EDUCATION FOR CITIZENSHIP

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 157, 21 July 1937, Page 3

EDUCATION FOR CITIZENSHIP

—Press Assooiation.)

Whai is Being Done in Germany CHANGES NEEDED

(By Telegraph

DUNEDIN', Last' NlgM. Ihe daim of society on tho indivMua! and the way in which children should be prepared to take their share of tho conduct of society wero dealt with by Eektor Zilliacns when speaking on "Education for Citizenship" at the new Education Eellowship Conference to-day. Eektor Zilliacus instanced what was being done in Germany to produce the kindl of citizen deslred by the Nazi regime. The echool currieulum aimed at that object all the time and even in their leisure children were not allowed to forget that they must conform with the reqxxired type of education. In so-called democratic countries they had no particular aim unless it was to pass examinations or satisfy certaii syllabus requirements, and it was obvi- - ous that some drastic change was needed. Outlining a suitable syllabus uuder the headings of intellectual, practical and emotional requirements, Eektor Zilliaous said the object of the first should be to teach children' to form their own •judgments about things and to cast aside non-essentials. With respect to what should be taughfbold experiments were taking place in the United States where generous funds had been made available for the pnrppse, but even in countries where owing .to the rigidity , of the education systems only tinkering was possible some progress was being; achieved. Children should be eucouraged toatudy modern developments in the world land their relation to what had gone before. It was not much use saying what should be done, however, unless they were given some practice in citizenship, and this could be done by making the school a little community in: which certain duties were allotted to children to enable them to share in the; conduct of that community, thus bring-j ing out in many cases talents and capa-j bilities which might otherwise be over-; looked. ■ ' Beferring to the emotional aspect,! Eektor Zilliacus said that knowledge | and skill were nofc «f much moment. unless ther© was a driving f orce behind them. The object should be to imbue children with the ideals of truth and free judgiuent and expression of opinion, and they jshould be brought to feel the need for bettering the conditions of the downcast. To achievp this end in children^ teachers must themselveg be imbued with such ideals and must keep themselves well informed on the soeial' problems of the day.