In 1950, art dealer and Toronto’s Chairman of the Board of Education, Blair G. Laing, gave a speech to the Empire Club of Canada about the state of modern education and how the education system could be updated to meet the evolving social demands of postwar Canada. He spoke about the role that the school system should play, given the diminishing role of more traditional structures such as the church and the family. Being an art dealer, Laing did not have a background in the field of education, and is therefore approaching this issue with a more detached view.
Laing recalls a time when education was not mandatory, and only the children of the elite would have the opportunity to attend school. Women were not even permitted to attend high school until 1871, and even then, only to study subjects which were considered “ladylike.” Laing says that the education system at this time was a cut-and-dried process, in which everyone was taught the same basic subjects, and everyone was treated the same way regardless of their abilities. However, by 1950, when Laing gave this speech, this method had changed. “The trend, then, has shifted from standardized education to attention to individual needs,” he said. “Along with this has gone greater freedom for teachers, and more emphasis on local initiative.”
The first half of the 20th century came with a host of new technological discoveries, from radio to television to the atomic bomb, and Laing says that the education system must evolve alongside these developments. “The discoveries and inventions I have spoken of have one thing in common–they have tended to reduce the size of our world in terms of space and time,” he said. “A century ago – even 50 years ago – no one in Canada cared much what happened in China, in Korea, in India – or even in Russia. But today, how different things are! The darkness separating us from other peoples has vanished. We live side by side with our neighbours, whether we like them or not. Everything they do affects our lives.”
He said that after two world wars, which were fought against fascism, and the current struggle against communism, the school system must come up with an education plan specifically suited for democracy. While people have been taught to live peacefully within their own community, the focus now must be on living peacefully in a united and democratized world. Laing provides specific examples of how education has met this aim, and how it can further continue to do so. “One example is the increased emphasis laid on Social Studies in our curriculum, and the expansion of its scope,” he said. “Our children are now learning more than ever before about the lives and problems of the peoples of other lands.”
Laing’s speech was titled “Education Today – Are We In Tune With The Times?” and Laing looks to answer this question. “Looking around us, and looking back over the past century, we are certainly entitled to feel proud of our Canadian schools and their teachers, and of the progress that has been made,” he said. “However, legitimate pride is no excuse for complacency.” He said that there is still much to learn
from other countries, particularly in Western Europe. He points out that these countries have a much more experimental attitude and a willingness to try new things to see what works and what doesn’t. With a changing world, it is important that education be willing to change alongside it. He specifically points to strengthening the humanities in Canada as an element essential to the proper development of a sense of world citizenship.”
He concluded his speech saying, “The cost of the necessary changes will be great–but not great in proportion to the issues involved or to the ends to be attained. For what is at stake is nothing less than the survival of civilization itself. Is there any effort we educationists can afford to spare, any cost we can afford to shirk, in making our contribution to this supreme cause? I believe we shall prove worthy of the responsibility laid upon us–of safeguarding education for democracy, education for a free and united world!”
Other speeches about education:
Industrial Education Haney, James Parton April 23, 1908
Education and the Future of Civilization Davies, E. Salter October 3, 1935
What Makes a Good School? Goldring, Dr. C.C. March 11, 1954
The Learning Materials Crisis in our Schools Edwardh, Dr. M.O. January 23, 1975
Technology: The Death of Teaching, a Rebirth of Education Gandz, Jeffrey June 23, 1997
“Excellence For All” Kennedy, The Hon. Gerard January 29, 2004
Written by Silas Le Blanc. Silas Le Blanc is a Toronto based journalist, writer and content creator. She has previously worked at Xtra Magazine, The Varsity, The Review of Journalism and CJRU 1280 AM.