Our Schools in War Time—and After

by Arthur D. Dean

Out of this war we must obtain a new spirit of patriotism. Now is the time to strike. Events depicted in the daily press show how great is the need. In this connection the Council of Defense of Connecticut, in an effective campaign working through the schools, states in a recent publication:

The war is bound to have a deep influence on American life and thought, and we should be watchful to direct this into right channels. The country is shot through and through with the one-sided philosophy that the State is an institution to be leaned upon and filched from, but not to be served. The schools should train the children in the fundamental contract between citizen and State. The idea of mutuality should be developed. The State owes duties to the citizen, but the citizen owes reciprocal duties to the State.

In September, 1914, as soon after the declaration of war as military and agricultural conditions would permit the schools to open, the French Minister of Public Instruction sent an official circular to all of the schools. He stated that the first lesson in every school should be devoted to France: to its present danger and its heroic resistance; to the ideals of humanity and justice for which she fought; to the memory of the valor of her soldiers; to the justice of her cause. He desired to make certain at the earliest possible moment that every school child in France take his part spiritually and intellectually in the epic conflict which France was waging for right and justice.

His decree outlining the first lesson for every child of France expresses so clearly the French attitude and feeling that the following free rendering of the circular letter is well worth reading.

The lycées, colleges, and public schools are about to open everywhere except where the superior need of improvised hospitals in school buildings caring for our glorious wounded renders this impossible.

I decree that on the opening day in every city and in every class the first words of the teacher to the pupils shall be designed to bring the hearts of the pupils into accord with the sacred struggle in which our armies are engaged.

Throughout the entire country at the same hour the sons of France shall pay respect to the spirit of their nation and shall pay tribute to the heroism of those who are pouring out their blood for liberty, justice, and human right.

The words of the teachers on this occasion should be simple and to the point. They should be adapted to the age of their hearers, some of whom are children, some youths. Each of our schools has sent its quota of combatants to the firing line,—professors, teachers, or pupils; the words of the teacher to the class should call forth the noble remembrance of the dead, in order to exalt their example and engrave it forever in the memory of the children. Moreover, in its broad lines, calmly, clearly, they should tell the causes of the war,—the aggression without excuse,—and how before the civilized world, France, eternal champion of progress and right, has been compelled to prepare herself, with her valiant allies, to repel the assault of the modern barbarians.

The furious conflict which we are carrying insistently to victory adds each day to the glory of our soldiers a thousand deeds of heroism from which the teacher may take the best part of this lesson. He should prefer these supreme models of action to the vain repetition of phrases, in order to make a fit impression on the minds of the children.

A vivid recollection of this first school hour ought to remain imprinted forever in the spirit of the pupil, who is the citizen of to-morrow. The teacher who has known how to make this impression will remain worthy of the confidence of the republic.

America too will have its lesson sheets, and a most timely one on "Lessons of the Great War in the Classroom" has been prepared for teachers of history by the National Board for Historical Service (Washington, D.C.) with the distinct purpose of suggesting certain aspects of history, ancient and modern, which have gained a new interest in the light of the great war. The following excerpts are extremely suggestive of special opportunities and obligations for teachers in school service:

There is the duty of keeping, for teacher and for pupil, the habit of at least trying to see things as they really were and are.... Every great war is fought not merely by armies and navies, but by the governments at home which direct the fighting forces.... No one can take an intelligent part in a great conflict for the safety of democracy under an orderly system of international law unless he is really interested in and knows something about other nations than his own.... There is some connection between the conditions which made the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates one of the great seats of ancient civilization and those which are making Mesopotamia to-day one of the chief theaters of the great war.... This terrible catastrophe, with its wholesale destruction of the finest products of human civilization, its life and death struggle between opposing nations and opposing ideals, has seemed a reason for thinking not less but more of the great mysterious forces which brought about the rise and decline of the ancient empire.... Great campaigns are again carried on where Xenophon marched with his famous Ten Thousand, where Alexander the Great led his armies to the conquest of the East.... The opportunity must now be seized to study the whole of Europe and its influence on and connections with the rest of the world.... Some account should be given of the way in which the ruling class in Prussia has been able to use science, modern business methods, and social legislation in the service of the military state.... War is the business not only of governments but of the nation as a whole, and there are few kinds of human activity which do not have some relation to its success or failure.... We are fighting partly, indeed, to defend international law on the high seas, but partly also to make the world, not merely America, "safe for democracy."

Teachers are recognized as the instructing force of America. If they are not, who is? If the country sorely needs clear, definite, authentic information on the situation of the world and our own position as a belligerent power, who is to give it if not the teachers? It is they who must inform and arouse. It is they who ought to participate in a speaking campaign which should be as deep as the danger, as wide as the country, and as high as the patriotic spirit of the people. They should be distributing agents for printed material which analyzes the subject, and should be able to refer to the best and most available authorities and to put before pupils and the public the texts of the most important speeches, diplomatic notes, and other approved material to back up statements of fact.

Strange as it may seem, it is the children's convictions which take effect not only when as children they carry word to their parents but also when they come out of childhood into adult life.

Was the boy in the New York high school right when he said, "It is a Wall Street war"? Are our enemies justified in charging us with the same motives of self-interest and the abasement of other nations which animated themselves? Are we really at war for conquest or seizure, or for the benefit of commerce, or for defense against aggressions that have not yet been made? And is it a dollar war for bankers and ammunition makers?