CORRESPONDENCE.
SCHOOL MATTERS.
(To the Editor.) Sir,—Now that the school year is drawing to a close, would it not be wise, on the part of all parents of present and future pupils, for them to take thought and consider what advances and improvements might be sought in the New Year ? Of course, we know it is all too commonly assumed that, as there is a school committee, it is their duty to do this. But, sir, is not this school committee like all democratically elected bodies : they may do only that which is demanded ? The electors, whether they are active or not, are the parents of the children; and should they remain silent or inarticulate, what may our poor school committee do ? Now, I am merely the mother of two children at the Paeroa school, and I see so much, so very much, that might be done to improve the school and the training our children are to receive. But is the next annual meeting of the parents to be a meeting of the old school committee only ? It is a bitter reflection upon the love—yes, I say love—the majority of parents bear their children when they are unwilling to give up one hour in the whole year to the choosing of the public committee, in whose hands the education and ultimate well-being of their children is placed, for good or ill. Let us do away with this apathy. Other centres, and much smaller centres than Paeroa, have their Parents’ Associations. There is need, great need, of extensions and improvements to the work of the school, any of which cannot be done by the Education Department alone. The committee may initiate and with the department’s help carry these out; but the need of the parents’ voices is more than necessary, it is essential. So very much depends upon the school influence and educa-tion—-they are not the same—and surely the parents of Paeroa are not so shortsighted that they cannot see that their children’s happiness and well-being, long after they have left school, are fixed and preordained at school, particularly in their earlier years. Whether for good or ill home influence (something that has been a blessing in the past) is decaying, and its place must and can be supplied only at school. A non-fulfilment of one’s duty through ignorance may be excusable ; but nowadays no parent can plead ignorance of the great part played in the moulding of character by our public schools./-
/A MOTHER.
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Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5513, 13 December 1929, Page 2
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415CORRESPONDENCE. SCHOOL MATTERS. Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5513, 13 December 1929, Page 2
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