Dedicated to the governing board of
Warrington Academy at which Priestley was a tutor, the treatise argues that the education of young people should anticipate their practical needs, something Priestley accused the current universities,
Dissenting and
Establishment alike, of failing to do. In Priestley's eyes, the contemporary focus on a traditional
classical education prevented students from acquiring useful skills. This principle of utility guided his unconventional curricular choices for Warrington's aspiring
middle-class businessmen. He proposed that students should study the English language and the modern languages instead of the classical languages, learn practical mathematics, read
modern history rather than
ancient history, and study the
constitution and
laws of England. He believed that these topics would prepare his students for the commercial middle-class life that most of them would live; he did not believe that the
poor people should receive this same education, arguing "it could be of no service to their country, and often a real detriment to themselves." ==Impact==