The evolution of the elementary schools of Great Britain

Front matter

V

.V

O >

Author's Preface

The progress of the last thirty years in elementary instruction forms one of the brightest chapters in the history of Great Britain.

During my recent residence in London and Oxford for the greater part of a year I gave my time mainly to visiting schools, conferring with teachers and others interested in education, and in availing myself of the abundant facilities for studying the origin and progress of the elementary schools of England furnished by the library of the British Museum. If I should name those who have helped me, and to whom I desire to express my gratitude, the list would be long, but I can not refrain from making special mention of Sir Joshua Fitch, to whom I am under lasting obligation; of Mr. Joseph H. Cowham, of the Westminster Training-College; and of Miss Elizabeth P. Hughes, eminent as a teacher in Cambridge and for many other services to the cause of education in England. I have omitted a list of the several reports and books that I have consulted in preparing this

XXVI ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF GREAT BRITAIN

little volume, as it would savor more of pedantry than of utility to note them. m

The secondary schools of England, especially the' great public schools, have received much attention on the part of Americans; the elementary schools have received little. Many elements in the progress of our primary-school system are traceable to Ger-' many, few to England. In colonial days our schools were in form largely English; but at the first they contained the germs of a new life which evolved a system of free public schools covering our land, when the civic duty of educating all the children within the limits of the state was still regarded by the majority of the people of England, as " the stuff that dreams are made of."

The meager attempts of former times to provide for the education of children, in the light of a more pervasive philanthropy, a wiser patriotism, and a broader sympathy, are seen by the people of Eng land to have been unworthy of a great people.

It has been said that no one knows his native Ian guage who knows it alone. It is equally true that no one knows the system of education in his own land who knows it alone. We may learn much from the elementary schools of England.

The Irish system of elementary schools, owing to peculiar social conditions, differs in very many details from that of England and Scotland. A study of it

AUTHOR'S PREFACE xxvu

does not promise m"ucli help to teachers and others interested in education ; hence I have closed the present volume with an outline of the elementary schools of Scotland.

In the following pages I have denoted the central education authority of England and Wales by the term Education Department. The central authority, in accordance with the Act of 1899, has been reorganized under the title Board of Education. This Act of reorganization went into operation April 1, 1900. At the close of the first chapter some of the new and important provisions of the Act are outlined.

The account of the schools of England and Wales closes with the Act of 1902. The Act, as printed by order of Parliament, is here given with brief comments. This Act is second in importance only to that of 1870, by which the system of public elementary schools was established.

J. C. Geeenough.

CO]S'TE]SrTS

Chapter I Page

Origin and Development of the Schools of

Attitude of the state toward popular education previous to 1870 — Views of Cobbett and Disraeli — The first parliamentary grant " for the purposes of education " — The interest of the youthful Queen in the educational movement — Organization of the Department of Education — Condition of the elementary schools — Measures taken to secure better teachers — The educational policy of England and Prussia compared — The Royal Commission of 1858 — Payment according to results — Justin McCarthy's view of the situation — Debates in Parliament previous to the passage of the Act of 1870, occasioned by the " religious diiBculty " — New provisions of the Act — Increase of school-buildings — School attendance — County councils — Increased expenditure for schools — Better modes of inspection — Criticism of Inspector Holmes — Increasing interest in popular instruction — Elementary schools in charge of Home Office — Charity Commission, local government board, and Lords of Admiralty.

CHAPTER II The Religious Question in England and Wales . 49

Attitude of the Anglican Church in 1870 — The Conscience Clause — Objects of religious instruction in 3 xxix

XXX ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF GREAT BRITAIN

PAGE

Church schools — Syllabus of Scripture lessons in the board schools of London — Thoroughness and interest in Scripture lessons in board schools ; statements of Sir John Gorst — Testimony of H. M. Asquith, M. P., and of Sir Joshua Fitch — Origin of British and Foreign School Society — Origin of the National Society — Founding of training-colleges — Some conditions of admission to Anglican training-colleges — Economical and religious reasons for maintaining Anglican schools — Statements of member of Parliament from Carnarvon — Increase of influence of the clergy, especially in rural districts — General attitude of the Church party — Increase of board schools in towns — Attempt to "capture the board schools " — Effects of increasing ritualism — Influence of the Anglican Church upon Bible study — Bible study as stated by Matthew Arnold.

CHAPTER III Training-Colleges in England and Wales . . 83

Monitorial schools of Lancaster and Bell— The Monitorial School in Portland, Me. — Effect of monitorial system upon the monitors — Other results of monitorial schools — Appropriation for State Normal School and founding of the first training-colleges — Contemporaneous movements in Massachusetts — Increase of training-colleges — The pupil-teacher system — Objections of non-conformists to Anglican training-colleges — Examination of candidates for admission to training-colleges — Defects of preparation for training-colleges — Government aid to students in training-colleges — Reading for university examinations — Multiplicity of examinations — Students in practising schools — Supervision of students in practising schools — Modes of training in the art of teaching — Definition of education and of teaching — Principles of teaching — Heuristic teaching and lecturing — Model lessons in training-colleges — Criticism lessons in Borough Road College — Criticism lessons in Wcsleyaii College — Some account of Slockwell Col-

CONTENTS xxxi lege — Practising schools — Optional third year— Students of pedagogy on the Continent and in America — Eecreation rooms — Out-of-door sports — Aspirations of students in training-colleges — Professional enthusiasm of elementary teachers in England and in the United States — Teachers' associations — The National Union.

CHAPTER IV Conclusions . 148

School-buildings — Building rules — Curriculum of elementary schools, outline of — Methods of teaching — Use of blackboards — The medieval method — Examinations — Applied psychology — The proper work of a primary or elementary school — The distinctive work of the secondary school — The teacher as a student of psychology — Supply of teachers, why inadequate — Permanence of teachers — Text-books — English literature — History and geography — Coeducation — Relations of teachers and pupils — Out-of-door sports — The English system, national — Evidences of progress — Act of 1903.

Chapter V

The Elementary Schools of Scotland. . . 240 The Reformation and the schools — John Knox — Revolutionary settlement, 1696— Act of 1861 — Tolerance of the Presbyterian Church — Report of commissioners for Scotland, 1867 — Objections to the working of Vice- President Lowe's revised code — Sir Henry Craik — Good results of parish and other schools previous to 1872— The broader provisions of the Act of 1872 for Scotland — Sectarian schools in Scotland, as compared with those of England — Extension of school boards — Organization of Education Department — Substitution of board for voluntary schools — Unity of religious sentiments — Scotland's appreciation of education — Sir William Harcourt — School attendance vigorously enforced — Commission of 1882 — Additional provision for xxxii ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF GREAT BRITAIN instruction in advanced studies in 1892 — Provision for the education of the blind and deaf — Industrial schools — The Scotch in valuing education are rivals of the Swiss — The elementary school system more efi&cient because of the absence of a dominant aristocracy.

Index 263

THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF ENGLAND AND WALES