My Impressions of England

Last month Mrs. Widad Maqdisi Cortas, president of the Ahliah National College for Girls, returned from a journey to England, where she represented Lebanon, together with her husband Mr. Emile Cortas, at the world conference of the "Quakers" held in the city of Oxford.

We are pleased to have her speak here of her educational impressions from this journey, in view of the distinguished place Mrs. Cortas occupies in the higher cultural circles...

Q — Do you feel, Mrs. Cortas, now that you are back in Lebanon, that your journey, and the impressions you formed of it, brought a benefit equal to the effort spent on it?

A — I am with those who say that travel is a second school, for the benefits and pleasures a person reaps in the course of a well-planned journey are beyond counting and beyond price.

Q — I do not think I differ with you there; but I should like you now to be kind enough to speak to our dear readers of what you observed in whatever concerns educational and family matters — I mean what relates to woman. Is what we hear about the collapse of the Western family in general true?

A — In my opinion, the collapse that has befallen the Western family in general has had but little effect on the English family, because "tradition" holds a distinguished place in the upbringing of the English; the Englishman forever holds fast to it and keeps it..

Q — True, this is a clear feature of the English character. Do you think, then, that woman has had a hand in preserving the English family from collapse?

A — Of course. I believe the greatest credit for the steadfastness of the English family in the face of the current of family disintegration goes to woman: it is she who saved the family and society from collapse... Wondrous is the serenity that shows on her face, despite the tight rationing and the stinting in daily life; she is forever ready to work, and wholly content with the present situation, however harsh and straitened, without any grumbling...

Q — And perhaps this way of hers in living is reflected in every member of her family, so that none of them shows any contrary behavior — that is a well-known educational theory, and it is fine to see it applied with such simplicity and meeting with such results.

A — If you could only see how astonishing the results of this upbringing are... The English woman has so managed the present circumstances — harsh as they are — that the family is able to secure a happy, contented life..

Q — And how did she manage that, Mrs. Cortas?

A — By resorting to simplicity of living; for one of the most striking features of English life today is the subordination of material things to spiritual values.

Q — Would that you would kindly make clear what you mean by giving some examples..

A — I visited a number of middle-class families and lived among them for days, and I watched closely how these families live in small houses, some of them no larger in area than one big room, yet fitted with all the necessities of life, most comfortable and clean. I noticed, for instance, that the bookcase holds first place in the home; in some of these families the wife was working while the husband completed his higher studies, and the two cooperated in the affairs of the household. In short: the English people have given up their material comforts and settled into simplicity of living in all its aspects..

Q — And what place do dinner invitations hold, for example, in the life of the modern English family?

A — As regards invitations, I noticed that the family there has turned away from them entirely; occasions of eating do not take up much of their time. Most of their hours are given to broadening their study and learning,

and to general social service.

Q — ... And does their view of learning differ from our own view of it?

A — The West no longer looks upon learning as sufficient in itself, but as a means to an end — the endeavor to make human beings happy and to improve their living. A country like England has found happiness by harnessing learning to positive, productive work... The English people feel a great responsibility to use their learning and knowledge for the sake of a better life, not only for themselves, but for society as a whole.

Q — You have touched a sensitive chord, and hinted quietly at one of the weak points in our own people; for on the whole we are "individualists" — each of us works for himself, while our readiness for collective work is very weak..

A — And in truth, what most stirs my admiration and respect for the English people is their sense of public responsibility, their respect for regulations and laws, their confidence in their government, and the merging of the individual's interest in the interest of the whole; therein lies the secret of their success and their steadfastness in the face of currents and calamities.

And perhaps the frailty of this trait among us is likewise one of the causes of our failure in the causes that demand sacrifice, solidarity, and unity of opinion... And now, Mrs. Cortas, let us move on to speak of the state of the English school, for you have no doubt acquainted yourself amply with this subject... Did you find the English school provided with the "requirements of comfort"?

A — On the contrary; bodily comfort, relatively speaking, is available in our schools here to a far greater degree, and I find no explanation for that but the English attachment to their traditions and their desire to accustom their sons to a rough way of living — this is a striking feature in most of their schools. Imagine that His Majesty King Faisal II, when he was at Harrow, used to carry the water pitcher some distance in order to wash his face and hands, because the nearest water tap was far from his bedroom... And this in the city of Oxford, famous for its high institutions of learning: most of its boarding schools are without hot baths, and the students take on great hardship to wait upon themselves..

Q — And what features in the schools for the little ones caught your attention, Mrs. Cortas?

A — Yes, I noticed that English children are brought up to rely on themselves and to be independent. A boy of eight, for example, rides his bicycle, or the electric train, a long distance to his school, with no grown person accompanying him. And the family takes care that every child should have a room of his own, even if that obliges them to divide a room with a partition of cloth or of cardboard — the important thing is that the child be raised to independence, and thus enabled to show his natural gifts and his individual capacities.

Q — And what is the standing of the state schools in

England, compared with the private schools?

A — The standard of the state schools in England surpasses that of the private schools in both standing and learning... And this goes back to the people's confidence in their government and its authority... Here is where true democracy is founded, and here confidence between the school and the parents grows great, so that the fathers give up all direct responsibility and leave the school administration entirely free to decide their children's future.

Q — You mean, Mrs. Cortas, that the school decides the students' future without sounding out the fathers' opinion? And how is that done?

A — In the modern English schools, when a pupil reaches the age of twelve, the administrative council meets and decides his case: either he continues his academic studies until he finally enters one of the universities, or he is transferred to one of the vocational schools — all of which are respected — if opinion is unanimous that the pupil's gifts of hand surpass his gifts of mind..

Q — That is fine.. and it means the English have triumphed over the notion that "the hand has no value without the head."

A — Yes; and the English people hold the vocational schools in the deepest respect, and the greatest Englishman does not disdain to send his children to them if it appears that their bent is vocational rather than academic.

Q — This is a feature deserving of respect; would that we had some of it, for I notice that we all want a university education for our children, whether its stages come easily to them or hard; and we have overlooked the fact that strengthening our vocational schools is among our first national duties, for working hands are few, and they do not meet with the high, respectful regard they deserve, and so our children turn away from them.

And finally, Mrs. Cortas, are there any special educational counsels with which we might close this talk of ours?

A — My counsel to the women in charge of raising the young is to treat their girl students as individuals, and not to crush their morale and thereby expose them to the "inferiority complex." We need to develop the individual bents in our girls, and to encourage them to respect and take up the free professions... The teacher's task is delicate and arduous, and calls for skill and art...

Q — God rest Shawqi, who said:

The teacher came near to being a prophet's messenger —
Stand for the teacher; render him his full honor.