YOUTH MOVEMENTS

Chronicle (Levin), 10 April 1946, Page 4

YOUTH MOVEMENTS

Their Importaocetathe CoflinwtBty ; - " ■ 11 " TALK TO ROTARIANS The importa-nee of youth mov-e-ments in a community and the valuable part they could play in -the building of an intelligent, healthy and vigorous young womanhooa , and manhood was stressed by Mr. I-aylor, who has come to reside in Levin after almost forty years in the . teaching prof ession, during a ,talk as guest speaker at the Levin Rotary Club's weekly limcheon on Monday. Mr. Taylor said that machine production had very much reduced working hours in the industrial sphere. The problem had arisen as co what use could be made of the greater leisure hours, and it was one which# was closely lin'ked wij;h youth work and adult -education. Times had changed and ther.e had b.e3h a breaking away from the •spiritual anchorages of earlier days. This was reflected in the poor attendances at churches and the waning interest in music, literature, art and drama, and if that spiritual fervour of the past could be -restored it would go a long way towards solving the problem. There was a great need for the provision of increased facilities for the study and advancement of, music, literature, art and drama. There had been a breakdown in our rural life, the speaker continued, r-esulting in a drift of young people to the cities. Young girls left their homes to live under alien roofs in ! the cities, where they were prized largely for their labour yalue. Youths departed from their country homes to seek employment in the cities, there more often than not to join the wrong company and f-ollow gambling, drink and other vices, with little chance of rising in the social scale. The outcome -was ■an alarming rise in the number of young people finding their way into the courts before they were twenty years of age. Youth to-.day was suffiering in many cases from the wrecked foundations of domesticity. Many young people left home at a time when they required the guidance of their parents, and fwhen ;they were in need of a vigorous family life and home influence. Mr. Taylor r.eferred to the quick changing of employment in the cities, and the unsettled feeling which existed wifih it. Many young people drifted from one position .to another, he said. The fault in ithis connection had been stated to lie to a great extent with the large industrial firms, because Workers had no Idea of the purpose of -their work, they had no share in' it and no .sa-y, fostering an attitude of little interest as to whether t.hey jemained in the position or left -it to fi-nd another. It had been found that talks by exeeutives to their staffs had created an interest in their occupations, and consultations had assisted in giving a feeling of purpose to their work. In conclusion Mr. Taylor said that if young people could only be brought into clufos and orgaaiisations very great progress co.uld be made in solving the problem. As an example he referred to the fine achievements of young farmers clubs, where talks, demonstrations, dances and other useful ways of spending leisure were .organised. There was no direction in the activities of the clubs, but the members arranged and participated in their functions, which afforded outstanding opportunities for self-exp.ansion. T'hen there were community centres, where it was necessary to have trained people to ■direet activities. Mr. Taylor said he had seeiY them working most successfully in England, where young people met under ideal conditions-for various types of recreatioii. ; At Feilding, with Mr. H. D. Somerset "as director, there was a fine community centre, It was exceedingly popular with young people and a wide variety of aetiv-i-ty was covered. At the conclusion a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Taylor was carried by acclamation. i W