LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Privilege in Education
sitt,--It is, I imagine, common ground that, in the Ideal State every child should receive the education best suited to develop his or her powers to the fullest extent. It is also, strictly speaking, unjust that any child's chance of receiving such an education should depend , upon the length of his parent's pocket. But, as Mr. James K. Slater points out, education begins at home. If all private schools were abolished, or if, as Lt.-Col. Pelly suggests, they were subsidised so that admission were not restricted to the children of fee-paying parents, the sons and daughters of well-to-do, cultured and ambitious parents would still enjoy an enormous advantage, which, from the strictly Individual point of view would be unfair.
The only complete remedy is that proposed by Plato in the Republic; that children should be taken from their parents at birth, and brought up by the State. But human nature revolts against such a suggestion. The sensible course, surely, is to do the very most that we can afford as a nation (having regard to the demands of security, housing, health and industry) for the education of all, while allowing and encouraging those who can do more for particular children to devote their money, time and interest to this very valuable national work. Are some to be denied opportunities because at present it is impossible to grant them to all ? "Is thine eye evil because I am good 7 "
Incidentally, as a former schoolmaster, I should like to question Mr. Edward Pease's statements that 'the schoolmaster's job is to pump as much knowledge as possible on particular subjects into his pupils' memories ... the more industrious the pupil, the more reluctant are his schoolmasters to let him try something else." The memorising of facts is the least part of learning; and the great variety of voluntary activities is one of the conspicuous features of school life today.—
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