Abstract
EDUCATING THE EDUCATORS A CENTRAL institute for the ambitious scheme of education in the British Army has recently been opened at Eltham Palace, Kent (see p. 527)—an occasion which gives rise to certain thoughts and queries about the nature and progress of this all-important aspect of present-day army life. As Major Hawkins, the chief instructor at the new School, states in his article, this "infant which was perfectly conceived some months ago, is now going through all the pangs of infancy". The same can be said of army education in general, for though there have been some attempts at it for several decades, they have been of a rather minor character and so many new projects have arisen de novo in recent years that one might say the general scheme of army education is still in its infancy. In bringing up any infant, too many advisers might leave both parents and child in such a state of confusion as to cause disaster; nevertheless, it is to be hoped that the parents of this infant will look for criticism from as many authorities as possible and for a long time to come, for there are many authorities on adult education outside the Army. Furthermore, if the various new schemes for education in the Army are based on sound principles, we may visualize army education in due course proving to be one of the most important of all projects in adult education. In this connexion it is gratifying to note that a number of H.M. inspectors (Ministry of Education) are to give the army education authorities the benefit of their experience and criticism after spending some time examining army education in the field. We trust, however, that these specialists will bear in mind that they are dealing with an experiment in adult education and not school teaching—for there is considerable difference between the two.
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Army Education. Nature 156, 513–515 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/156513a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/156513a0