Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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11 It was only too common to hear people disparaging education in the broader sense, but if they looked to the honours board at the other end of the hall they would find there a fitting monument to the value of a good education. The Opposer, Mr. Stuart Outerhridge (O.S), said that he would indeed try to show that education was over-rated, while conceding the value of a good secondary education; granting that a secondary education was necessary, he was still of the opinion that there was a tendency to over-rate the value of a university education. Education was one thing, but unless the recipient had ambition it was useless; on the other hand, he who had ambition might achieve much without the aid of higher education. They might recall the oft-quoted words, ' Tame is the spur . . . Let them look around to see who were the successful men in their community and number those who had had a higher educa- tion. In the House of Assembly, for instance, there were compara- tively few. A certain famous man had once attributed his success, not to education but to one-per-cent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration, he had in fact learned from experience, and unless a person was going into one of the professions that was the best passport to success. Even where a higher education was necessary there were books to provide all that one needed, though he was prepared to agree that it was not everybody who had the will-power to utilise the knowledge thus provided. There were undoubtedly certain professions for which a higher education was essential, but he maintained that a youth destined for a business career had better leave school at eighteen, for there was nothing to prevent his rising from rags to riches without the benefit, or drawback, of a university education. Let them ask themselves whether the educated man was gen- erally the successful man, and next whether the successful man was necessarily an educated man. He believed that the value of education was over-rated. W. L. Hallowell, supporting the motion, agreed with the Hon. Opposer ' s observation that hard work was necessary, but it took a long time for the newsboy to beco me a top executive, whereas edu- cation tended to shorten the journey to success. Perhaps the main function of education was to teach the stu- dent to think clearly the learning of Latin provided a good example of the process; one didn ' t use it practically, but it taught one to concentrate, to think long and hard; most people had the ability to think, but not all had acquired the habit or art of thinking.

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10 The Debating Society Get up! Speak up! Shut up! This is a watchword to be commended to all aspirants to suc- cess in public speaking, and wc believe that the robust give-and-take of the school debating society offers an excellent training-ground for acquiring the necessary confidence and facility. Several lively debates have been held held during the past sea- son, culminating in a visi tors ' debate in which two old boys, both of them onetime officers of the society, teamed up with boys of the school to debate the motion — This House believes that the value of education is under-rated. This provocative subject is one of universal interest, and we give a summary of the main arguments adduced. The Proposer, Mr. L. Vorley (O.S.), said that the motion was capable of several interpretations, but probably the opposition would seek to prove that education was over-rated. On this assump- tion, who could be deemed to over-rate education? Possibly the professional societies; they certainly valued it, for they invariably required the attainment of a certain level of education as a passport to the professions. It might be argued that they placed too much emphasis on it; but surely the importance they attached to it must be due to their recognition of the fact that an educated person was better equipped than the uneducated to deal with the problems arising in any of the professions. Entrants to the professions must then have received a good secondary education, as must an applicant for admission to a uni- versity; and nowadays the same was largely true of business, for the problems of the present day were more complex than those of for- mer times, and called for people of broad vision and education. One might get knowledge by practical experience, but still better was the combination of education and practical experience. Then the opposition might point to instances of the self-made man , but they were exceptional, and even these must have acquired education somehow, the only distinction being that they had acquired it more largely through their own personal initiative. Turning from the material to the cultural sphere, the proposer claimed that a good education gave one a greater power of aesthetic appreciation and of intelligent discussion, and in fact enabled one to live a fuller life in the intellectual sense. While conceding the value of a technical education the oppo- sition might seek to disparage the value of an education in the lib- eral arts. What was the use of it? Its value, he believed, lay in the training it gave to the mind: it taught the student how to think, how to use his mind to the best advantage.

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12 Anollicr important -dspcct ol educaiion was its inculcation of civic rights and responsibilities, and its devclopinent ol the per- ceptive faculties. There were different types of government, some good, some bad, and much depended on the degree of education achieved by the citizens who constituted the electorate. Where the people were uneducated it was easier for the dictator to step in. In Western Europe and in the U.S.A. popular courses in civics and associated sttidies figured freely in educational syllabuses; but they appeared there as electives, whereas they were really subjects vital to the stability of the country. Not so long ago in the U.wS.A. twice as much was spent on liquor, and three times as much on cosmetics, as on education. This would seem to indicate an under-rating of the value of education. . R. Murphie, opposing the motion, passed the educational system in general review in an effort to show that an increasing amount of importance was being attached to education, and this contended provided good evidence in rebuttal of the motion. At this point the debate was opened to the rest of the House, and a number of other members added their contributions. The m.otion was then put to the vote and was carried by a majority of six. Other debates held during the past season have been . . . October 21 , 1948: This House prefers Brain to Brawn. Proposer: W. L. Hallowell Opposer: D. .P. Lines Third: J. D. Stubbs Fourth: C. T. M. Collis The motion was carried by eight votes. November 4, 1948: The cult of the comic book is undermining the world. Proposer D. E. W. Lines Opposer: F. C. R. Gillen Third: J. D. Stubbs Fourth: W. L. Hallowell The motion was carried by the narrow majority of two. py bruary 3, 1949: Girls are more useful to their parents than lK ys, Proposer: F. C. R. Gillen Opposer W. L. Hallowell Third: }. R. Murphie