EDUCATION AND MORALS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 246, 11 July 1919, Page 8

EDUCATION AND MORALS

Sir—Ever'since the Hon J. A. llananv was called to be Minister of Education' he has been foreshadowing reforms, and even before he attained Ministerial rank Mr. Hanan was quite an idealist in educational reforms. After some years the honourable gentleman is still dissatisfied, with our education system, but lie would make it wider and more efficient. Those are the ideals it seems, however, that the Hon. J. A. Hanan is unable lo realise as Minister of Education. \

■Mr. Burton considers it satisfactory, however, to know that the Minister of Education is dissatisfied, for dissatisfaction is, he says, the foe of stagnation. That is well, but ft dissatisfied Miniscer is, or has been, so far utterly unable toinstitute educational reforms." For years there lias been a demand for ;mproveinent in the teaching staff of our priuioy schools, and it is in the staff that Miefoundations of our education are lishe.d. How can the service of education bB made attractive to men and women of ability if the merest pittances arc offered to them 1 ' as a reward for the ; highest services in the land? Our education system—if there is any deterioration in it-is due to this primary cause, and to this-primary cause.alone, 'J lie teaching profession is the worst paid r.rofession in the Dominion, and it is thi" profession on which the future intclli- ■. nonce, morals, and efficiency of the nn ; ?, lion rest. What lias the Minister 01 Education done to make the teaching profession more attractive to the best and brightest brains of .the community? I'rcret that I cannot agree with Mr. Burton in his idea that our free, socuiar and compulsory system of education .has not had an elevating tendency. Admitted that there arejfanlts 111 the system, admitted that our young people- arc ioiider of pleasure; moving pictures, and that perhaps a section of the community w <le sirous of witnessing the morally objectionable type of film-these are r.iera phases, ephemeral and fleeting, pn, the part of a section of the community. The morals and standard of tnought of tin"* •"•aeration are higher than the standards of morals and of thought in pro* balily any preceding one. There may.. have been mora prudery, more mu'al self-consciousness, and greater prctenco among our grandmothers of the early and middle Victorian period; but the morals of that period, judged by the crime and '••■imiiuility of thaf time, were not as high' as tlio moral life of the present generation assessed by the same standards. A tree must be judged by its fruits. Since the establishment of our f ree, secular and compulsory system of eduction , nil forms of crime have diminshed Te"lativolv to population, awl"Mr. Jus*"* Cooper, speaking from- the Bench in Auckland, indicated that education and 'full employment were the best saleguards against criminality. Sir Robert Stout has taken more than one occasion during recent years to demonstrate by the statistics available to him that our education lias lessened crime, and therefore raised the morals, and, it must bo conceded, the intelligence and arbsbw ideals 1 and living-standards ot uir people. Education diversifies tastes, it 'widens the outlook and impart, higher standards of life and living among a people. Let any- man survey the coun- ■ tries of the world and he will find that nowhere are the standards of living igler thah- they are in this Dominion. Let Mr. Burton, or any other moralist, uk an educated and thoughtful soldier from W Mf ' or England, and he will bo told that lose countries tolerate vulgar and demoralising amusemen s, such as have ever been heard of in this country. \ I The world has just experienced the demoralising and'degrading,influence of lesser wars has exhibited some features 0 socially demoralising character, but this New Zealand of. ours is too far distant f£m the scenes of destrnotion and demoralisation to be particularly affected h them Even our.soldiers are anxious to'forget all that has been degrading and demoralising in this war, and they are oWi.gon to the -higher . ideals; which ■Jrow out of duty and service and sacrifice nobly and honourably performed. Of course, among our nhfiers there « nn hnnkine on a rehgion which contains no if "Chianity than Christianity Tis composition. Our education and ligious systems require "forming, and 1 the first 'step to improvement will beiuud in remedying that fault which, asrYga ds our teachers the Minister of Education has long observed and deolored but to which so far he has failed ui anply that solution which lies nearest to'his hand—l am, e tc -> . J. D, SIEVWRIGHT.

PS-The political danger and social i 'nf'Hip li SA„ with all its mammonffrffl ii'to He found in ittjow aterage o\ standard education. Thmk o' it—7oo,ooo soldiers of the first U-bX Annv draft "could not read or write (see "(• I id Post" of 'Frisco, April 23, am MuaHon aflu full employment are the best promoters of light lmng.J.D.S. ■ ■ ■