The plans of the Nationalist Government, az shown at the recent Educational' Conference at Nanking, include a wide area of reform and progress, If only a. part of item can be carried out, China will Bet more-schools and the standard literacy should go up tu the next few years." Busy as one yratehes the reports of conferences and the efforts of local governments to carry them out, one is conscious of fu attitude of mind in the leaders That goes far to stultify all their ideas," By its very definition, educa ton should be a process off adver tare and exploration; in Chinay it seems to be a fixed thing, to be applied "rather than "discovered. Even it it were certain that the Spe. of school established "in. the West "were suited to. Chinese students, there would be great anger "in. trying' to. standardize anyone kind of School. And since Ghinese civilization and ealture has set to develop in its new background international relations, the tuck freedom and encouragement. Experiment will not only result the same dead level of ineficleney But Will drive people. with enter Drise and initiative out of the Dro-Fession of teaching-from the ory ince where they are needed most.
'The history of education shows that "progress has been made, not by' the establishment of uniform pattern of institution—all teaching the same thing in the someway but "by. the experiments of dividuals who have worked out their Sdeas' in private schools and then seen them adapted "with, amazing Fapidity, "The examples of Proebel, Snundetvon, Dewey and: Montesor!
too well own to. need any Surther explniation' Through the work of people like these, "eden: tional "methods in the: West have deen revolutionized in a generation, In the tate schools there are, of course, certain codes for guidance {hough even there a very wide latin fide. is. allowed. for experi private schools, as long as. they Tench a certain sanitary. standard Tt "in a matter of considerable
education in China, this policy whether, at the present state of registering all schools is not Seltstestructive, "Even, more to' deplored. inthe increasing stream fof regelations, interfering. with the Internal "conduct of the' school; must take an examination, the Sncome and numbers of the. school aust reach a certain level, the sub-Jects of the curriculum are fixed dnd attempts are made to prescribe textbooks, By these and. many ther ordinances, "the authorities Sindor the "work of anyone whose stand-point is not precisely that of the' local educational. affeer who ay, or may not he a man interest fed fu education.
Te'is, therefore, pleasant to des: credo an institution whose leaders ar determined to preserve its inde Dendence of action even at the cost of its lite, Miss P. 8, Tseng, the Principal "of the T, Fang. isle Gollegiato School, Changsha, feels very strongly that it vould be beter close her school than to allow Sts individual characteristics Gestroyed, I Bang was opened. fu 3018 and was registered. at the time, but until the last three years the authorities made no attempt to interfere with Miss Teeng's methods, The students mostly come from the older families and in the part had had the "el {Chinese education—learning by heart the Classics. A great emphasis therefore, placed on. Chinese ies, and, though the type of student who comes fromthe modern Primary schools is far less well-prepared, the Chinese classics are still used'as text-books in place of the collections of modern essays, Schools. now put out for uso in Middle
The methods of study follow an English. plan, The aim being to teach the girls to learn by thomselves, qhere are prevails in many schools. minimum of subjects is taught but tthe girls are encouraged. to carry out independent projects for themselves, 'There are no afternoon and evening classes and the girls are entirely responsible for order in the classrooms and dormitories. 6 committees carry out. the rangements for social functions ind for various' school activities with very Tittle help from the staff, The funds of the societies are in the students hands and are audited by a general school meet ing once a term, Since 1998 the Budget of the school has been shown to the girls who elect a committee to check.the monthly expenditure. In the matter of religious teaching, Miss Tseng holds that it should not be a question of voluntary or compulsory" prayers but that the whole question goes back to the basic one of religious liberty and should be fought out on those grounds, The entrance form states clearly that the school is Christian and that the students are expected to listen to Christian teaching from the Principal. Anyone who is not pre-Pared to do this can go elsewhere. At the beginning of every term, Miss Tseng explains at length that all givls attend the morning meeting—reading of the Bible and short address—but that anyone desires may withdraw before the Prayer. No one has ever done so or objected to the teaching receiv.
The most successful of Miss. Tedng's experiments in I Fang has been the free discipline and self government of the school" which has resulted in very happy ¢o-operation between the staff and the students. The school began twelve years ago with eight girls and at its inception Miss Tseng proposed that a school union should be formed in which staff and students, should take an equal part. A Constitution has been gradually worked out and now I the business of the school is transacted at meetings, presid-over by the elected School President, Few infant societies have been faced with so many and complicated problems. 'The union was hardly on its feet when other schools began to, start students' unions (excluding the staff) and to suggest an United Student Society for Changsha, In 1919, a mob of students burnt Japanese goods in public and the Governor replied by arresting some Jof the leaders. Excited meetings were held, calling for a general strike, arrest of the Governor and other wild demands, and when the I Fang representatives urged more moderate councils, the extreme seetion arranged a secret meeting and ordered a general strike to begin. I Fang students soon gained a te-putation that did not make for popuularity; they attended meetings regularly, they were always ready to undertake public service and were active in raising money for fami Jor other funds, but they steadily refused to add to disorder more di order, by striking or parading and this independence of action forced them to resign from the Changsha Students' union in 1920, During the next ten years there have been many occasions when, such a resolution has been tested; the Washington Conference, the killing of the Peking students, the Shanghai incident, the Wan) affair and the Communist paganda all made profound agitations among the Hunan students Jand it was a severe test of patriotism to stand aside from the popular expressions of disapproval. The re-Jeords of the union contain accounts Jof many meetings held to discuss what action should be taken at. these times of national and local discussions were by no some members; wished to join with other students; others demanded a more constructive method and suggested that handbills should be distributed, or public meetings held or that small deputations should visit the authorities and present the case quictly and reasonably.
"At such meetings Miss Tseng usually states her point of view but, by tacit understanding with hey! cousin, a member of the staff, the other side of the ease is also given and the students are left to decide for themselves." Everyone has a chance to say her say, for not the least unusual feature of this school is the elasticity of its time-table. A. meeting is more important' than lessons, homework or meals and if the debate is heated it may well last all the morning or-half the night.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.