TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 251, 11 July 1918, Page 6

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

__« DISCUSSION OF ITS AIMS. A paper on "Technical Education" wag read by Mr. W. S. la Trobo at the meeting of the technological eeclion of the Philosophical Society last night. Mr. la Trobo spoke of thn rapid growth of industrial organisation, and gave his opinion tluvt it niust bo tho duty of the State to encourage and to regulate the development of the industrial machine, in such manner as to ensure highly-organised production without endangering society. He declared that there was no real reason why organised production should not bo achieved in any industry practised commonly by any people. the youth must bo trained in the most skilful and efficient use of his hands and his faculties for the purposes of production, the State should see that he is also trained in citizenship, that he is taught how to use leisure time, and see also that he is taught to appreciate and enjoy craftsmanship and art in all its aspects and manifestations. A very interesting discussion followed the paper, in which many members expressed the most profound distrust of the propositions.of Mr. la Trobe as to the. things best_ worth striving for in technical education or in any other branch of education. -Some 'of the views expressed would ,be considered 'leterodox among some groups of educationists of to-day, although most of them would have been accepted as axiomatic say fifty years ago. Most, of the speakers were themselves engineers, nnd not all of them would accept tho idea that the State had anything whatever to do with the training of young people to become machine attendants, which, they assumed, was part of any scheme of lighly-organised production. Nor did they admit that ddneation as it was understood in technical schools was very well worth while.