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EDUCATING CITIZENS

WORK OF THE ff.E.A

, THE ANNUAL MEETING

The annual'meeting of the Wellington, branch, of the Educational Association was .held last night at the TradesIMI. Mr. 'C. it.. lfobieson presided,"and' about twenty members were .present. The chairman apologised for the al> senco of .the president. Professor T. A; Hunter, who was away from Wellington; 'II? said- that tlie progress made during •the year had. been substantial, though not .as great as members would ..have wished. A "firm foundation had been established, for future work, and he lioped that the number of students was. go:ng" .to increase largely. The, education of the adult citizens was one of the most urgent needs of the day. No democracy was safe unless it was an educated, democracy. It' was unfortunate that the word "worker,", which ought, to include all useful people, had been assigned, a. narrow meaning-in New-Zealand, • and the association, had suffered to some extent from this .cause, The association recognised that the .«om r ', -mercial ana manufacturing men needed education.'in citizenship as much: as the labourers and tradesmen did. Mr. Uobieson referred to the appointment of Mr. D, J. B. Seymour as organiser and tp" the support'given.the organisation byParliament. Funds were still required to ensure a successful year's work. . A •sum of about .£2OCO ought to be raised, and he . believed this money, would be forthcoming if, the. importance of the work was realised by the public.. He suggested that the new committee, should undertake the redrafting of. the constitution iu order to separate the Wellington I'i=trict Committee from the executive.

Report on Tutorial Work. "The movement represented by the association appears to be making quicker progress, both lis _ regards number of classes and intensity of work, in the country than in the city (states the re-, port on-tutorial work). This result, at first surprising, is probably duo mainlyto the relatively greater number of distractions incidental to city- life. It is also, However, in part due, as several reports make clear, to the fact that many «f the workers view economics with suspicion, the more adventurous 'spirits being attached to Marxian doctrines and indisposed to study oi - even listen to anything else. This is particularly manifest in the' Wellington City and Peton'e reports. " . . "It still seems difficult to obtain satisfactory written work, and indeed in some Reuses to securo any serious study.of the subject at all. many members enjoying the. lectures sufficiently to attend,-but not making any effort in the direction of home' study, reading, or, Writing; hence the failure of the important essay branch of the work. All tutors lay, emphasis: 011 the value of tho discussions, on ■tlieir good spirit and high level of intelligence, and sometimes on their dency- to wander into side issues of contemporary politics. A point, too, is niado of the shifting character of the classes, due to the . mobility of the New Zealand population. : ■ . -"While the prospects of extension in the.Country districts are excellent,' tha position in ■ the city is hardly .satisfactory. for not only are the classes .not' growing in size, but their composition' is. iiot - predominantly 'working class,' and, shows no tendency in that diretcion. A. scrutiny of the Wellington rolls discloses that the movement there is analo. gous more to university extension- work than- to W.li.A. work in ,the stricter, sense. Thjs does not make the moveaieut less useful to the community, but all the same it is iiot reassuriug to find, that the proportion of working people isdecreasirig in the''city classes. There appears to be some need of a' well* planned ' publicity campaign to make known to the workers the Teal benefits to be derived from.the movement."

Aims of tho Association.' The ojjpuiisroy.Jlr. Seymour, urged tho need of a Dominion Conference, in order that lines of-action and policy might :be laid down. The association ought to lie making -its'appeal-to the entire community. Mr. Seymour spoke of the details cf organisation. He believed that tho association ought to seek to interest' the leaders of the'community. It would be very useful for the community to have. ' <;vcry member of Parliament studying economics, The members of local bodies ■were often in need of education of tho kind the association's classes were offering. The aim of 'the association should be to distribute sound knowledge of Social and'economic subjects so widely that a man who lacked knowledge would be unable to lift his head in public affairs without getting it cracked. . Mr. B. E. Murphy said he had been disappointed to .find that many- people who joined the'classes did not complete, their courses.. It should be understood that the function of the association was. to educate, not tn provide occasional entertainment. The association should not make the mistake of requiring any particular political colour from its tutors. The chairman said the association, had no politics.' That point was clearly understood. i The'' report and balancc-slicot were, adapted, and tho following officers were, elected:—President. Mr. G. Ward; vice-, ■president,' Mr. C.' R. Robieson; secretary,. Mr. D;-U. Ken'iiedy. Several committees were appointed before the meeting closed.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19200306.2.41

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 138, 6 March 1920, Page 7

Word count
Tapeke kupu
839

EDUCATING CITIZENS Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 138, 6 March 1920, Page 7

EDUCATING CITIZENS Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 138, 6 March 1920, Page 7

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