Our Schools in War Time—and After

by Arthur D. Dean

THE GOLD OF FRANCE[1]

France has need of its gold to defend its invaded territory. It is a sacred duty for every French man and woman, rich or poor, to send to the coffers of the State the hundreds of louis from their strong boxes, the few louis hidden in the linen chest at home, even the single louis in the children's toy bank. To keep in one's own possession, selfishly, the money which could serve our dear France is a crime against patriotism. So, little girls, do not hesitate to break open your banks, even if they have only a half louis inside, and gladly take in exchange the note which the Bank of France will give you. More than that, in your vacation in the country, set yourselves to get grandmother to empty her stocking,—she is sometimes rather stingy with her money. But you know well enough how to coax those who love you when you want a toy, or ornament, or bonbons. Use your influence with your grandparents now, so that they will bring into the public treasury the gold of France. In this way you will have contributed to the coming victory that we are all hoping for, you will have helped our brave soldiers to clear away the German whose presence defiles our land. Go, then, all of you! Hunt out all the money that is lying idle. It is for France!

Thus the schools have worked to bring to light the hoarded gold of thrifty peasants for investment in the national loan.

Tangible as this service of the teachers has been to France, of greater importance has been their work of making clear to the villages the cause of France. In November, 1914, the Department of Public Instruction sent out an appeal to the professional and volunteer teachers in the secondary schools, saying that the schools must adapt their program to the duties and needs created by the hostilities.

The teachers will do their best to make the schools serve in the national defense. In the evenings the old men, the youths, and the women will gather together, and the teachers will tell them the news, explain things that happen, speak to them of patriotism, and read to them from our writers whose pages are inspired with the glorious deeds of our history past and present.

It is reported that in the girls' schools in France war has changed the whole aspect of education. History, geography, lectures on literature, subjects for literary composition or moral instruction,—in fact everything,—is treated from the point of view of country and of patriotic duty. In music practically nothing is sung but the "Marseillaise," the "Chant du Depart," and the national songs of the Allies. Reading is confined often to official military orders and reports, while drawings are usually of war material or characters.

It is no less the duty of our teachers to make clear to their pupils the "cause" of America. Soon after the opening of the European war a United States senator traveled through the belligerent countries. His articles on Europe at war commented caustically on the ignorance of the English working people of the cause of the war, and of the purpose for which the Allies were fighting. An article on America at war could truthfully contain like criticism of a considerable portion of our population.

Shortly after the United States entered the war a teacher in one of our largest city high schools, where a large proportion of the pupils are of either foreign birth or foreign parentage, asked 200 pupils of from 14 to 18 years to write a brief statement of what they considered to be the cause of America's entrance into the war. While these answers covered an incredible range of inaccuracy, not one showed an understanding of the events which led to the declaration of April, 1917. "Congress has declared war so that the rich folks can get richer," "We are at war because this is a rich man's country," predominated as replies. When asked what a citizen owed his country in return for political and religious freedom, students replied in as vague and cynical a way as to the first question.

To combat this ignorance of national motives the teacher distributed copies of President Wilson's address of April 2, with the ostensible purpose of analyzing it as an exercise in argument and exposition,—a study which finally resulted in enabling these students to make intelligent, if occasionally unsympathetic, answers to questions regarding the nation's action and policy.

Now to residents of favored parts of the country where the population is English speaking and largely American born, inheriting American ideals and traditions, the ignorance of these high-school pupils seems exceptional, but educators know from experiments made in colleges and secondary institutions that the majority of students are not intelligent on modern events of national significance, any more than is the average worker. Nearly all high schools have in their curriculum the study of current events, whether in history or oral English courses. It is the duty of the teacher to use the study in such a manner as to obtain a patriotic reaction to the topics presented and discussed, and in this manner to make clear why we are fighting and what we are fighting for.