EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY

Hokitika Guardian, 13 May 1930, Page 8

EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY

ABUSES OF SOCIALISM

graduation day address

Stressing .the need for education t.. check and correct the abuses of Socialism and commercialism, Professo. L. G., Rocock (Professor of Classics, delivered an address on ‘Democracy ano Education” following the graduation ceremony at Canterbury College last week Professor Pocock urged the neces sity If or a strong, clear-thinking public opinion, and condemned emphatically ;he corruption of advertisement to which the public seemed indifferent. Since he would be dwelling perhaps r, n the darker side of things and making certain criticisms, Professor Pocock emphasised first of all that life in a ■'fish democracy to-day was probably more pleasant-,' happier, arid freer than it-had ever been before, and, further, fffa’t New Zealand might fairly -claim tf he one of the happiest, pleasantest and freest portions of the British Empire and of the world. :

RISE OF SPIRITUAL LIBERTY

¥ During the last quarter of a century a great and almost silent revolution •id come to its maturity, Its seeds went much further back into history, hut the Great War seemed to mark ir many ways the end of the long, long period of Med-iaevalism. He meant nol so much the coming of the motor-car and the aeroplane and all the triumphs of applied science as a revolution in men’s minds to their attitude to life in general.' This might be illustrated i< f-inds of ways,.for instance in tip change in the position of women. “Things have really changed,” continued the Professor, “and the world to-day enjoys a spiritual liberty undreamed of fifty years ago. People hate achieved it for themselves, and public opinion allows it, so that ,it is truer now than at any other time to sav that we' may think what we like and say what we think. Many causes have contributed to this. The ferment of the Great War brought it to maturity. It is hound up with scientific thought and progress and the commercialism and industralism that has resulted. But more than anything else education and education of the masses has made it possible. Alan is at last being allowed to think and taught to think: slowly and painfully he is even beginning to like to think!”

BRITAIN A SOCIALISTIC STATE

That was. the brightest feather in the cap,of State education and its best excuse. The revolution had brought with it democracy and even Socialism. The State to-day was paramount, not even sueject to the ordinary code of honesty. A man’s property was no longer his own: he only held it on sufferance from the State. With income tax at Hs 6d in the £, with super-taxes and rapacious death duties, who would deny that Great Britain was a Socialistic -fate? Who could doubt that she was likely to become more Socialistic, that before very long the means of production, distribution, and supply might be nationalised? Whether this was a

good thing was a matter of opinion but ■othing was more certain than that the process needed something to check it: without brakes it would sooner or later mine to the top of a precipice and go over. The best check of all was a sound and sensible and good-tempered public opinion ; and it seemed clear that one of the chief functions of modern education was to form it, by teaching people to think clearly, honestly, and capably.

THE DANGERS OP SOCIALISM.. “Now in Socialism, excellent as it rnay lie, we see many dangers. There is first the danger that it would take a lot of the beauty from life. .1 would >•< mind you that not democracy hut ('on furies of aristocracy and primo-genituro have made the English countryside the Welv thing it is; that a dominant Hhuwh built the marvellous cathedrals Of the Old World ; that it is the millionaire, the capitalist, who has given America her great steel and concrete towers and her splendid university buildings. ‘‘f •‘olievo that in no country of the world has wealth been so evenly distributed as in New Zealand. In many ways, that is a great blessing, and we

are justly' proud of it—but we lose something by it. That has been a natural process; but Socialism would ike to make men’s fortunes equal by force. One of the many dangers' of that, it seems to me, is the spectre of ugliness and humdrum mediocrity.”

MENACE OF ADVERT fSEMENT

Working side by side with Socialism was another force f ,.the spirit of modern commercialisjn., Commercialism 00, had done jnuch. good for thp hum-an-race, but it.hatf, also done much harm. The hand-maijden of conppercialism was advertiseippnt,' a lady pf doubt ful character. She. might not he, wholly beyond reform but she was a mejnacp to fjie. public decency,, Decepe.v, f meant that which was, right, and .fitting,, apd it was to be achieved and maintained by good taste and the, power ofseeing ‘•-liiifrs in their proper proportions. That was the whole art of civilised lif.g, and there was grave danger of its standard deteriotaring.

What public opinion had lost through commercialism, it was the ; task of eduction to make good. And all departments of civic life should, make their j contribution to that task. ~lt wjas certain that commerce, should be ,educated. ■ “Are- we as a people,.reasonably,‘enable of criticising,. a,ud distingmsjpng tjie false from tlie- true ancl Uj,e-sljiani bom the real article. I don’t When, a good many,years ago,,a,cjuacl> and imposter came ,to this City and started a new religion, we showed, that' we were not. Are, we safe from being taken in in the spe way agait| ? ( about our general,.tpsteP Our,adverse | example at any,.rate occurs ( to ,my mind. Look at the front pages of, our Christchurch newspapers and you will see stuff which, I respectfully submit to newspaper proprietors, and the picture theatre people, should neither he tolerated by a self-respecting public opinion nor permitted by them still further to corrupt a degenerate one.”

THE ABUSES OF ADVERTISMENT

Professor Pocock read an advertisement for a talking picture recently shown in Christchurch.

“As there are ladies present. I won’t say what I really think olf this,” he added. “It is silly, sickening, halfwitted, mawkish rubbish at best. This comes from America where it is called dope. It may be good enough, for America, but it is not good enough for us. This sort of thing sinks in. The proof is that many of us see nothing peculiar about it. Familiarity • breeds indifference. We spend millions of pounds of State money in educating our children, but think of the effect on their minds of seeing that sort of thing day after day. I don’t think the newspaper proprietors realise what a cheap and nasty appearance it gives their newspapers.” MASS PRODUCTION IN EDUCATION.

Here, again, the people should live up to a standard, not huckster down to it. Mass production and standarisation was a low standard and education must fight it. But did not education all over the world to-day concertrate on turning out a lot pf indifferent articles instead of a few good ones? In New Zealand, from every moderate standard was demanded in no fewer than five subjects, and thereby the best were practically prevented from attaining real proficiency in any one subject. “They go out to the schools and tench three or four subjects indifferently, instead of one well,” ended the Professor. “Here is a point where improvement could be made. Do not let us think we are up-to-date when we are not, nor incapable of improvement' when we are; and let us not be afraid of change when change is clearly desirable.”