SECTION II.-AUXILIARY STUDIES. X. Laboratories. By the Rev. T. NICK- LIN, M.A., Assistant Master of 75-80 81-87 88-95 SECTION III.-MORAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES. XV. Discipline. By J. L. PATON, M.A., 134-141 XVII. The Government of Boys by Boys. By Sir Arthur HORT, Bart., M.A., Assistant Master of Harrow School - 142-153 XVIII. Social Life. By the Rev. C. A. XIX. The School Magazine. By J. R. H. 162-170 XX. Health. By CLEMENT DUKES, M.D., XXI. Athletics. By the Hon. G. W. XXII. Athletics. By A. L. F. SMITH, M.A., Oxford 173-191 192-199 200-207 208-217 - 265-272 XXX. The Public Schools and Citizenship. By the Rev. T. L. PAPILLON, late XXXI. A Bio-Sociological View of the ence. INTRODUCTION. SPEAKING at Shrewsbury School, on July 11th, 1906, Dr. Warre, lately Headmaster of Eton, made the following observations:- "It was clear that ere long the public schools of England* would once again have to justify, not only their curricula, but, it might be, their very existThe spirit of the age seemed to be inclined toward utilitarianism, and the trend of public opinion in that direction would necessitate on the part of the schools a period of self-criticism, and, very probably, a re-organisation of curricula, a fresh co-ordination of the different subjects of study, improved methods of teaching, and generally that effort of living growth and energy which would re-inform their intellectual life and economy from within, and not leave the necessary adaptation to the needs of the age to be undertaken by the tender mercies of a Royal Commission, to be improved by the procrustean methods of an Act of Parliament. There was another problem to be faced in the future of the public schools of England. It was that of a new phase of competition. As secondary education expanded and was developed under the care of local authority, there could be no doubt as to the growth of secondary day schools. * For the benefit of foreign readers it may be necessary to explain that "the public schools" does not mean the common State schools, but the higher schools for boys which are public in the sense that they are not owned by private persons, but are administered by a body of governors. It was wise to look ahead and to consider what, in the face of such competition in the future, were the strong and the weak points of public school life and training, as compared with that which, while not divorced from the home life and surroundings, had all the opportunities of secondary education brought to its doors, and that at a trifling cost. Briefly, however, besides the consideration of expense and intellectual advantage, what would be weighed in the balances was the value of the corporate life or aggregate influence of the public school on the formation of character. The public schools of England would be judged, not so much on intellectual as on moral grounds.* These remarks, uttered at a public school by one who has only just ceased to be a schoolmaster and head of the scholastic world in England, happen to furnish a singularly apt heading to this volume, which is a collection of essays on public school education written chiefly by schoolmasters. Of the 32 contributors 22 are actually heads or members of the staff at 14 public and two preparatory schools; three others have been masters at public schools, and nearly all the rest are in close touch with them as examiners or otherwise. By a pure coincidence they have been engaged in the very task enjoined by Dr. Warre. They deal in detail with the questions suggested by him in general terms, and they do so from the inside with that intimate knowledge which actual experience alone can give. Hence the title of the book. It is not, however, a "symposium" or concerted discussion of the same theme by a number of persons; there has been no concert between the writers, nor have they been brought together for any controversial purpose. * The Standard, July 12th, 1906. |