CONCLUSIONS

Why should anyone want to take the new subject? The subject itself would have to be so devised that it was more enjoyable, more practical and more relevant that other subjects. More important if universities, industry and the professional bodies suddenly decided that the new "thinking subject" was really much more relevant to their needs than say history, or physics, then taking this subject would give the pupil a real advantage.

The present mood of employers is such that this could conceivably come about. There would then be pressure on the school from parents and pupils.

Who would teach the thinking subject? There would be no restrictions on this. It could be an English teacher or a maths teacher or an arts teacher or anyone else. The subject would be so constructed that it made no demands on the teachers' inspiration. This would be done by developing self-educating formats with which the pupils could teach themselves. In fact, the subject could be made rather easier to teach than existing subjects because in place of a large syllabus that had to be covered there would be a few basic principles and a lot of practice.

It must seem that the addition of thinking as a subject can only complicate the crowded curriculum but in the long run it will almost certainly simplify it. If it is shown that thinking can be taught directly then the treatment of other subjects can be relaxed to the point where they are treated as interest subjects as suggested earlier. This division into life-tool subjects and culture awareness subjects seems very likely to come about. When the thinking subject joins the important life-tool group those teachers who have acquired experience in this area will be much in demand.

Any secondary teacher who undertakes work additional to his own full load does not have any reward or incentive and, in fact, risks the disapproval of his colleagues. But it might be possible to institute merit awards to heads who started new projects in their schools and the teachers who carried them through.

Interest in the new subject of thinking will come from individual heads and teachers who want to move beyond the limits of traditional subject areas. It is likely that the interest will be slow and cautious at first but might then accelerate to a rush.