Rough draft in summer holiday, ’43—printed in Xmas ’43.
Training for democracy? zpn zwt zsr zsd
This is a criticism of the internal organisation of schools, and a broad indication of the changes I believe to be necessary to ensure a greater development of the democratic spirit and way of thought. …
My chief contention is that education for life in a democratic state must entail to some extent the practice of democracy, while the existing forms of school government are essentially authoritarian. Nobody will deny that discipline is essential for the proper running of any community, but I contend that the essence of democracy is that this discipline should be, to the greatest possible extent, self-imposed.
How far this principle of self-imposed discipline can be applied to schools can only be shown by experiment; a democracy is always limited by the maturity of its members. As things are, orders from above with no discernible basis of reason, and rules with no apparent basis of necessity, have disastrous effects; besides being unnecessarily cramping to the individual, they cause all rules, whether reasonable or not, to be regarded with contempt, and popular approval is even accorded to the law breaker who is not found out. …
So far I have spoken of the school system from the point of view of one who is yet to attain the dizzy heights of prefectship, and my remarks cannot be applied altogether to these exalted beings… [but] I have only too frequently suffered, and been angered by, the gropings of prefects after a proper attitude to their power, and I have observed with interest the development, through stages of officiousness or of negligence, of the ability to lead, or shall I say to order without rousing resentment?
No doubt this process has been very valuable to them, especially as preparation for service as officers in the armed forces, but I am dubious if it has been the best means of inculcating, in them or in us, a proper sense of citizenship. …
I can well believe that during the latter period of colonial expansion, when our school system was established, leadership, especially military, was in great demand, and I can well imagine that any kind of
