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COMMUNISM IN
SCHOOLS.
Lord E. Percy's Attack.
Lord Eustace Percy (President of the
British Board of Education) presided in
Liverpool on January 6 over the annual
meeting of the North of England Educa-
tion Conference, of irhich he is president.
In his inautrural address, he eaid there
was no subject in regard to -B-Hch the
teacher sjouid be ;jiveji more ireedom than
the subject o£ patriotism and citiiensiip.
li Governments, whether local or central,
bezan to prescribe to tie teacher a cer
tain metliod of teaching, or even attempted
to influence liim in finch matters, they
rin the risk of all those evils seen in vari
oas forms both in tlie Prussia of the past
and the Eussia 01 to-day.
'"This brings me to'a point on which I
feel that the time has come to speak
openly and seriously," Lord Eustace con
tinued. "Nearly every teacher wants to
1 keep political controversy out of the
Echookj to preserve hi 3 pupils, Co far as
?be can. from 'the strife of tongues' until
they have learnt to think and to dis
criminate. It is diily ?becoming more diffi
cult to do this, and I am not sure that
we administrators support the teaching
profession sufficiently in their task. There
is a constant and a conscious effort among
a large section of onr ieUovr-conntrymen
to conduct political propaganda, directly
or indirectly, among children.
- Irrepressible Fanatics.
It -was natural that political propaganda
among teachers and chfldren should be
mainly conducted by those who were ? dis
contented Trila the established standards
of education. . '
"TJjjs discontent is most -violent in flic.
case of those irrepressible fanatics who
vamp up scurrilous school magazines ior
circulation in the schools, and form chil
dren -up outside the canteen to sing the
'Red flag' in times of industrial conflict.
But I am afraid it is not confined to them.
Listen, for instance, to a- resolution
passed by the Labor Conference at Mar
gate, which proposed the setting up of a
competent works' committee to report
lios- lar the present books, pictures, and
other materials used in the schools foster
a bourgeois psychology, militarism, and
Imperialism, and how far under a. workers'
administration this might be counteracted
.and a proletarian outlook on life.might,
be cultivated.'. ?, ......
"This sort of propaganda is abhorrent to
nearly all feathers, and has "been con
demned repeatedly'bjr the official represen
tatives of the profession.. ?~-.- ?? n??
Not Fit To Teach. ~
"Afflin the ponunuhist leaflet 'circulated
to children informs them that .the Empire
stands for 'everything that's rotten.' The
Teachers; Labor-teagtie in politer but; _J
think," less illuminating language,' circa
*.lar?ses teachers'inviting tiiem, to work, for'
-tie abolition 01 Imperialistic teaching. If,
this means that the childreflin our bSooLs
are not to be taught to; understand and'
io\-e th*e political commHnity of the Bri
tish CominonweaJth of Xations to; srlich
they will owe the practical diAies ol citi
zenship and allegiance when they go out
into life, "then ?t ipiow that no teacher
who woits for the abo!ution of a 2 Ibis is,
fit to teach in our schools, anil that'
schools where children are!taught to'flc-,'
pre<Mte EoMieri like Havetock. and €or
don will soon come, as, alas, some fen
schools are now coming, to refuse to at
tend the village celebration on Armistice
Day.. There is no doubt-that a . good
inauy ordinary people are getting, uncom
fortable about the whole business, and I'
must iraokly say that I cannot wholly" re
assure them." ... - .? -' "-?;
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