The Motor Industry and Education.
Page 2
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THE HE PROPOSED SCHEME of national education recently outlined in the public Press and destined to receive early consideration in the Houses -of Parliament, is one which should be very carefully considered by the leaders of every industry, and subjected to thorough examination and criticism. As applied to motor engineering, it dues hot appear tome to be upon the right lines. Any proposal which aims at continuing the education of every child up to the age of eighteen must he regarded as an attempt to reach the ideal of equal opportunity to all. Unfortunately, perhaps, this ideal is not only unattain, able, but is absolutely negatived by nature. Equal Opportunity cannot possibly be maintained without equal intelligence, and we cannot create intelligence in those who are not blessed with it.
• In my opinion, the interests of the engineering industry would be best served by making the system -of higher education selective instead of general. It is not every boy who is fitted by nature to become a chief engineer or general manager. If the training in elementary schools. were followed by annual pro.cesses of weeding out frem the age of fourteen upwards, more money Could be spent on developing the best l)rains of the nation and less wasted on an attempt to develop in other quartets what is incapable of development because it does not exist. Manufacturers in the engineering industry would, I feel sdre, liOwilling to co-operate to the full in any scheme for permitting young apprentices of ability to eon; tinue their theoretical education alongside of their practical education.
This is sound policy, because it provides opportunity to boys who are capable of rising to the highest positions'. Opportunity should be graded in accordance with intelligence. The future foreman does not want • the same education as the future designer. We must remember that general part-time theoretical training cannot be continued up to the age of manhood without to Some extent disorganizing the system of practical training, and also .tending to put up the worlts cost for goods produced.
At the present moment, a great deal of good teaching ability is being wasted on futile endeavours to ram knowledge into totally unreceptive pupils. The fact that the Wealthy can pay for this waste of valuable energy does not appear to justify us, on the grounds of equality or opportunity, in incurring the same waste throughout the population.
Neither do I believe that there ought to be one standard arrangement applying to all industries. TO my mind, each industry should have a certain amount of latitude in framing its own system of education subject only to certain general regulations -Which should be left as open as possible. I believe that this is a matter to which the motor industry might with advantage address itself, remembering always that those industries which offer the best inducements will be the ones to attract the best brains,