is a tendency for some recent writers to equate democracy and Christianity. Yet it may be questioned whether Christianity is in any real sense a directive force in our social policy or international relations. While one would not deny that there are many whose individual lives are inspired by the faith of Christ, a Christian philosophy and code of conduct does not so permeate the social conscious- ness that it is the decisive factor in determining thought and action. Yet it is only through the creation of a Christian order of society that, increasing numbers are coming to believe, any stable and effective national and world order can be built up or democratic institutions realise their full possibilities.
In bringing about this Christian order of society the school may well be a decisive factor. While it is true that the conception of the function of the school as training for Christian service has been and is still widely held, the intensity with which this idea has been given practical expression has varied from school to school. In some schools it has been translated into effective action ; in some, however, it remains little more than a hazy ideal ; in others it has been subordinated to more material aims.
Some months ago I wrote to a number of heads of schools suggesting the need of linking up more closely the isolated efforts that are being made in many schools and giving them a greater scope and effectiveness, at the same time sketching out a possible means whereby this might be done. The voluminous correspondence which resulted clearly showed that the need was widely recognised and has enabled a definite plan to be worked out. This plan a number of schools have already accepted. The foundations have thus been laid on which something bigger may be built. The suggested plan lays no claim to striking originality. It is, however, essentially practical and is based on experiments, carried out over a number of years in several schools, which have definitely proved their value for their purpose.
Briefly the plan envisages the formation in public and State-aided secondary schools of " Companies of Service," linked together in a loosely knit organisation, animated by a common ideal and a common aim expressed in a Declaration of Intention which takes the following provisional form: " A member of the Company acknowledges his (or her) debt to the community into which he is born and which demands of him his full and devoted service. So that he may serve that community faithfully and effectively he undertakes at school a threefold task, the training of his body so that it may be perfectly fit and con- trolled, the training of his mind so that he may understand the world into which he will go and specific training according to his particular ability so that he may play an active part in the life of the com- munity. He acknowledges, moreover, that only through under- standing, tolerance and co-operation between nations and classes can his own land have any real happiness and security and a sane world order be brought about. He, therefore, endeavours to train his mind and emotions so that he may appreciate the point of view of other nations and classes and thus ensure that co-operation, understanding and tolerance shall eventually replace rivalry, distrust and hatred."
In this Declaration of Intention the objectives of the plan are clearly shown. It emphasises the need of a definite acceptance of a debt to the community and of co-operation between nations and classes ; it indicates the sort of training which all should be willing to undergo if they sincerely desire to serve their fellowmen.
The need for intellectual training cannot be too strongly emphasised if liberal institutions are to be preserved and developed. Such institutions cannot work smoothly in the modern world without an informed body of citizens, inoculated against prejudiced thinking, sentimental idealism and mass propaganda and capable of functioning as an en- lightened core of opinion in the body politic.
Intellectual training may, however, result merely in the production of destructive and puzzled critics if it is not accompanied by training in social responsibility. This latter can best be carried out with boys and girls by participation in and training for specific work useful to the community. So through tasks undertaken for the benefit of the school and the immediate locality during term time, through par- ticipation in such activities as work camps during the holidays, by definite training for such social tasks as that of physical training leader. scoutmaster or guider, for work in play centres or crèches, in first aid or in order to assist effectively in the dramatic or musical activities of the, com- munity, to mention only a few possibilities, the boy or girl is, while still at school, grounded in the habit of service and enabled to discover how he or she can serve best. Training for military service is, moreover, not excluded from the plan, and there are Companies with Cadet Corps and Air Cadet Squadrons as part of their organisation. Companies are also giving valuable assistance in local A.R.P. activities.
Though the Companies of Service plan recognises the need of the creation of a more Christian order of society that does not imply any sort of religious test or declaration for its members. Any such declaration or test would be very undesirable. The task of a Company of Service is to show what are the ideals and code of conduct which should animate a Christian order of society. Whether boys or girls will accept those ideals and that code of conduct as a guide when, school days over, they go out into the working world they must then decide.
Clear though the ideals and aims of the Companies of Service plan are, it makes no attempt to impose any par- ticular organisation on the schools linked up in it. To do so would be contrary to the English tradition of education, which has always stressed the freedom of the individual school. While each school within the plan accepts its ideals and aims, each Company of Service is entirely. free to decide how this ideal and these aims may be expressed, and to work out its own organisation and activities according to its own traditions, circumstances and environment.
If the plan spreads some central organisation will doubt- less be necessary, particularly to enable the ability trained in the school to be utilised in after life; but the less there is the better, and it must spring up spontaneously out of develop- ing needs. One does not want to standardise and canalise these efforts to create a better world by setting up a plethora of councils and committees. How far the schools of England will accept and rally to this plan it is as yet impossible to say. Some have already done so. That the ideal which inspires it is widely accepted is clear, on the means of attain- ing that ideal there is difference of opinion. To rouse up the necessary enthusiasm and work out the essential organi- sation in a school is, as those who have started Companies of Service know, not a light task and one which demands tact and skill. Moreover, English schools distrust associa- tions, movements and similar attempts to interfere with their prized independence of action.
Yet may not this plan, which stresses the individual initiative of each school, which leaves each free to work in its own way and at the same time links them together by ties which are rather spiritual than material, be the solution to a need which many feel to be urgent?
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