EDUCATION AND GOOD CITIZENSHIP

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 57, 30 November 1917, Page 2

EDUCATION AND GOOD CITIZENSHIP

; FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS. A meeting of the Women's Social In- ', vestigation Society was held in the . Esperanto Rooms, Lambton Quay, yesi terday evening. Miss Marjorio Nicholls presided. Mr. La Trobe and Miss Editli Howes were the speakers, the former taking as his subject "Education and Its Rolation to Good Citiciiship," ancT Miss Howes speakin<* upon certain disabilities under which education, at least in the primary schools, often labours in this country. In dealing with his subject, Mr. Li Trobo spoke of the more or less violent conflict which raged- about education, a conflict which had its root in a real impossibility, the impossibility of reconciling the ideal of materia efficiency with that ideal of human development towards which democratic aspirations must tend, or, at any rate do tend at the present time. The demand that every human being had an inalienable right to develop his powers to the utmost that is in him, the belief , that.in so doing ho would become more valuable to his feliow-men, and would form the perfect unit of the porfect State, led to views on education which must ultimately come to open conflict with the viewe of those who, whether they were concerned merely with commercial or industrial efficiency or whether they sought to apply to the whole social structure the methods and aims of the factory as regarded material' efficiency, yet regarded the human element as so much raw matorial to bo worked in various ways, and made to correlate absolutely with the needs of material efficiency. Tho aim m the one caso was to produce perfect men and women so far as it was possible for each individual. The aim in tho other was fo produce a great human machine, perfect in its co-ordin-ation, with every piece formed for its function, so that the conquest of Nature might be made easy, and material prosperity assured. .. N*- La ; Trobe was of the opinion that tho two ideals were incompatible, also that the forged and tempered parts of a perfectly co-ordinated human machine would better serve to promote material efficiency than the comparatively loose organisation of perfect democrats units. The only possible stabfe human society was that which was materially the most efficient. An essential fact was that in the main the aim of the educational system was to produce good citizens. Before a suitable educational system was formulated, however, clear definitions had to be made first as to what was a good citizen, and secondly how far could he be produced by education. As to what made a good citizen his answer was that a good citizen was that person who led a clean and healthy life, earned a living by honourable toil, married and reared healthy children, and trained them to follow in his or her footsteps. In answer to the second, Mr.

La Trobe considered that mere, learning had little to do with the making of a good citizen. It was only necessary to comparo the records of the learned and unlearned to see that in the main the difference between them was only one of learning. Even while granting that the well-educated person was much more valuable to the State than tho unlearned good citizen, it was open to question whether education would in many cases make a moderately good citizen out of a moderately bad one. To bo taught the theory of good citizenship was one thing, to develop the habit of good citizenship was a totally different thing. The three important things to bo considered in a man or woman wero character, personality, skill, and knowledge. So far as character was a matter of habit, it could bo trained; as far as it was an outward manifestation of the inward personality it defied treatment. Personality, the speaker considered, could neither be created nor altered by any circumstance of training or of bodily or menial habit. Skill and knowledge wsre largely dependent on physical and mental strength, and, of course, eriormousfy influenced by teaching. The first object of education was the training of the young in good habits, and "lie second to promote tho growth of- skill and knowledge,-to assist the personality to gain complete control of mind and body. For this reason there should be no breaks in education. The education of tho primary schools should load- naturally and continuously to that of the secondary school of whatever kind, and that of the secondary should blond with the further education of tho university, the counting-house, tho workshops, or whatover calling might be planned. Always .the parents or guardians should seo that the education in tho home went hand in hand with that : .n the school. Habits should bo carefully trained and when qnco rightly established sedulously practised. For that leason continuity was the most important principle in education. The physical and mental habits which disposed a person to be a good citizen should bo carefully trained. Tho formation of right habits of thought and conduct wore the technical preparation for citizenship, but more was needed. Ho must bo encouraged to boeonie "inspired" in liis work and in his civic duties. His imagination must be fired. He must learn to create as well as construct.

Miss Howes's address is reported elsewhere