“Athletics is the universal language,” an editorialist asserted in the Howard University campus newspaper in the spring of 1924. “By and through it we hope to foster a better and more fraternal spirit between the races in America and so to destroy prejudices; to learn and to be taught; to facilitate a universal brotherhood.” Such sentiments had been enunciated since the turn of the century. But it was during the interwar years that the athletic ideal resonated most intensely for various commentators on the prospects for racial reform. Capturing the belief shared by numerous African American leaders that the football gridiron and baseball diamond, the track oval, and even the boxing ring offered significant platforms for proving equality, the Howard student writer carefully articulated the widespread desire that black athletes might engage white society in a broad-based dialogue about democratic principles and practices. Ideally, the success of African Americans in sport would provide powerful lessons in “interracial education.”

In 1929 the University of Toronto inaugurated a two-year diploma course in physiotherapy. This decision, the university stated, had come “in response to requests of organizations and individuals interested” in the establishment of such a course. Indeed, the course resulted from the sustained efforts of a group of energetic women during the previous decade. These women were committed to building a new “women's profession” in the health sector. In Canada the occupation of physiotherapy emerged from the Great War, as part of the federal government's commitment to the rehabilitation of returning wounded and disabled soldiers. Founded in 1920, the Canadian Association of Massage and Remedial Gymnastics (CAMRG) was a direct outgrowth of the communication links, social bonds, and relationships that were formed by those pioneer practitioners who served during wartime, the large majority of whom were women. The CAMRG leaders then set out to establish high educational standards for practitioners. Hence, they promoted the creation of a university-level course, which was perceived as a direct path toward professional status.

The matter of religion and the schools has again surfaced in the public forum, both in Canada and the United States. Public officials, private groups, and individual parents have shown renewed interest in the place of religion in education. The decline of established religion, the erosion of personal religious involvement, and the increased ignorance of the historical role of religion have been linked to its absence in the public schools. Furthermore, some see the waning of public morality and Christian values as reciprocally related to the complete secularization of public education. All of this has sparked intense debate. Concern regarding a religiously hollow curriculum, an absence of moral guidance, and a lack of spiritual vision in public education is growing. Also on the rise is the number of parents choosing private schools, even home schooling, for their children.