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WOMEN & PUBLIC LIFE

DANGEROUS APATHY

(By "Imogen.") In glancing over the results of the school committee elections held on Monday evening a somewhat astonishing fact was revealed by the published reports of the meetings, and that was that out of seventeen committees elected there we.ro only three upon which any women at all were appointed. On The Terrace School Committee two women's names wero among the members elected, on the Worser Bay Committee another two, and on the Wadestown Committee one woman, And yet women have bad the right to sit upon school committees for' about a quarter of a century. Apparently mothers are not at all interested in the conditions that govern the school life of their children. The school to which they may send them may be insanitary and badly ventilated, school furniture way be of a type tha.t is bad for their physical wellbeing, even the lavatory accommodation may be utterly insufficient (and that such has been the case was Irought before the attention of a women Ifachers' meeting some time agp), and yet mothers are not even interested enough to inquire ahout such matters, much less take active steps to remedy them if they need remedying. It has been 6aid in self-defence by some women that thoy were far too busy with their homes, with young children to see to and a house to manage, without help of any kind, they found impossible to take an tctive interest in outside matters, but against that it inny bo argued that such is not the case with every woman, and there nre many with time and leisure who could act for those who are not so fortunately situated. If women in other countries can so act there is no reason why they cannot do the same thing hero. It is incredible that women can be content to send their ■children into buildings that have long ceased to afford adequate accommodation for the numbers who now go there, with the result that every room is crowded to the point of suffocation. As for the poor unfortunate, almost dazed teacher, who go frequently has to grapple with classes that should only be half their numbers', the only wonder is that sanity has not long ago departed from her. Add to such conditions the hideous playgrounds allotted to the children, playgrounds in which there is seldom anything of beauty to look at, indeed, more often walls or fences covered with advertisements for corsets, or somebody's whisky,'or hoot polish,, and one ceases to wonder that there is such a dearth of artistic sense shown by the. community at large. It is nothing less than a crime to give children unbcaut.iful surroundings, and that (his was recognised l>y the ancients wns shown by the faot that even before their children were born prospective mothers were kept away from everything that was ugly or likely to call up unpleasant associations, 'if such care were take.n of the unborn child it must be even more necessary to provide pleasant surroundings in which to train tho budding intelligence of the child when it is going to school.

If woriien were on school committees would it be possible that the following conditions should be allowed to exist, in connection with a school in the Auckland district? "Perched on the top of a hill," saysthe writer, "exposed to all the winds that blow, unpainted, weatherbeaten, and dilapidated, stood the remains of a church now used as a.school. From the roof to the ground on either side were three heavy stays, evidently for the purpose of keeping the building in an upright state From out one end arose a stove-pipe,.rusted almost out of recognition, and "with numerous holes in it, while not one window had its complement of window panes. This latter point, however.- was explained by the fact that none of the windows would open. Perfect ventilation was aided by holes in the walls.and roof which could be closed up on occasions by pasting brown paper over. Cobwebs and dirt were a mere item. The floor was caked with dirt, and tho appearance in general led one to believe that a cleaning such as it had not had during the past three years would not be amiss." But why go on? That-such a state of things should be possible is nothing les3 than a disgrace to everyone concerned, educational authorities and parents'alike.' ■-.'.' ' '<

The apnthy of New Zealand women in matters of a public nature has been a source of great surprise to Englishwomen who have come to this country. At Home there is hardly a branch of civic life in which women are not actively interested; and although it is only a matter of two or three months since they have obtained the franchise the part they played in public life was infinitely more important than that played bv New Zealand women. With the Old World in the melting-pot, however, it is not possible for the Dominion to escape from the turmoil of rebirth, and if they are to bo of something more than negative virtue, the women of this country will need to wake up or else sen their heritage of freedom 6lip from their grasp, end they themselves relegated to a depressingly nlimire br.ilcirrnund humiliating to women of intelligence and spirit.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19190416.2.18

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 173, 16 April 1919, Page 5

Word count
Tapeke kupu
885

WOMEN & PUBLIC LIFE Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 173, 16 April 1919, Page 5

WOMEN & PUBLIC LIFE Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 173, 16 April 1919, Page 5

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