The report goes on to say that, in a sense unknown to former generations, England has become a part of Europe; and in the interest not merely of commerce but of the intelligent conduct of national affairs an adequate knowledge of the languages—and, through the languages, of the literatures, histories, and civilizations of European countries—should be in the possession of a far larger proportion of its population than in the past. It states that particular subjects of instruction in the high schools and institutes cannot be divorced from the consideration of their organization and of their curricula as a whole, if a proper balance of studies is to be secured and if higher education is to be truly liberal and humane in its spirit and influence. It insists that access to the schools must be rendered easier for native ability wherever it is found, and affirms again and again that the needs of the nation cannot be satisfied merely by changes affecting higher education or by a provision of educational facilities confined to scholars of special gifts and abilities. It closes by saying that the future will make new and increased demands, especially in a democratic community, on the health, character, and intelligence of every citizen; and these demands can only be met by comprehensive and far-reaching improvements and developments of elementary education.
Military engineering will become a popular and necessary part of the curricula of our colleges and technical institutes. A class in suspension-bridge work at Wentworth Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.
Military preparedness of college boys and schoolboys includes other activities than merely drilling. Trench drainage, one of a score of war emergency courses, at Wentworth Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.
Returned convalescent soldiers, who would be idle but for the opportunity offered to brush up their education. Ogden Military Convalescent Hospital.
A corner of the printing and photo-engraving shop at Manitoba Military Convalescent Hospital, Winnipeg. These men have been assigned to courses of reëducation because of inability to return to their former occupations.
The individual-industrial-efficiency idea which we obtained from Germany will have to be interpreted in America not for military purposes, but in terms of personal and vocational service for the nation. Just as the academic militarism of the Old World has been found wanting and has been gradually transformed into the mobilization of all forces behind the lines on an entirely new basis and conception of what may be done by a people in time of war, so we in this country shall learn that we may in times of peace, through efficient and effective living, prepare for defense. In this preparation we may learn that improved elementary education, that vocational training, that bringing into the schools the Boy Scout spirit, that teaching of sanitation and personal hygiene, that organizing our courses on a unit and project basis, that developing systems of student service in school life, that extending school facilities to adults, and a hundred other things which have been thought of as fads and pedagogical idiosyncrasies will, to quote the New York State law relative to military equivalents, "specifically prepare for service useful to the state in the maintenance of defense, in the promotion of public safety, in the conservation and development of the state's resources, or in the construction and maintenance of public improvements." Truly, a program for peace as well as for war.