On the Origin of the Idea of Adults As Learners in Canada:

A tiny piece of Intellectual History

of Canadian Adult Education in the 20th century

Moses Coady's little book, Masters of their own destiny, published in 1939, was borne out of considerable pain and suffering. To prepare for this text, during a period when he was having serious heart troubles, Coady had invited several Antigonish Movement activists to offer commentary and observations on different aspects of the movement. He had written his cousin, Father Jimmy Tompkins, to help him determine when the radical idea that adults could learn had begun to take hold in Western liberal democracies. Tompkins pinpointed a momentous occasion: a conference called by Mr. Keppel of the Carnegie Corporation, which had been held in New York in June 1924. There, Keppel had asked those gathered what "America was thinking on the subject of learning for adults" and what they thought of the British book The Way Out. "We did not even seem to know how to pronounce the word 'adult' in this connection, Tompkins exclaimed. And we certainly knew little scientifically in regard to the ability of adults to imbibe knowledge at various ages." Keppel informed Tompkins that the renowned American psychologist, Edward Thorndike, had begun to investigate the subject; in 1928, the text Adult Learning appeared. Focusing on chapter 13, 'Practical Applications,' Tompkins had discovered that "there was nothing new in it. We had believed the very same things and had been acting upon them. Here is the point: I had been telling the fishermen the same story from January 1923 onwards, but the answer came back - we have no schooling, pity we are so old. It is too late now, etc. etc. I opposed to these escape mechanism the scientific study of Thorndike and floored them... After I got the Thorndike theory over, I heard no more excuses. The fellows back down and realized we had been on the right track and the scientific study by Thorndike settled the question. So you see this book Adult Learning was for us an important milestone on the way." (Tompkins to Coady, January 26, 1939).

 Submitted by Michael Welton- 2006

Site Sponsored by the University College of the Fraser Valley

Contact Editors