University and Educational Intelligence

Abstract

IN the course of an address delivered on September 4 at the opening of a new secondary school at Preston Lodge, East Lothian, Lord Balfour made some noteworthy remarks on the relation of schools to universities and on the importance of research in pure science. If the university is compelled to act the part either of the primary or secondary school its work is hampered, its utility diminished, and its wheels clogged. The purpose of the secondary school is, however, not merely to prepare students for the university, but rather to give an education by means of which those who are unable to go to the university can face life without feeling seriously handicapped. Referring to the importance of the practical teaching of science, Lord Balfour said he was glad to learn that science is to form a prominent part of the curriculum of the new school, and that it is to be taught by laboratory demonstration and experiments. “Industry in the future,” he said, “must be based upon science.” If industrialists imagine that science can be built up without a disinterested love of knowledge, they fall “into the most grievous blunder.” The multiplication of subjects in modern secondary and university education and the specialisation it entails are regarded by some as disastrous to the progress of education and the highest interests of culture and learning. Lord Balfour stated that, if the dangers of specialisation are kept in view, they can be reduced to a minimum, and the necessary flexibility, variety, and complexity of modern education successfully maintained.