Miisic i,z education
Taken together, these schools and classes cover, at most, 20 per
cent of the school population; and I hasten to add that, for reasons
of financial economy, the specialized teachers in the divisions attached
to the middle schools and even to higher-grade establishments, who
have qualified for a pension, are not at present being replaced.
Unless energetic action is taken, the small percentage of school pu-
pils who are given an introduction to music will gradually diminish
to nothing.
In the light of these preliminary observations it is clear that, apart
from certain classes taken by primary teachers who are also musicians,
music is taught only in those where the specialist plays a part. This
must be recorded before we come to the substance of the question.
Does work with a specialist meet all needs? Again the reply is in
the negative. The qualifying examination for teachers in middle schools
requires evidence of possession of the knowledge required for training
pupils of between 12 and 15 years of age. It provides a few openings
for qualified musicians, who usually come from our Royal Conserva-
tories and possess some general culture. Until lately these musicians
also taught primary pupils in the preparatory divisions of the middle
schools and in the &he$ (secondary schools). It would be over-opti-
mistic to claim that all were fully successful in their task, and it would
really be belittling the difficulty of understanding a science that, from
Plato’s day to our own, has been the subject of myriad works in which
philosophers, moralists, teachers and psychologists have delved to the
depths of their thought.
The need for the teacher to have a thorough knowledge of child
psychology and pedagogy-the two main branches of every educa-
tional system-is in inverse ratio to the age of his pupils. The younger
the children are, the more thorough must the teacher’s training be.
Only so can he acquire the essential equipment for what I would call
‘the promise of success’.
Far be it from me to advocate entrusting the child to pedagogical
‘fanatics’ or, alternatively, to musicians alone. In the present state of our
higher music teaching, we find no trace of concern to produce future
teachers, and those who preside over the tests instituted by the Ministry
of Education for the certificate of music education are familiar with the
deficiencies and gaps in the knowledge of many candidates who hold
the most authentic diplomas awarded by our Royal Conservatories.
The student teacher, in possessing a professional training denied to
the specialist, has a definite advantage; on the other hand, his plainly
inadequate technical and aesthetic training places him in an obvious