SIR,—There is a deal of sense in Roger Clarke's plea,
"Don't Forget the Parent." It may be too late to do anything about it now, but it has always seemed a pity not to give the wage-earner better wages, so that he could, like the professional man (up to date) afford a better house, a larger garden with more amenities. There would be a margin to his income, and he would be able himself to provide for the adequate feeding, clothing and medical care of his children; and, by rigid economy, manage to provide secondary and even university education for his children, as the professional man so often does ; partly helped by State bursaries, but not relieved of so much responsibility as most wage-earners today.
Surely the professional classes learn invaluable lessons in thrift and self-control, by having to economise in sport, smoking, drink, holidays, &c., in order to pay for their children's education.
It must be bad for wage-earning parents to have so much decided for them, and to have no right of choice. In a recent plan for future education I read that the problem of health and well-being is " a ques- tion of close co-operation between school medical officer, teacher and educational administrator." Surely it is time that co-operation is secured between teacher and parent to their mutual advantage.
Lord Elton's plea that the English Public School should combine, like the British House of Commons, the landed aristocracy, the bour- geoisie and the wage-earner, is a fine ideal for the immediate future. Probably a judicious combination of all sorts and conditions, and of boarders and day boys would be best. Many critics of day boys insist that so many homes are far from ideal. To which I would reply: " How many generations does it take to produce a satisfactory home? " (i) In the vital century since Arnold's death several generations of boarders have been educated, long enough to provide the type of home of which public school masters would approve. (ii) To take from parents the task of bringing up their own children makes them lazy and indifferent, and is not the way to teach them to do their jobs properly. (iii) Most masters, almost all housemasters, and all headmasters should be married men with families. There has been far too much enforced celibacy in public schools, and too many childless marriagei. If the Christian family is the ideal for the world, then teachers, as well as parsons, should show, by bringing up their own family ideally, that they are competent to train other people to do so too.—Yours, Ridgeway, Elstree, Herts.
NORMAN J. BItETT-JAMES.
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